January Event Guide: 12 things to look forward to this month

Whelan’s Ones to Watch 2024

4-7 January, Whelan’s, Dublin

A highly anticipated festival for rising Irish talent, Whelan’s Ones to Watch takes place over three stages with a bill featuring over 60 incredible Irish acts. Featuring a wide variety of musical acts and styles, all from the best up-and-coming acts around, those announced so far include Big Love, Fizzy Orange, Peer Pleasure, and Adore.

Based Festival

7 January, The Button Factory

Billed as a “groundbreaking event like no other”, the inaugural Based Festival is an all-ages music event showcasing a selection of the finest up-and-coming bands that Ireland has to offer. Featuring Malefactors, Pants On Fire, Ritalin and Anita, to name but a few, more acts are set to be announced soon.

Christy Moore at Vicar Street

7, 11, 16 & 17 January, Vicar Street, Dublin

One of the most compelling and inspirational musicians Ireland has ever seen, Christy Moore will be returning to Vicar Street in January for a five-night stint. It is his deep urge to connect with the listener and to transmit the meaning of the songs he sings that has endeared him to audiences of all ages.

Selvage

12&13 January, Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin

Granny has been incarcerated, the fairytale has faltered and now something is gnawing at Joe. Selvage is a fast, funny show about unravelling tightly wound modern anxieties and a boy’s reckoning with his gnaw. Nominated for two Irish Times Theatre Awards, the show uses physical storytelling, puppetry and a live, original score from Anna Mullarkey to explore the many ways people try to calm themselves while a “gnaw” waits not far from the surface.

The Great MoLI Book Swap

13&14 January, Museum of Literature Ireland, Dublin

Taking place across two days, the MoLI Book Swap is your opportunity to rehome your well-loved books and pick up some new reads in the process. Entry is included with general admission, so you can spend a day exploring the exhibitions and exchanging books with fellow bookworms.

The 24 Hour Plays: Dublin

14 January, Abbey Theatre, Dublin

Returning for its 11th annual fundraising event in aid of Dublin Youth Theatre, The 24 Hour Plays: Dublin is back at the Abbey Theatre where — all within 24 hours — six short plays will be written, rehearsed and performed by the best of Irish writing and directing talent, with over 30 of Ireland’s most recognised and beloved stars of stage and screen. Since the first benefit presentation in 2012, over €140,000 has been raised for DYT through ticket sales and donations.

Dream Wedding Expo at Leisureland

14 January, Leisureland, Galway

The all-encompassing bridal exhibition staged annually in the west of Ireland returns to Leisureland with over 80 exhibitors, unique feature areas, and dynamic fashion shows featuring top Irish models from the Catwalk Model Agency. Three stunning fashion shows each day will bring bridal fashion to life in astounding productions. Each show will feature designer dresses for the bride and bridesmaids, stylish grooms wear and the latest creations for the mother of the bride.

Music for Galway’s Midwinter Festival

19-21 January, The Hardiman Ballroom & St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church, Galway

This year’s midwinter festival, curated by pianist Michel Dalberto alongside MfG artistic director Finghin Collins, marks the centenary of French composer Gabriel Fauré’s death in 1924 and features three chamber music concerts and a performance of the popular Requiem. Michel is joined by the charismatic Swiss baritone Benoît Capt and two young string virtuosi from Paris, as well as Galway’s own ConTempo Quartet.

Damian Browne: Man Vs Ocean

21 January, The Black Box Theatre, Galway

A spoken word performance by Damian Browne, Ireland’s foremost extreme adventurer and the only person in history ever to row 3,000 miles across the ferocious North Atlantic from Manhattan, NYC to Galway, Ireland. In an enthralling night of inspiration, entertainment and enrichment, Damian shares extraordinary stories of catastrophe, courage and mental fortitude, intertwined with the life lessons etched into his being from the brutality of one of the world’s most unforgiving environments. Damian Browne’s story is a captivating exploration of how one man uses extreme physical and mental challenges to forge his true potential.

TradFest 2024

24-28 January, Various venues across Dublin

TradFest is a joyful celebration of Irish music and culture that invites music lovers to experience live music in the best pubs and music venues in Dublin city centre and beyond. Celebrating Irish identity through live music, more than 50 events will take place in some of the best pubs in Temple Bar, as well as key historical landmarks across the capital. For a full list of events, click here.

The Galway Tattoo Show

27&28, Galmont Hotel, Galway

The 9th annual International Galway Tattoo Show will bring together some of the best international tattoo artists in the world and mix that in with the amazing tattoo talent of some of Ireland’s best tattoo artists. The show is not only a celebration of tattoo art though, and will feature entertainment, live music, market stalls, and traders on show to keep you entertained.

Following Threads at Crawford Art Gallery

Until 18 January, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork

Textile-based artworks have been a growing presence in art galleries over the last decade with artists investigating a variety of new and age-old concerns with fibres and threads. The boundaries of traditional techniques such as weaving and embroidery have been pushed by artists who are interested in embracing the potential of thread in contemporary art. Spotlighting areas of practice we are curious about and interested in, the exhibition will feature works by Ailbhe Ní Bhriain, Isabel Nolan, and Matt Smith, among many others.

Featured image via Crawford Art Gallery on Instagram.