Going out...
Young Hearts Present Yule! Dublin Food Co-Op, Dublin Saturday Dec 9th, €16.55-22 eventbrite.ie
Young Hearts Run Free's Christmas party, now in its ninth year, is the warmest party you could imagine, with all proceeds going to the Simon Community. Guests include David Kitt, Autre Monde, Alison Spittle, Fontaine's DC, Sonya Kelly, Dowry plus some special surprise guests. Yule is a great night with some great people for a very worthy cause. Treat yourself and help some others along the way. – Louise Bruton
Ann Marie Horan
Sat, Dec 9th, 8pm Town Hall Theatre, Galway tht.ie free, booking essential
The Ros na Rún actor marks the launch of her debut album Am I Am with a talent-packed concert. Better known for her long-running role in the soap and her own solo stage show Norah Barnacle-Signora Joyce, this is a new direction for the Galway native. Producer and multi-instrumentalist Garry Ó Briain's arrangements combine Irish and other trad styles into a folk fusion for Horan's songs, and he and Dónal Lunny join her, along with the Ignite Gospel Choir, cast members of Ros na Rún and others for the gig. annmariehoran.ie – Deirdre Falvey
Bang Bang
Bewleys Cafe Theatre @ Powerscourt, Mon-Sat at 1pm, until Dec 23rd, €8-€12
One of Dublin's legendary street eccentrics, Thomas Dudley, aka Lord Dudley the Devil, aka Bang Bang, is the focus of Dermot Bolger's new solo play, with Pat McGrath as the eponymous irrepressible dreamer who transformed Dublin into the Wild West for generations. Set in 1980 as he faces his last Christmas, it weaves between humour and pathos, and between Bang Bang's alternative reality of Dodge City, riding shotgun on Dublin buses wielding his trusty rusty key and yelling "bang bang!" and the bleak reality of life in an orphanage and on the edge of society. – Deirdre Falvey
Staying in
TV architect Dermot Bannon takes a break from transforming Irish houses to cross the Atlantic and visit some seriously palatial pads in Dermot Bannon's New York Homes (Sunday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm). He's not planning on doing any makeovers in Manhattan – these houses are fine as they are. No, he's just having a nose around a few nice gaffs, including an $18 million penthouse apartment in a skyscraper in Tribeca with stunning 360 degree views, and a $35 million "superhome" in the Hamptons with everything a rich person needs, including an indoor basketball court and a rooftop putting green. In the second of this two-parter, Bannon heads to the West Coast to poke around a few pads in Los Angeles. – KevinCourtney
