Something for the Weekend? Sports and concerts … amid an Irish summer

Concert goers, football fans and lovers of a good time are in for a treat over the coming weeks as Dublin Bus’s new 24-hour services bed in and extra train services run revellers in and out of venues.

The line-up for the coming days includes Dermot Kennedy on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th of June at St Anne’s Park, Raheny, where the gates open at 4pm and special Dart services will run before and after the concert to and from Harmonstown Dart station. Dublin Bus routes that serve St. Anne’s Park from Lower Abbey Street include the 6, 130, H1, H2 and H3.

On Saturday the Republic of Ireland will face Scotland at the Aviva Stadium in the final game of their Nations League June fixtures. Kick-off is at 5pm and large crowds are expected in the Lansdowne Road area from early afternoon.

On Sunday the GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship featuring Galway and Dublin will take place at O’Connor Park, Tullamore.

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Also on Sunday, Duran Duran’s Dublin show opens in St Anne’s Park with special guests, Goldfrapp & Sinead O’Brien. Duran Duran is expected to take to the stage at 8.15pm. The same day hip-hop icon 50 Cent will stage his Irish return with a performance at the 3Arena, Dublin.

Skerries Traditional Music Weekend promises recitals, workshops, sessions and street music on Saturday and Sunday.

Beyond The Pale is a new music festival announced for Glendalough Estate (aka Glendalough House) in Annamoe, Co Wicklow this weekend. Featuring Four Tet, Bonobo, Orbital and Lisa Hannigan, it will take place on the former site of the Barn Dance festival from June 10th-12th.

In the coming weeks The Killers, Kodaline, Picture This, Gerry Cinnamon, Dermot Kennedy and Lewis Capaldi will all play at Malahide Castle over seven nights between June 14th to 25th. Some 25,000 people are expected on each date. Harry Styles will perform at the Aviva on June 22nd.

Irish Rail said Intercity customers wishing to travel by rail will have to book their tickets online as services will be busy and priority will be given to customers who book their tickets online. Tickets for the additional late-night services will only be sold online, with tickets not available for customers who show up at the station.

Dublin Bus advised those out late to avail of the new 24-hour services which it said were proving very popular. These include six routes across Dublin and north Kildare. They are: Route 15 between Ballycullen and Clongriffin; Route 39a between Ongar and UCD; Route 41 between Swords and the city centre; C5 between Maynooth and Ringsend Road; C6 also between Maynooth and Ringsend Road; and N4 between Blanchardstown and the Point Village.

Luas Red Line Stops between Red Cow and Tallaght/Saggart will be closed on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Trams will run between Red Cow and Connolly/The Point only. This is to facilitate essential Red Line engineering works. Replacement buses will run every 15 minutes in the affected area with some restrictions. Full details are at https://luas.ie/red-line-works-jun22

Met Éireann is forecasting “unseasonably windy” conditions for the rest of Friday with almost biblical conditions including widespread heavy and possibly thundery showers, bringing the chance of lightning, local hail and spot flooding. Some sunny spells are also predicted.

Saturday should bring further widespread showers, in “another unseasonably blustery day” with brisk west to southwest winds. The outlook for the coming week is for “a spell of rain” that looks likely to move into the northwest on Monday night.

Meanwhile, the NTA said it had received some information that people were finding it difficult to get late night taxis in Dublin. In response, the authority said it was considering a new fare structure aimed at incentivising drivers to work late at night or in the early hours of the morning. Following public consultation on a new deal for taxi drivers which includes an average 12 per cent increase in fares, proposals to exceed the 12 per cent for night work, and to offer rates less than a 12 per cent increase for day work, have been formulated. The proposals will go to the NTA board in the near future, and if approved would be introduced later this summer.