7 things to do this week
TODAY Put some colour in your life this weekend at an exhibition of more than 3,000 paintings by artists from all over the country. The seventh annual 30 Artists Exhibition at the Knox Hall in Monkstown, Co Dublin, features everything from cityscapes to Celtic crosses, still lives to seascapes. Best of all, the prices start from €90, with something for every pocket. 10am-9pm today and 10am-4pm tomorrow. Admission free.
TOMORROW Get together for a family-friendly walk in the Wicklow Mountains, heading away from Glendalough and into the real heart of this national park - the boglands and the heaths. Here, visitors can see the amazing adaptations the plants have made to survive in this extreme environment, and catch a glimpse of the unique animal life. Leave your car at the Upper Lake car park, and a bus will be on call to bring walkers up into the hills. Admission is free, but booking is essential. Contact 0404-45425. www.wicklownationalpark.ie
MONDAY Here's a chance to catch the last few days of an exhibition brought to you by the Solomon Gallery at the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre in Dublin. Their annual Summer Group, featuring painting and sculpture by gallery and invited artists, is always well worth a visit, with a mix of work giving a platform to lesser-known artists alongside more established talents such as Peter Collis and Charlie Whisker. Continues until Wednesday.
TUESDAY A musical night to be savoured is happening tonight in Abington Church, Murroe, Co Limerick, with a performance by the Greater Chicago Sacred Chorale, featuring the Cappamore Slieve Felim Singers. Admission is €8. Doors 8pm.
WEDNESDAY Summer lunchtime concerts are taking place every Wednesday over the next few weeks in the Civic Offices Amphitheatre in Dublin. Today it's the turn of Hora, who with their "plaintive Arabic tonalities and infectious Balkan grooves" are sure to make lunchtime go with a swing. Free admission. Don't forget your sandwiches. 1pm-2pm.
THURSDAY The National Chamber Choir's summer series Mare Nostrum is the inspiration for a special dinner menu at Pearl Brasserie following each concert and organised tour of the National Gallery. Patrons of tonight's 5pm tour and 6.30pm concert with Swedish conductor Stefan Parkman can avail of a €30 three-course dinner afterwards. For more details log on to www.nationalchamberchoir.com and to book dinner, contact 01-6613572 and quote the NCC.
FRIDAY As part of the Earagail Arts Festival, the Donegal family who brought us Clannad, Moya Brennan and band and Enya, are hosting a concert tonight going back to their roots with their mother Baba's church choir Cór Mhuire, Doirí Beaga (Derrybeg). She'll be conducting the clan at the Clanree Hotel, Letterkenny, tonight followed by a gig at Leo's Tavern, Meenalack, where it all began. Tickets for this concert and the ones held earlier in the week can be booked on 074-9120777.
Róisín Ingle