This summer why not see some of the best art the country has to offer while staying in style, asks ALANNA GALLAGHER
Pony up in Kinsale
The biggest exhibition at Kinsale Arts Week is The Horse Show, which looks at how contemporary artists regard this animal. There are classical oil paintings of racehorses by Peter Curling, photographs by Tim Flach and Perry Ogden, and a life-sized horse made out of cardboard boxes by artist Nevan Lahart. It runs at The Mill from July 9th to 27th and is open from 10am to 6pm each day.
Fashionistas will enjoy the special viewing, Ladies Day at the Horse Show, that takes place on July 12th at 11am. Dress to impress. There are prizes for the best-dressed lady. See kinsaleartsweek.com for details.
Why not also make your dining experience a piece of theatre? Book a place at the Surrealists Supper Club where Dining with Dalítakes place on July 12th at Crackpots restaurant at 9pm. Sample some of the surrealist master's recipes right out of his cookbook. You are invited to go dressed as your most memorable dream. So dress up. Tickets cost €36.
In keeping with the equestrian theme, why not stay at Friar’s Lodge, where the owners also breed and train racehorses. They have even named one of their stables Kinsale Arts Week.
Rooms cost €66pps for bed and breakfast. Friar’s Lodge. Tel: 021-4777384, friars-lodge.com
A Donegal celebration
The Earagail Arts Festival office may be in Letterkenny, but this is a festival that spans the shadowlands of that landmark mountain so some of the most interesting work is to be seen miles outside the main town.
Head for Churchill, home to the Glebe Gallery and House, former home of painter and honorary Donegalman Derek Hill. Burst the Heart Open – A Celebration of Irish Paintingis a collection of paintings that look back over a century of Irish art. It explores the rich and varied approach artists take to paint in Ireland. It includes work by Sean Scully, Patrick Collins and Louis le Brocquy. After refreshments in the tearooms take a tour of Hill's former home, where you can view his private art collection displayed on walls hung with wallpaper with William Morris designs instead of the usual white gallery walls.
The exhibition runs from next Saturday, July 9th, to August 28th. The gallery and house are both open from 11am until 6.30pm daily. Entrance to the house is €3 for adults, €1 for children and students, and €8 for families.
Explore Glenveagh National Park and stay at Ostan Gweedore, where a family room costs €120 B&B for two adults and two children under 14. Ostan Gweedore. Tel: 074-9531177, ostangweedore.com.
Model moment in Sligo
Sligo’s alluring mix of arts, crafts and gourmet food makes it the go-to getaway. Celtic Twilight is an exhibition at The Model gallery (Tel: 071-9141405, themodel.ie) that explores the tensions between the Celtic revival of Irish arts and literature in the early 20th century and the birth of the modernist movement in Ireland, which is fitting given that this is Yeats country and the poet’s role in the revival movement. The exhibition runs to September 11th.
On certain dates you can take an informal guided tour of the gallery’s Niland collection in the company of curator Emer McGarry. The tours are free and take place on on July 20th, August 10th and August 24th. There’s no need to book, just turn up on the day and meet at reception.
Afterwards have a few pints and a bite to eat in Hardigans, one of the town’s best gastro bars. Stay at the Glasshouse with its pop-art interior. It costs from €79 room only mid-week and from €109 room only on weekends. B&B and one dinner costs from €179pps. The Glass House, Swan Point. Tel: 071-9194301, theglasshouse.ie
Capital idea in Dublin
Still haven’t seen the National Gallery’s (nationalgallery.ie) latest acquisitions? Make it your reason to visit Dublin for a cultural break. Masterpieces from the Collection is a special presentation of some of the finest works in the gallery’s possession.
Or go one further and pay for a private tour. This can be tailored to suit you and your family’s interests. Induct the kids into all things art-related by investing in this special experience. The gallery asks for two to three weeks’ notice to guarantee a booking and so that guides can prepare age-appropriate material. The tour costs €50 and can accommodate up to 15 people for that sum. It usually lasts 30 minutes. Why not go on a Thursday evening when the gallery is open until 8.30pm.
Afterwards head to the kid-friendly Milano restaurant on Dawson Street or to Yo Sushi on Clarendon Street where the interactivity of the conveyor belt is sure to enthral. Stay at the Drury Court Hotel where two adults and two children can spend the night for €144 for room only.Drury Court Hotel. Tel: 01-4751988, drurycourthotel.ie.
Undercover in Kilkenny
Cool cats love Kilkenny and its annual arts festival has much to offer culture vultures. Explore the subtle differences in American artist Ann Craven’s mirror- image still life paintings showing at the Castle Yard Studio, which opens on August 5th.
See art in spaces not usually open to the public, such as sculptor and sound-and-video artist Liam O’Callaghan’s Bit Symphonies, which shows in a small chapel-like space in Kilkenny Castle called the Muniments Room.
David Beattie will make a site-specific construction in St Mary’s Hall, at the rear of the deconsecrated church.
On August 6th, visual arts curator Josephine Kelleher issues an open invitation to the public to attend a free brunch with the festival’s visual artists. This event is free but ticketed and needs to be booked in advance. Brunch in Cleere’s pub, also the festival box office, takes place from 11.30am.
On August 7th, there is live music and readings with poets Leanne O’Sullivan and Gerard Smyth, and novelists Patrick McCabe and Dermot Healy at 6pm at the National Craft Gallery.
The Hole in the Wall (holeinthewall.ie) is a cool late-night bar. It is built into a 16th-century Elizabethean tavern. Find it up a tiny laneway and well off the beaten track.
A double room at The Pembroke Hotel costs €154 B&B per night. Tel: 056-783500, kilkennypembrokehotel.com.
Northern exposure in Belfast
Detonating Rough Ground at Ormeau Baths Gallery is a photographic exhibition that brings together artists whose work engages with the experiential representation of trauma.
In Volunteer, Paul Seawright's new photographic works shot in the US, bring together two major themes: contemporary cities and the representation of conflict. Hear more when the artist gives a talk on August 11th.
Entrance is free but you need to book a place by contacting the gallery at mail@ormeaubaths.
Lessons of Darknessby Werner Herzog is a film screening that relates to the themes of the exhibition. It takes place on August 7th. Contact Queens Film Theatre on 048-9097-1097, queensfilmtheatre.com. Entrance is £3. Detonating Rough Ground runs from July 27th to August 27th.
Contrast the gallery’s austere theme with a stay at the luxurious Merchant Hotel.
Rooms cost from £99pps Sunday to Wednesday. This price includes a three-course dinner in Berts jazz bar.
The Merchant Hotel. Tel: 048-90234888, themerchanthotel.com.
Go west to Galway
The City of The Tribes is at its most vibrant during its annual Galway Arts Festival (galwayartsfestival.com). Those in search of truth will love The Truth Booth at the Absolut Festival Gallery in Galway Shopping Centre. In the giant inflatable video booth people can record their responses to the question: what is truth? Vent at leisure.
Hughie O'Donoghue's exhibition The Road, premieres at the Absolut Festival Gallery. The Road, a painting in 60 parts, and Painting Caserta Red, a piece that is monumental in size, form the core of the exhibition. The show runs from July 11th to 24th and is open from 11am to 6 pm.
Enjoy foraged and artisan food at Ard Bia (ardbia.com). Stay at artsy crowd establishment The Heron’s Rest, a boutique B&B that serves up a cracking breakfast.
They don’t take children under three. Doubles cost €150. The Heron’s Rest, 16a The Long Walk. Tel: 091-539574 theheronsrest.com.
