A host of musical and cultural events will take place all over the country this bank holiday weekend.
The internationally acclaimed Guinness Jazz Festival will open in Cork today, with 1,000 musicians from 25 countries entertaining festival-goers in 75 venues throughout the city.
In the west, the Sligo Festival of Baroque Music will concentrate on the works of three great composers of the Baroque era, Bach, Handel and Telemann.
Hosted by the Model Arts and Niland Gallery, the event includes masterclasses as well as concerts.
The Baffle Festival of Poetry and Craic in Loughrea will offer four days of poetry and performances ranging from the humorous to the heartfelt by writers and poets playing in venues throughout the Co Galway town.
Showcasing a fresh crop of Irish and international electronic music artists, the Dublin Electronic Arts Festival (DEAF) presents an eclectic mix of innovative musical and visual entertainment, as well as seminars and workshops.
The Táin Rhythm and Roots Festival in Dundalk will attract a wealth of international artists and features more than 25 performers in eight venues.
The 14th annual One-Act Drama Festival tonight at Friar's Gate Theatre in Limerick will feature top amateur actors over the next three nights.
The Athy Heritage Centre celebrates the fourth annual Ernest Shackleton Autumn School, comprising a series of lectures, performances and exhibits celebrating the life of the Antarctic explorer.
On Sunday in Freshford, Co Kilkenny, the 5th annual Irish Conker Championships will be held as competitors take on this schoolyard pastime to battle it out for the top prize of a trip to New York.
In the North, the 42nd Belfast Festival at Queen's opens with the theme, Journeys and Migrations.
It features 300 artists and events from 20 countries through to its culmination on November 7th.
The 7th annual Roolaboola Children's Arts Festival in Castlebar will feature workshops, exhibitions, music, storytelling, shows and a parade for children aged two to 15.