Crowds gathered on the streets of Dublin today to mark the 250th anniversary of the death of the composer George Frideric Handel.
There was a vibrant mood on Fishamble Street in Temple Bar, beside the original site of Neal's Musick Hall, wheree Handel's Messiahhad its world premiere on April 13th 1742.
Lord mayor of Dublin Eibhlin Byrne officially opened the Temple Bar Cultural Trust’s Dublin Handel Festival, before a free on-street performance of Messiah by Our Lady’s Choral Society and the National Sinfonia, conducted by Prionnsías Ó Duinn.
Ms Byrne said: "Dublin is a city where history and culture mingle effortlessly with modern living on our streets. Festivals like the Handel programme are a great way to celebrate that mix."
The Dublin Handel Festival programme has been extended this year to include a range of indoor and outdoor events especially targeted at families and children.
Temple Bar Cultural Trust chief executive Dermot McLaughlin said this was a very important year for the Dublin Handel Festival.
"We’ve put together a broad mix of indoor and outdoor events which includes new events as well as some of the very popular traditional performances at Christ Church Cathedral and St Patrick’s Cathedral, and we would encourage families and people young and old to get into the City next week to revisit the life and times of Handel.”