Things to do over the holidays
Ireland's favourite post-Christmas pursuits - shopping and gambling - will be well catered for again this year, with the sale season getting under way in earnest on Monday, and a record crowd anticipated at the four-day Leopardstown racing festival.
A small number of shops will be open on St Stephen's Day, traditionally a day of rest from the holiday shopping-fest.
But at 9 a.m. on Monday, most high-street outlets, including Brown Thomas and Clerys in Dublin, will open their doors for the start of the post-Christmas sales.
Leopardstown, meanwhile, is hoping to lure punters out into the cold with a guaranteed jackpot of €40,000 on each of the first three days of its festival.
Racecourse entrance fees are €16 for the grandstand, €28 for the reserved enclosure and €85 for a four-day ticket.
There is a 10 per cent discount for booking of over 20 people, while students and OAPs will be charged €8 to the grandstand.
Limerick's four-day racing festival also begins, weather permitting, on Sunday.
As for Christmas Day, those looking to build up an appetite before dinner can partake in traditional hearty pursuits, like a morning swim at the Forty Foot in Sandycove, Dublin, or the Goal Mile, which this year is taking place in several towns throughout Ireland.
Among the towns taking part are Tralee, Carlow, Mullingar, Letterkenny, Ennis, Tullamore, Waterford, Ballina, and Dunleer, Co Louth, while the flagship Goal Mile takes place at Belfield in Dublin on Christmas morning.
Other events on St Stephen's Day include the annual Wren Boys Festival at Sandymount Green, Dublin, which this year is in aid of the Open Door Day Care Centre in Bray, Co Wicklow.
Sunday will also see the opening of Funderland at the RDS in Dublin, the annual funfair which will run until January 16th.
Alternative attractions in the capital include 7UP Christmas on Ice at the RDS, which will be open between 12.10 p.m. and 10.30 p.m. on St Stephen's Day; and Smithfield on Ice, which reopens on Monday.
Monday also sees the Abbey Theatre in Dublin host a day of family activities to mark the theatre's 100th birthday.
Street theatre, music and storytelling are among the attractions from 12.30 p.m. onwards.
