Event Guide: Forbidden Fruit, Swell Season and the other best things to do in Ireland this week
Event of the week
Borris House Festival of Writing and Ideas
Friday-Sunday, June 6th-8th, Borris, Co Carlow, €265/€94/€70, all events sold out (returns only),
festivalofwritingandideas.com
The words 'all events sold out' rarely apply to festivals where most of guests are writers, academics, journalists, cognitive psychologists, record producers, musicians and actors. This annual gathering shatters the perception that literary events are niche. The line-up is weighty, to say the least, with the likes of Fiona Shaw, Margaret Drabble, Steven Pinker, Rupert Everett, Elaine Feeney, John Banville and Denise Gough chatting across the weekend to anyone who will listen. Music in the onsite venue (aka the Rookery) includes performances by Villagers, Glen Hansard, Kate Ellis, Martin Hayes, MayKay and Jerry Fish.
Gigs
Morrissey
Saturday, May 31st, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, €68.70,
ticketmaster.ie
Morrissey celebrated his 66th birthday last week, so we can presume he will continue to write songs that are based, according to his biographer Johnny Rogan, on 'endlessly re-examining a lost, painful past'. Whether or not that's true, the contentious singer-songwriter arrives in Ireland on the back of nine postponed US shows (caused by severe sinusitis) and two unreleased albums (Bonfire of Teenagers and Without Music the World Dies). As ever, fan loyalty remains high.
Forbidden Fruit
Saturday and Sunday, May 31st and June 1st, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin, 1pm, €174/€99/€89, ticketmaster.ie
Forbidden Fruit: Jazzy
The first open-air festival of the summer returns with two days of contemporary techno, soul, neojazz, electronic, pop, rock and the proverbial whatever you're having yourself. Audience favourites include Jamie xx, Underworld, Caribou, Jazzy and Peggy Gou. Emerging music acts that might be unfamiliar to Irish gig-goers include two treasures from Australia, Mail Grab and Glass Beams, and two acts making their Irish debut, New York's Fcukers and Germany's Bunt. Kudos to the promoters, also, for featuring up-and-coming Irish acts such as Pastiche, Shiv, Negro Impacto, Celaviedmai, KhakiKid, Cliffords and Bold Love.
The Swell Season
Saturday and Sunday, May 31st and June 1st, NCH, Dublin, 7.30pm, €55,
nch.ie
The Swell Season
Almost 20 years after they formed as The Swell Season and then appeared as two struggling musicians in John Carney's charming lo-fi movie Once, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová reunite for a European and US tour in support of their forthcoming album, Forward, their first album as a duo in 16 years. Expect to hear new material, then, but also the songs that started it all, including Falling Slowly, When Your Mind's Made Up, and This Low.
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Galway Folk Festival
Wednesday-Sunday, June 4th-8th, Monroe's, Galway city, various times/prices,
galwayfolkfestival.com
Galway Folk Festival: The Scratch
Another round of applause for the Galway Folk Festival, which manages to secure the services of not only noted singer-songwriters but also handfuls of emerging folk/trad/hybrid music acts. Most are performing in various rooms, corners, nooks and crannies of Monroe's pub, so if you're looking for a quiet beverage, best think again. If, however, you're in search of acts that deliver classic songwriting (Lloyd Cole, Wednesday, June 4th, Town Hall, 7.30pm, €40), boisterous behaviour (The Scratch, Friday, June 6th, 9pm, sold out), quality musicianship (Kíla, Saturday, June 7th, 7pm, €25), and rigorous confessions (Martha Wainwright, Sunday, June 8th, 7pm, €35), then you've come to the right place. Many free events are also included in the festival line-up.
Stage
The Cave
Friday, June 6th until Friday, July 18th, Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm, €50/€45/€33,
abbeytheatre.ie
Any new work by Kevin Barry is worth your attention, and his new play (which receives its world premiere here) is no exception. The brothers McRae, Archie (Tommy Tiernan) and Bopper (Aaron Monaghan) are on the run from the authorities and roughing it in a cave in the mountains of south Co Sligo. They fret about the strength of wifi signals, obsess about an obscure Mexican celebrity, and worry about being discovered by a curious local Garda sergeant (Judith Roddy). Caitríona McLaughlin directs. Following the Dublin run, the play will transfer to Galway's Town Hall Theatre, from Tuesday, July 22nd, until Saturday, July 26th, as part of the Galway International Arts Festival.
Falling to Earth – My Summer with Bowie
Wednesday and Thursday, June 4th and 5th, Theatre Royal, Waterford, 8pm, €21,
theatreroyal.ie
; Friday, June 6th, Everyman, Cork, 8pm, €26,
everymancork.com
Be careful what you wish for, and other associated hopes might be the core message of this acclaimed one-man show about pub bouncer Scut Kelly (Stephen Jones), whose sole comfort in an otherwise drab, rural existence is the music of the titular songwriter. Also, Saturday, June 7th, Axis, Ballymun, Wednesday June 11th, Civic Theatre, Tallaght, Thursday, June 12th/Friday, June 13th, DLR Mill Theatre, Dundrum (all Dublin); Saturday, June 14th, Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, Co Wicklow; from Thursday, June 19th until Saturday, June 21st, Lyric Theatre, Belfast. See venues for full details.
Comedy
Solve-Along-A Murder-She-Wrote
Tuesday and Wednesday, June 3rd and 4th, Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, 8pm, €25,
paviliontheatre.ie
Murder, She Wrote poster, from Tony Clayton-Lea for The Guide, Saturday, May 31, 2025.
Making its debut at the Pavilion, this successful cult comedy stage show features an interactive screening of Sing a Song of Murder, a much-favoured episode of the television mystery series Murder, She Wrote. Accompanied by a series-related quiz and a race against time to uncover the identity of the TV show's killer, audience participation is welcome if not encouraged. Your host is playwright, author and Murder, She Wrote obsessive Tim Benzie.
Still running
Emma Rawicz
Wednesday, June 4th, Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, 8pm, €15,
regionalculturalcentre.com
; Thursday, June 5th, Hawk's Well Theatre, Sligo, 8pm, €20,
hawkswell.com
; Friday, June 6th, Roscommon Arts Centre, 8pm, €20,
roscommonartscentre.ie
Emma Rawicz
One of the most hotly tipped rising performers in jazz, saxophonist Emma Rawicz steers her band (pianist Elliot Galvin, bassist Kevin Glasgow, and drummer Asaf Sirkis) on a nationwide tour that continues until Friday, June 13th. Visit
musicnetwork.ie
for full details.
Book it this week
Jade, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, October 8th, ticketmaster.ie
David O'Doherty, Vicar Street, Dublin, October 10th/11th, ticketmaster.ie
These New Puritans, Workman's Club, Dublin, November 10th, ticketmaster.ie
Wolf Alice, 3Arena, Dublin, December 10th, ticketmaster.ie
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