Exploring what’s on your doorstep: Culture Date with Dublin 8

‘Culture Date with Dublin 8’ is set to take place on 14th and 15th of May this year with events, tours, workshops, and activities planned for across the district.

Culture Date with Dublin 8 is a neighbourhood initiative that began in 2017 to encourage people in the area to visit local attractions.

The programme is hosted by establishments including the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Kilmainham Gaol, Phoenix Park, The Irish National War Memorial Gardens, Richmond Barracks, Goldenbridge Cemetery, Christchurch Cathedral, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Edward Worth Library, Marsh’s Library and the National Archives.

“The idea behind the initiative is to really engage with people who live and work in the area to explore what’s on their doorsteps and to invite them to understand their local history and culture as well as reaching out to visitors of Dublin for them to see how the city can extend beyond places like the Guinness Storehouse,” said Grace McEvoy, project manager of Culture Date with Dublin 8.

Most of the events in the initiative are free to the public.

“The programme works like a festival style event, so we call it the May Weekender. This year we have a flagship event with the Guinness choir in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral so that will be a ticketed event but most of the programme is free,” said McEvoy.

The programme gives people the opportunity to try things they would not be able to usually.

“In previous years we had locations like Kilmainham Gaol do specialty tours that opened up different parts of the jail that you wouldn’t see on a regular tour. We also had cathedrals give access to people to ring the bells in the tower so we try to highlight hidden histories or unusual parts of Dublin that you wouldn’t normally have access to,” said McEvoy.

The initiative is expected to become a bigger event in the future.

“The long-term goal is to boost tourism in the area and expand the programming partners eventually. I would love to see shops, pubs, restaurants, cafes, and performances added to the programme as well and that it might even become like a week-long festival celebrating Dublin 8 in the future but at the moment we’re focusing on the museums and cultural institutions,” added McEvoy.

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