Totally Dublin 76 by Totally Dublin

January 2011 // FREE // totallydublin.ie

New Year Cheer with... Nice Clothes Darkstar Adult Swim Ger Dowling

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it’s what’s inside that counts

contents 76

8 Entry Level For your health!

50 Gastro Flatlining after food coma.

10 Roadmap This is Happening. Capital H Happening.

58 Print Keeping reading glasses in business.

14 Threads Sales binge guidance.

59 Audio Hot tip for 2011: New Orleans sissy bounce.

16 Skinheads Oi!

60 Film As stuttering as a king’s speech.

22 Winter Sun January blues, via moody models.

62 Games That we can play.

26 Ger Dowling The wheels on his house go round and round. 31 Listings Including Darkstar and the Temple Bar Tradfest.

Dear children of the Universe, 48 Barﬂy Minted.

I have spent these last three months connected to the cosmic strands that bind us, past, present, and future together in universal harmony. In incubation I have visited the battlefields of the Dharmic war and spent time in interstellar travel, and I have fished from the aquatic triplicty my Super Fun Prophecies For 2011. r

Cadbury’s release chocolate-coated Monster Munch crisps. Irish race becomes massively lazy from overconsumption. The Rubberbandits win 2011 X-Factor, release power-ballad, go international.

14 new burrito joints open.

Coddle becomes Dublin’s new hip lunch fix.

The Dail is captured by angry pensioners, coup d’etat staged by octogenarians leads to year of peace as country stays indoors, watching Winning Streak and eating Chocolate Monster Munch.

credits where credit’s due

first things first

Totally Dublin 56 Upper Leeson St. Dublin 4 (01) 687 0695

Food Editor Katie Gilroy 087 7551533 food@hkm.ie

Publisher Stefan Hallenius stefan@hkm.ie (01) 687 0695 087 327 1732

Arts Editor Rosa Abbott rosa.abbott@gmail.com

Editorial Director Peter Steen-Christensen peter@hkm.ie (01) 687 0695 Editor and Web Editor Daniel Gray editor@totallydublin.ie (01) 687 0695

Advertising Stefan Hallenius stefan@hkm.ie (01) 687 0695 087 327 1732 Distribution Kamil Zok kamil@hkm.ie

Art Director Lauren Kavanagh lauren@hkm.ie (01) 687 0695

A great king of terror will rise. Roy Keane becomes Irish manager.

Snow.

Death.

Taxes.

Read more at www.totallydublin.ie

Totally Dublin.

Totally Dublin is a monthly HKM Media publication and is distributed from 500 selected distribution points.

Contributors Emma Brereton Kenneth Clark Ollie Dowling Sarah Flanagan Ciaran Gaynor Patrick Hough John Hyland Zoe Jellicoe Roisin Kiberd Ian Lamont Charlene Lydon Fuchsia Macaree Karl McDonald James McLoughlin Oisín Murphy Jeannie O’Brien Paddy O’Mahoney Conor O’Toole Derek Owens Cap’n Pug

All advertising enquiries contact (01) 668 8185

My foresight has not failed me thus. When twenty years of the Moon’s reign have passed another will take up his reign for seven thousand years. Right? Nostradamus

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without the permission from the publishers. The views expressed in Totally Dublin are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily shared by the magazine or its staff. The magazine welcomes ideas and new contributors but can assume no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations.

Totally Dublin ISSN 1649-511X

Cover image: Skinhead by James McLoughlin

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Adult Swim Words Daniel Gray Picture Fuchsia Macaree et’s look at some simple demographics. Only two groups of people can be banked on to watch cartoons after 11pm: children with bad parents, and stoners. And if there’s one thing children with bad parents and stoners like to see, it’s three anthropomorphic food-mutants foiling a foulmouthed monster spider in a Huggies nappy attempting to drill a hole to Hell to further his global diet-pill-pyramid-based agenda using only his innate rapping skills. Right? Conceived in 2001 as a platform for more cock-joke-oriented animators working under the Cartoon Network umbrella, AS programming tropes include non-sequiturstrewn dialogue, gross-out cheap shots, and brute-force anti-humour. If you’re going to take up an AS habit, it’ll likely involve streaming the patchy library of AdultSwim.co.uk, and filling in the gaps through trusty old Rapidshare. Its most popular shows are a perfectly representative triumvirate of what AS is all about. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is one of the station’s flagship shows, and a spinoff movie and six series later, is still as uncompromisingly abrupt and profoundly insane as at its foundation. Sample plot: Master Shake (the one that’s a giant milkshake) and Frylock (the one that’s a hovering, oversized box of chips) take a job at a meat-liquidizing fast-food chain, and hire a Robositter to take care of Meatwad (the one that’s a wad of meat) due to his predilection for getting high on prescription tablets from the communal medicine cabinet. And that’s it. Aqua Teen’s script is often improvised, then redrawn to fit later, and as much of the laughs are found in visual gags, allowing each ten minute-ish episode the snack-size satisfaction of its heroes. Other Adult Swim animations (Sealab 2021, Metalocalypse) approach similar levels of ludicrousness plotwise, though often without the baked consistency of Aqua Teen. Next up is the Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. Tim Heidecker and Eric Warheim specialize in spazzed-out sketch parodies of American public access television, all grimy 90s graphics, over-cooked make-up, and fat suits. The show is more often psychological terrorism than comedy - John C. Reilly’s recurring character Dr. Steve Brule has earned his own (frankly terrible) spin-off show as a fusty, incoherent chat-show doctor who offers nuggets of health advice such as “Spend a lot of your time on Sundays making sammiches for the rest of the week, then you’re prepared, ya turkey”. Other highlights include anything from a series of mock ads for ‘Cinco’ products (which make JML knife

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sets look like a good investment). You could navigate an entire episode of the Awesome Show without a laugh, but once you’ve got an internal roadmap for the humour, you’re digging gold. Last up to the plate: Delocated. Adult Swim at its most Ronseal, Delocated lays its raison d’etre out in the opening credits: What happens when you take a small-town family, move them to New York under the witness protection program, and give them their own reality show? Gimmicky as all hell (the family can’t go out in public without black balaclavas and have their voices pitched down several octaves), the show’s creators eke admirable amounts of comedic blood out of a particularly anemic stone, with its recent second series offered double-length episodes due to popularity. Delocated is indicative of the more polished, situationbased comedy Adult Swim now commissions - less brave, certainly, though still an ace in the hole while King of Queens owns the airwaves. Great job!

START HERE ›››››››››››

Childrens Hospital Originally a Warner Brothers commission, this hospital-drama parody has probably too many Jewish jokes to work on any other network. Childrens Hospital sprays brain jelly and body juices all over the former set of Scrubs, and features ruminations such as: ‘A hospital isn’t a place for lazy people. It’s a place for smart people to take care of people who aren’t smart enough to keep themselves healthy.’ Also features the Fonz and Michael Cera, currently kicking lumps out of Adult Swim’s ratings. RIYL Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. Music Adult Swim’s creative quarter are musical gourmands with a hankering for only the finest electronic and hip-hop labels. Their collaborations include providing samples for the Danger Mouse and MF Doom sideproject, Dangerdoom, videos for Flying Lotus, MGMT, Major Lazer and Health (predominantly via Tim & Eric), and mix CDs with label rosters from Ghostly International and Def Jux, amongst others. Merchandise Adult Swim’s online shop goes above and beyond the DVD boxset and American Apparel-printed tee merch standard. Available items include Delocated ski masks, Robot Chicken-brand engorged gummi bears, and a 90000 cubic centimetre-sized Meatwad hot air balloon. Unfortunately, they won’t deliver it outside of America, so you’ll have to buy it there and fly back in it.

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United Bamboo

United Bamboo know that the cat calendar will always have its place in our affections, but this ain’t your average Calendar Club fare. Pudding-faced cuties might feature heavily, but each is dressed in the NY label’s ready-to-wear, including sequinned evening dresses and a sharplycut boating jacket. Each image is accompanied by an anecdote by the subjects owner. Surreal and a little bit sinister, though still overwhelmingly cute. Available from www.unitedbamboo.com

Calendar of Silly Holidays by Dirty Bandits

The work of Brooklyn-based illustrator and all-round design bandit Annica Lyndenberg, this typographical wonder highlights a new ludicrous feast day for each month, lightening up even the cruellest months with ‘Complement Your Mirror Day’ and ‘No Housework Day’. Available from supermarkethq.com

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Richard Kern for Ruckercorp Calendar

You might think that a calendar advertising wooden furniture might be a little, um, wooden. But throw in Vice photographer-in-chief and a team of delicious, artfully grungy naked women, and the ‘company calendar’ becomes a whole lot more memorable. Chipped nail polish and woodchip chairs never looked so good. Available from www.ruckercorp.com

Zom-Papercraft Build-aZombie Calendar

Remove the head and destroy the brain. Though not before the month is out. The Build-a-Zombie Paper Craft Calendar allows you to turn each monthy sheet into a model zombie, amassing a shelf-full of the blood-hungry critters by the end of the year. Bring yours to work for hours of brainless desktop amusement. Available from www.thinkgeek.com

Pug Life

This really doesn’t need explanation. Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter, it’s always Pug Time. Look into their glassy, bulbous eyes and you’ll find sympathy. Calm yourself by gazing on their crinkled visages, counting all the ponderous folds. The internet throws up a wealth of ‘pugtography’ editions, but the best of canine merch - including the alliterative ‘Pug Petit-point Pillow’- can be found at www.rottweilergifts.com.

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B&O Headphones 20% less for Totally Dublin Readers. The perfect gift.

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Words Daniel Gray

Wave Hello

Anybody who can make us sit through three and a half minutes of direct exposure to the music of the Coronas without a resulting vomit-fest is a veritable magician. Meet the wizards: Michael Donnelly, Stevie Russell, and Rebecca Bourke, who form Tidal, a Dublin-based music video company who make pretty videos out of sometimes not-so-pretty songs. Tidal have commercial work with Jacobs and Kitkat, and videos for The Gorgeous Colours, Delorentos, and Miracle Bell in their already-impressive portfolio. Check it - www.tidal.ie

Up For Election

As much as we adore the sight of Prionsias De Rossa beaming down at us from telephone poles come every election, we appreciate the medium for far greater creativity in the little-regarded medium of election posters. UpStart is a non-profit arts collective which aims to put creativity at the centre of public consciousness during the Irish General Election Campaign in 2011. Their scheme is to round up submissions from around 500 artists, photographers, designers and writers, duplicate them, and mount them throughout Dublin city throughout the campaign. The less dextrally-expressive amongst us can help out too - musicians and video-makers are welcome to offer their work for UpStartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a commendable and ambitious project, so do what you can, while you can.

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Words Daniel Gray

Ink Inc.

Inklude collective is a group of illustrators who come together to make mistakes, to learn and to draw. “We’re an inclusive group and we welcome everyone, all styles, all media, all ideas! Set up in July, the first meeting was over mexican food. Now it’s moved to the lovely Exchange Dublin, where we have our meetings over tea. Sharing information, ideas and experience we’ve worked together on posters, murals, and a zine. We organised our first exhibition last month in the exchange and just printed a cute Inklude calendar in time for Christmas. We’re always looking for new members, and hope for some fun and interesting projects in 2011.” inkludecollective.blogspot.com

Tattskis

As anyone who’s seen Eastern Promises will tell you, the Russian mob are a fairly scary bunch. Get caught with one of their unique gang tattoos and you might find yourself sleeping with the fishes. However, should you want a little gangster appeal without any permanent (shudder) results, MIR Clothing company might be your best option. The line of shirts, leggings and cotton basics feature traditional criminal tattoo art, with an explanation of the meaning and history of each design delivered along with every item. Snarling sternfaced cats peer out from the back of hoodies, while t-shirts are stamped skulls and the odd ‘Imperial Owl’ (apparently a favourite among cat burglars). See more at http://www.etsy.com/shop/MiR1

Triple Timepiece Threat

Tick tock, what’s the condition? With the ever-impending arrival of Hot Sauce Committee Part 1, the Beastie Boys have collaborated with Cali watchmakers Nixon on a collection of four maritime watches (because, you know, the Beasties are all about the surf). The loud, Crayola-coloured timepieces are made yet louder with a picture of Mike D holding a bottle of Cognac on the face, guaranteeing that it’s always Beastie-o’clock. Ch-ch-check it out at collette.fr

Hawt

Prada aren’t always known for Pop style, but this season sees them coming over all Basquiat with a micro-line of graffiti-inspired jewellery and accessories. Gold-plated single word slogans adorn belts, bags and, best of all, earrings. Enamelled and a bright lipstick pink, the earrings are clip-on so even needlephobes can get their style fix. We like this ‘HOT’ red pair the best, and at €120 they’re the most wallet-friendly piece of Prada this side of Moore St. See http://www.prada.com

Poker-Polish

Ever since those long metallic claws in the Just Dance video, Gaga has always been about the nail colour (though you’d be forgiven for not noticing, what with the rampant crotch-grabbing and wigs). Perhaps inspired by the success of MAC’s Viva Glam Gaga lipstick, make-up man Francois Nars has created two nail colours in her honour, a creamy, glacial lilac called ‘Pokerface’ and a more chic, restrained taupe called ‘Bad Influence’. €18 each, available from Brown Thomas

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The film Mad Max presents a post-apocalyptic world populated by gangs of feral youths with strange clothes and dodgy haircuts. If currently Ireland is at economic Ground Zero, then our own road gangs stand around Temple Bar, showing off polished boots and standing around Heavenly Hotdogs. The Goths and metalheads aim to scare, with their deathslogans tshirts and noserings, but the only teenage subculture with a legitimate air of menace are the Skinheads. A small and puzzling minority, it’s hard not to be intimidated, even harder not to believe the sensationalist documentaries, the tabloid news and films like Romper Stomper. Shane Meadows’ This is England helped bring Skinhead to a wider audience, but it also rooted the movement in a distinct time and place. Would anyone these days take a razor to their head and sign up to a distinctly 80s sub-cult with an unwanted rep for Nazi-ism? Who’d bring that kind of trouble on their head? The skinheads I meet are teenagers; Chris, Harry and ‘Fedex’, part of a far greater Dublin scene. We meet at Heavenly in Temple Bar, where the staff seem to know them well. It’s the first day of a fortnight of Dublin snow, and I find myself wondering what these guys do when their heads get cold. They take their cues from older skins who they meet around pubs like The Foggy Dew and The Pint, and see themselves as inheritors of the Irish branch of an international phenomenon. Isolated from its political leanings in Britain, and, more notoriously, in America, Irish skinheads choose to focus on Skinhead’s cultural side; Ska, oi and reggae music, best enjoyed live. Appearance and clothing come second, as a means of marking them out as part of a gang. Fred Perry is preferable, but it’s not unheard of to get your plaid from Penney’s. Behaviour is where authenticity really counts, where the true ‘skin for life’ shows through. A skin takes no shit, and will readily defend him or herself at signs of trouble. Chris and his friends relate a Rathmines parable illustrating their code; ‘We were at the Swan Centre, and this guy came up asking us for weed, and I said “Nah, fuck off. We don’t do drugs”. He came back and kicked the cigarette out of my hand. I told him “fuck off, I’m gonna give you two chances and you can fuck off”. He came back and did it again, I said “Listen, just fuck off and leave us alone”. There were about ten of them, and just me and Fedex, but they went away.’ One has to wonder what other kids make of them, teenagers rebuilding a past they were never alive to see, known only through films, web forums and books like Spirit of ‘69: A Skinhead Bible. Fedex’s real name is Hungarian and difficult to spell. He knows all the foreign skins in Dublin, and was raised by skinhead parents. For him it has only ever been a way of life, though he admits to sometimes feeling ‘a bit out of place’. One of the main draws in being Skinhead

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words Roisin Kiberd photos James McLoughline

is knowing that you’re part of a pack; ‘It’s empowering knowing that you’re part of something, and that what you’re part of is over fifty years old, that your uncles, or your ma or your auntie was a part of it too’. A skin is nothing without pride. Pride in where you come from, and pride in being a Skinhead. The movement seems to survive on little more than selfpossession; it’s little surprise that a key Skinhead symbol is the Trojan helmet. ‘You find the one with the biggest voice, find him and scare him’, says Fedex, like he’s been in these situations before. ‘My grandad taught me that. If anyone gives you trouble, just find the leader and loaf him in the nose.’ Though they’re keen to dispel the image of the angry young Skinhead who goes out looking for aggro. Chris reasons, ‘We’re not gonna go glorifying violence, but if you have to use it, then kick the fuck outta them.’ Fedex corrects him. ‘You don’t kick the fuck out of them, you tell them first. Warn them if they keep it up, then you’ll kick them. First time I’m gonna warn you, second time a bit aggressive. Third time a lot more. And fourth time I’ll beat you. But I was always better with my words than with my fists.’ Bad press is the biggest threat to their collective identity; army trials, football hooligans (‘football violence has been pinned on skins for years’ Chris asserts) and the odd tabloid story all contribute. And there’s the far darker threat of Nazi movements linking themselves to skins, White Supremacism in America and Eastern Europe, the seeds of which has taken root even in Dublin. ‘If some guys showed up Seig Heil-ing at one of our gigs, they’d get their heads kicked in’, says Chris. They’re a small but headlinegrabbing minority, drawing the worst kind of attention to the Skinhead cause. Even the relatively good exposure afforded by Meadows’ This is England has had its pitfalls; ‘Aside from all the racism stuff, you get all these posers getting into it now after the film. It was an

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fine cuts POLISHING DOCS WITH DUBLIN’S SKINHEAD INHERITORS.

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accurate portrayal, the TV series was fairly traumatic... And the kid who starred in it was good. Ugly little bollocks.’ They’re keen to keep their scene small, and confident it will stay firmly underground. ‘I’d be happy to see more lads who are true to it,’ says Chris, who already has the traditional cross tattooed on his finger, alongside other homemade inkings which his parents think are biro. ‘But if it gets too big then it’ll get violent. Thugs coming in’. Nazism seems to have only infiltrated Skin culture later on. It ticks all the boxes any watcher of Louis Theroux documentaries would expect; characterising itself as ‘Nationalism’, a fondness for popping pills and getting shit-faced by day and travelling round in gangs, dressed in black leather and boots with coded lacing (‘Black laces for new ones, white for someone who has committed a hate crime, red for someone who has blood on their boots’). The scale of Dublin’s Skinhead scene means that racist and non-political Skinhead circles frequently overlap. “We stick together as much as we can,’ Chris explains. ‘Some of the ones who say they’re Nazi can be sound enough. If they can put politics behind them and just focus on the Skin lifestyle, that’s something we can get behind. But if a guy comes in and is just like “I hate black people”, they should probably just fuck off.” Christian and Fedex’s lifestyle is oddly retrograde. Their exaggeratedly macho way of life translates into a kind of chivalry; you always warn before you kick, you don’t go looking for trouble. The ideal Skinhead is humble, hard-working and clean-cut in a roundabout way. Half-boy scout, half-Sniffin Glue, he will shun ‘hippie’ drugs and pills, be proud of his country and engage in traditional lad pursuits like football and rounds of Guinness. It’s rare enough that teenage boys are quite this eager to show they care, their dedication made visible in boots polished twice-weekly, and desperate tattoos of band names etched into their arms with a safety pin. They are uncommonly well-spoken, maybe the residual effect of having to justify oneself all the time, and take pride in a smart appearance. While you can learn Goth from TV or My Chemical Romance web forums, the skins take a genuinely grassroots approach. ‘We were skaters years ago, got into punk, and from there started hanging round with skins,’ Christian explains. ‘I’ve been into the music three years now, but it’s only a year and half I’ve been dressing this way’. The scene isn’t always visible - pubs you might never have seen as in any way remarkable turn out to have a Skinhead clientele - but it has stayed strong by being kept in families. ‘My uncle is a skin,’ says Chris. ‘He still wears his boots to work. He tells me which bands to check out. You can find Skinhead records in Dublin if you look, stuff like the Foreskins... I found the Cockney Rejects, who used to be banned,

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in HMV’. As for clothes, authenticity is a luxury rather than necessity; ‘I’d like to have the names, Fred Perry, Ben Sherman.. the vintage stuff has a sentimental value. But we just get our clothes mostly from Penney’s. They take far more pride in a smart appearance than their peers; ‘People think we look like thugs, to me it’s the guys in mullets and tracksuits who look like thugs. We’re all about looking neat and smart, shirt buttoned all the way up, braces holding up my trousers, hair cropped, boots polished’. The skins are hated for being perceived as full of hate, and yet spend vast amounts of time explaining their own hatred of Nazi skins who gatecrash their gigs. ‘They’re saying ‘we hate you, because you hate’. We don’t hate. We hate the ones that do hate’. The cycle completes itself, helped along by media sensationalism. One has to wonder if they know the wider context of what they’ve singed up to. ‘We’ve been refused onto buses. I’ve had shit thrown at me, these kids started throwing glass bottles at me, hit me in the face. We went to Starbucks and were refused in there to clean up the blood. Discrimination is inevitable in Dublin. There’s this sense just walking down the street that everyone hates you’. Skinheads are so forbidding to outsiders, not least because their look and culture has been tapped by S&M fans and white supremacists. I ask whether they feel alienated from their peers, or whether they seek to differentiate themselves on purpose. ‘Its the older generations who get it, oddly enough. It’s funny, one of the monks in my boarding school was a Skinhead in the seventies. A few of my teachers were too. Teenagers like us, who feel alienated from everything they want to do... you’d think in these times they’d identify with us more. But they’re the ones we’re getting shit from’. Within skin circles, older skins are only too happy to welcome fresh cuts into the fold. Fedex explains, ‘They’re happy that at least there are still people around who know what a traditional Skinhead is’. ‘Its not a style so much as a way of life, a mentality’ says Fedex. As a group, the skins I meet are tight-knit and dedicated, protectors and inheritors of a rich and complex cultural history. In Dublin they’re happy to share stomping ground with the punks and the rockabillys, and any others found on society’s margins. But unlike other scenes, Skinhead implies a history loaded with bad connotations, and a history of violence. It’s odd to see skins fully signed-up, taking on the burden so young. ‘Skinhead isn’t just for whites or Catholics,’ says Christian. ‘It’s for whites, blacks... I know Asian trad Skinheads. Anyone and everyone. It’s getting big again, it’ll probably get bigger, and then it’ll die down again and you’ll be left with people like me and Harry and Fedex, we’ll be the only ones. It goes up and down. But what I find good about it is its survived fifty years already, and it has no sign of stopping yet. It’s like punk, it’s not dead, it’s having its sleep’. ■

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18km from the Spire

13.3km from the Spire

Powerscourt

28.2km from the Spire

Beautifully restored after a fire in 1974, Powerscourt house itself looks out over gigantic and pristinely maintained grounds (€6 entrance). Powerscourt waterfall (Ireland’s highest) is definitely worth the hike, but for those less prone to rambling there is still plenty on offer. Re-enact a scene with your favourite Jane Austen heroine in the walled gardens, explore the Japanese gardens and fauxmedieval tower or check out the slightly eerie pet’s cemetery. Avoca Handweavers provide their usual selection of goodies and food from a shop in the manor. Directions: Killiney Hill Rd. South ---> M11 ---> West along R760

Dalkey Only half an hour drive from Dublin city centre, Powerscourt house and gardens are well worth a visit. On your way south, stop in the miniature seaside town of Dalkey for a wander along the coast. For the adventurous go down to the rocky beach, but otherwise head towards Loreto Abbey. The bakery on Castle Street always has a sumptuous collection of pastries to keep you sweet until Powerscourt. End your day with another stop in Dalkey, this time for a tipple in The Queen’s on Castle Street. This horseshoe shaped bar is perfect for a fatigued postPowerscourt hot chocolate or a cheeky pint for non-drivers. Directions: N11 South ---> Kill Lane ---> Upper Glenageary Rd. ---> Barnhill Rd.

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Glendalough Almost unparalleled by any other countryside in Ireland, Glendalough stands apart, with it’s uniquely impressive landscape and ruins, and great variety of flora and fauna. The valley is home to a ruined Monastic city in which an immense round tower stands, 30m high (originally constructed to hide from Vikings). The valley was carved out by glaciers, and is also home to Glendalough’s gigantic scary lakes. The nine different walking trails vary in intensity: if you’re just in the mood for

a relaxed amble, take the Miners’ Road Walk (which skirts one side of the Upper Lake and passes through woodland before reaching the creepy abandoned miners’ village) the Bronze Route which leads to the Poulanass waterfall and St. Kevin’s Cell. If you reckon feral goats and Peregrine Falcons are for sissys, and you fancy yourself a bit of an Edmund Hillary, go for the 9km White Route which leads you on a 380m climb through some of the most spectacular Wicklow scenery. Descend from the Poulanass and a viewing point of the Upper Lake into a blanket bog and heath, towards to Glenealo Valley which is home to a large herd of deer. The trail finishes in the Glendalough Valley. 28.2km SW down R755 ---> West on R760

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WINTERSUN Photography Jeannie Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien Styling Sarah Flanagan

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Credits Photography: Jeannie Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien Styling: Sarah Flanagan Make-up: Kate Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly (www.kateoreillymakeup.com) Hair: Maurice Flynn Model: Amber at Morgan

Shot 1 High night neck lace top - Oasis Skirt - River Island Tights - Topshop Shot 2 vintage lace dress - Harlequin tights - Topshop Black lace up boots - Topshop Shot 3 Black and White dress worn as top - Topshop Velvet skirt - Miss Selfridge Shot 4 White lace dress - River Island Fake fur scarf - Miss Selfridge Tights - Topshop Shot 5 Black lace vintage dress - Jenny Vandor

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Despite living in peaceful isolation, Gerard Dowling seems intensely interested in the violence, greed and destruction of the real world. The reclusive artist works out of a Middle Abbey Street house much to the chagrin of Dublin City Council (they’ve been trying to evict him for years) and hasn’t exhibited here in over a decade, but there are still echoes of Dublin in all his work. He stands in his doorway, looking across the street at Arnotts and ruminating on how greed drove the department store into bankruptcy. At one point, he veers into a tangent about a teenage girl who, decades ago, was drenched in petrol and set alight. He proudly shows several photographs of windows smashed in anger, which he plans to enlarge for a future exhibition. The bulk of his art materials, though, are still salvaged from the streets and the Liffey – Since 1991, he’s been clambering down to the river bed at low tide to hunt for interesting pieces of junk. Dowling takes that junk back to his sprawling, dimly-lit studio and works to turn it into “recycled art”. The results fill three rooms on the ground floor, giving it the appearance of a bizarre treasure trove. Some creations have a nightmarish feel, with wrought iron twisted into strangely disturbing shapes. Others have a strange sense of wonder – Dowling turned used computer parts and Christmas lights into what looks like a futuristic cityscape. His work, he says, gets a bit more attention abroad than here. “The last Irish exhibition was at ENFO in ’99. I spent a couple of years working on an exhibition for America then. That took me two years. It takes a long time to get an exhibition together for overseas – there’s a lot of customs and bureaucrats to deal with. But they appreciate it more in foreign countries than they do at home,” says Dowling, who says he just about broke even on his stateside trip. “The next exhibition, the one in Austria, is going to be different, just from the soundings of what people are saying. They’re not trying to put me on an ego trip. They have a lot of respect for recycling and the message behind it: rather than dictating to someone. You present something that’s there and they get the idea too.” He has various explanations for Ireland’s comparatively slow embrace of the form – an underdeveloped art scene, religious influences and the truism that “prophets are never recognised in their own country.” For someone used to self-effacing interviewees and false humility, the comment is startling. Still, Dowling lives like a kind of contemporary prophet, even if he restricts his preaching to highlighting chewing gum on the footpaths by painting it in lurid pink (he was fined, of course, but notes proudly that the gum gets cleaned up now) and a piece made with soldered-together bicycles that he sets up on his railings: when passers-by look at it, he gives its single wheel a twirl and smiles in satisfaction. Most of the time, though, Dowling isn’t particularly interested in other people – he hasn’t been

TOTALLY DUBLIN

words Roisin Kiberd photos James McLoughline

No man is an island, you say? Tell that to artist Gerard Dowling, who’s been working alone in his Abbey Street studio for decades. Words Derek Owens Pictures Patrick Hough www.totallydublin.ie

www.totallydublin.ie

TOTALLY DUBLIN

several decades. “I’m from Ballyfermot, but I moved from there when I was fifteen or sixteen. I was in the seminary at Kimmage Manor in the sixties. I did three years there, and I just gave it up. I kept on running away, they’d send me back, I’d run away... so they gave up,” he says. “Whatever it was about my personality or the way I looked to people, it always seemed that they’d try to push me around and bully me. I’ve always had to deal with that, but now I don’t.” Dowling’s route into art differed a lot from the straight path followed by contemporary NCAD grads. Even though his father dabbled in art, he did so as a hobby, and his family weren’t particularly keen on Dowling doing it for a living: “most of them knew that I wouldn’t make any money out of it,” he says. He trained in metalwork with his father, and spent part of his twenties making jewellery in Paris, before finally moving in to his Abbey Street home in the 1970s. “I was making jewellery here and then travelling over to Paris and selling it in there. [In Dublin], there wasn’t a big market for exuberant jewellery.” He had the odd notable neighbour – including two elderly ladies who lived in a kind of Georgian time-warp – but, he says, “I didn’t really have any relationship with anyone else in the house.” Over time, all his housemates either died or moved out, and he took over the four-storey building to work in on his own. “I think you need to be isolated to be creative: You need to find your own space and be able to deal with it as well.” Dowling still keeps to himself, even within the Dublin art world: his experience with his American exhibition helped

TOTALLY DUBLIN

ensure that was the case. “I got a contract to do an exhibition in Columbus and, during the negotiations, I got three other artists included in the exhibition: one from Africa, one from America, and an Italian girl. The exhibition was called Mandrake because, if it happened, it was going to be magic. It was a very successful exhibition, everybody was very happy with it. But I’d never do it again – I’d never work with other artists. People kept on trying to mess it up all the time... delaying it to suit themselves. It was one of those arduous climbs up a wall where your nails are leaving scrape marks

behind for ten years,” he laughs. “I’ve made up my mind that I’m never going to work with other artists again. I’d love to, if I could trust them, but you can’t really – because they’re competing. Artists are notoriously jealous of each other.” Dowling’s wariness of people extends to the public too: for all the curiosity and interest he sometimes attracts, he’s leery about opening his door to visitors. “Letting people in here and getting them out are two different things. You know, a lot of people ‘Can I come in and have a look?’ it’s like ‘Can I intrude into your space?’. You know your privacy. It’s one thing if I invite somebody – it’s another thing if they invite themselves,” he says. The honesty (I had, after all, effectively invited myself in) is at once disconcerting and refreshing. If Dowling seems sanguine about intrusions in his life, it’s probably because he knows that he’ll never isolate himself entirely from the real world. His longrunning battle with Dublin City Council over his Abbey Street home-cum-studio hit the courts (and the newspapers) last year – it’s currently sub judice, he says, and he can’t discuss it. That legal tussle began when he set up his soldered-together bicycles, his first piece of recycled art, on his railings in the 1990s – it’s since been broken by passers-by and repaired several times. No matter how much he shuts himself away from people, then, they keep somehow getting at him, but he’s still gamely working away. “I do get depressed now and again,” he admits. “But I’m stubborn. Yeah, there’s a certain amount of ridicule and you develop a certain insulation from it, but I’m enjoying what I’m doing.” ■

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pretty sick. Hopefully we’ll get an album out towards the back end of the year. We’re going to book a couple of months of sessions in March and April and if we can get enough done we’ll have the majority of an album ready to go. Words Ian Lamont Darkstar emerged in a hail of praise when their dubsteppy early 12 inches Need You and Aidy’s Girl’s A Computer emerged all full of 2-step rhythms and ghost-inthe-machine chopped up vocal samples. Needless to say it was a little surprising when their full-length debut North was an album of dark electronica more influenced by Thom Yorke, John Carpenter soundtracks and classic OMD with nary a skittering rimshot to be found anywhere. Totally Dublin picked producer/ composer James Young’s brain ahead of their forthcoming visit. You scrapped a whole different version of your album last year before you making North. Was there a specific point where you thought: “this isn’t working”? No I think it was working. The tracks were working but our tastes had changed. We didn’t really want to make music for clubs anymore. I was still DJing but I wasn’t really putting as much research into finding tracks and we wanted to work on writing. Did covering Radiohead’s Videotape have a big influence on the direction of North? It seems to be a good bridge in between the early singles and the album. Yeah it did have an influence. We hadn’t already decided on the direction. We

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wanted to work with a vocalist and James came in and it worked really well. Is there a rigidly organized division of labour in the band between yourself and Aiden (Whalley)? Well Aiden’s more musical, more musically trained than I am. So sometimes I’ll work more on production. But sometimes I’ll bring in a loop and we’ll work from something like that, it can be anything really. We started a couple of weeks ago working on material for the second record, myself and Aidy and James [Buttery, vocalist] are all writing stuff. So James (Buttery, vocalist) is a part of the creative team now - rather than just the singer like on North? Yeah. Which is good ’cause he’s a good writer. It’s moved on from North but it’s not like the earlier stuff either. It’s hard to tell what it’s like really, it’s so early. Is there other music you’re looking forward to next year beyond your tour? The obvious choice is James Blake. He’s going to come up with something pretty special. I think he’s probably going to blow off into another stratosphere, which he deserves ‘cause his stuff is sick. Burial will probably have something taking shape next year. Kode9’s album – that’s

What’s the live set up going to be for the Dublin show and the tour? We’re just reworking the whole live set now actually. We’re going to have three synths, a couple of drum machines, a vocalist but we’ve got one laptop for certain things. I use something called a Maschine which is basically an MPC [sampler]. So if I can get a USB cable long enough to not put it on stage… but it’s definitely a live show. It’s the first time you’ve done a whole tour rather than just a series of one-off gigs after another - are there nerves? It’s just bad to be with a couple of people for that amount of time! It can get quite tense but at the same time I think we’re all mature enough to leave each other to it when needs be. The shows make up for it as well. If you do a good show, you kind of get into a rhythm of things and you get an appreciation from the audience and it makes everything so much easier. I suppose it’s just killing off the downtime in between that’s the main problem. Yeah, well, I sleep a lot.

Darkstar play the Workman’s Club on February 11th 2011 with support from Visionair and DJ Donal Dineen.

TOTALLY DUBLIN

Words Rosa Abbott

Between Honey and Ashes Two separate but linked exhibitions, with the shared title of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Between Honey and Ashesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, will be opening alongside each other in the Douglas Hyde Gallery on January 21st. The first part, in the main gallery space, comes from a troubled but multi-talented Polish existentialist, Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz (or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Witkacyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, if you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get your tongue around that). As a man whose life was plagued by hallucinogenic drug abuse, war, suicides (including his own, on the brink of Russian invasion in 1939), revolution, family-feuds and political turmoil, you might not be surprised to find dark undertones of anxiety and paranoia in his creative output. What youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re perhaps not expecting, however, is the absurdist humour he throws into the mix - subverting the pessismism of his images and transforming them into something almost light-hearted. In a way, though, this juxtaposition only serves to make them even more tragic. Although Witkiewicz is also celebrated for his writing, philosophy and painting, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Between Honey and Ashesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tends to focus on his photographic oevre, particularly self-portraits and landscapes. The images exhibited were chosen by the contemporary Polish artist Miroslaw Balka, who has produced the accompanying artwork next-door, in the adjoining â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Gallery 2â&#x20AC;&#x2122; space. Born on the closer side of the World War II, Balka has experienced a very different but perhaps equally as troubling political reality to his predecessor; past work has explored the devastation and aftermath of the Holocaust. Famed for his - literally - dark Tate Turbine Hall installation â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How It Isâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (though Dubs might be more likely to have caught his past shows at IMMA), Balka is set to bridge the gap between Witkiewicz and us with a film installation, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;apple Tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. You can also hear him discuss both his and his long-dead fellow exhibitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work at 5pm on January 20th; the exhibition runs from the 21st until March 23rd - staying gloomy until long after youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve shaken off the January blues, but in the best possible way.

Visceral A shift in a more artistic direction by the Science Gallery for with their upcoming exhibition â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Visceralâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; might raise an eyebrow. However the forward-thinking scientific exploration and experimentation weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve come to expect from the innovative centre wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be too far away. Boundaries between art and science are set to be explored in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Visceralâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; from January 28 until February 25, with seventeen different artists presenting award-winning work curated by the key players of SymbioticA - an â&#x20AC;&#x153;artistic laborityâ&#x20AC;? based in Australia. Petri dishes, skin cells, neuronal activity and even the sexuality of insects will be all cropping up in the artworks. Though art and science are two areas that are often thought of as opposite ends of the academic spectrum, they can sometimes sit surprisingly well together. Projects like those at the Science Gallery can allow research to be made in areas which might not otherwise be explored. The wider implications of the exhibition, and the progress it allowed to be made, will be discussed in the series of lectures, workshops and talks which will accompany Visceral - check the Science

Gallery website for details. However, as well as producing benefits for those in white coats, artistic types who dip their toes into scientific ponds get a whole new bunch of devices and aesthetic motifs to play with. They are often walking on less well-trodden ground than others in their profession might be - allowing fresh perspectives, approaches and materials to be incorporated into their work. They probably wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t teach you how to make tissueengineered sculptures or utilise non-coding RNAs over at NCAD, after all.

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TOTALLY DUBLIN

Clubbing weekly January Mondays ■ Upbeat Generation @

Think Tank Think Tank, Temple Bar, D2 Pop, Rock and Soul 11pm ■ Sound Mondays The Turk’s Head, Parliament St & Essex Gate, Temple Bar, D1 Indie, Rock, Garage and Post Punk 11pm, Free ■ Island Culture South William, 52 Sth William St, D2 Caribbean cocktail party Free ■ Dice Sessions The Dice Bar, Queen St, Smithfield, D7 DJ Alley Free

Free, 9pm – 1.30am ■ DJ Darren C Fitzsimons Club, 21-22 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2 Free, 11pm Chart, pop, and dance with a twist ■ Piss-up with Peaches The George, George’s St., D2 Free, 9pm All drinks €4 or less 3 Jagerbombs for €10

Tuesdays ■ C U Next Tuesday Crawdaddy, Old Harcourt St Station, D2 A mix every type of genre guaranteed to keep you dancing until the wee small hours. 11pm, €5

Stephens Street, D2 Gay club night with Annie, Davina and DJ Fluffy 11pm ■ DJ Stephen James Buskers, Temple Bar, D2 Chart Pop, Indie 10pm ■ Funky Sourz Club M, Temple Bar, D2 DJ Andy Preston (FM104) 11pm, €5 ■ Hed-Dandi Dandelion, St. Stephens Green West, D2 DJs Dave McGuire & Steve O ■ Takeover Twentyone Club and Lounge, D’Olier St, D2 Electro, Techno 11pm, €5

■ Play with DJ’s Dany Doll ■ King Kong Club The Village, 26 Wexford St, D2 Musical game show 9pm, Free ■ Soap Marathon Monday/

Mashed Up Monday The George, Sth. Great Georges St, D2 Chill out with a bowl of mash and catch up with all the soaps 6.30pm, Free ■ The Industry Night Break for the Border, 2 Johnstons Place, Lr Stephens Street, D2 Pool competition, Karaoke & DJ 8pm ■ Make and Do-Do with

Panti Panti Bar, 7-8 Capel Street, D1 Gay arts and crafts night 10pm ■ DJ Ken Halford Buskers, Temple Bar, D2 Chart Pop, Indie, Rock 10pm ■ Euro Saver Mondays Twentyone Club and Lounge, D’Olier St, D2 DJ Al Redmond 11pm, €1 with flyer ■ Recess Ruaille Buaille, South King St, D2 Student night 11pm, €8/6 ■ Therapy Club M, Blooms Hotel, D2 Funky House, R‘n’B 11pm, €5 ■ Lounge Lizards Solas Bar, 31 Wexford St, D2 Soul music 8pm, Free ■ Dolly Does Dragon, The Dragon, South Georges St, D2 Cocktails, Candy and Classic Tunes 10pm, Free ■ Oldies but Goldies Ri-Ra, Dame Court, D2 Blooming Good Tunes 11pm, Free ■ Austin Carter + Company

& Eddie Bolton Pravda, Lower Liffey Street, D1 Soul/Pop/Indie/Alternative. 8.30pm - 11.30pm. ■ Taste Solas Bar, 31 Wexford St, D2 Lady Jane with soul classics and more 8pm, Free ■ Rap Ireland The Pint, 28 Eden Quay, D1 A showcase of electro and hip hop beats 9pm, Free ■ Groovilisation South William, Sth. William St. D2 8pm, Free DJs Izem, Marina Diniz & Lex Woo ■ Tarantula Tuesdays The Turk’s Head, Parliament St & Essex Gate, Temple Bar, D2 Disco, House, Breaks 11pm ■ Sugarfree Ri-Ra, Dame Court, D2 Soul, Ska, Indie, Disco, Reggae 11pm, Free ■ Le Nouveau Wasteland The Dice Bar, Queen St, Smithfield, D7 Laid back French Hip Hop and Groove Free ■ Star DJs Sin, Sycamore St, Temple Bar, D2 Disco, House, R’n’B 9pm ■ Juicy Beats The Village, 26 Wexford St, D2 Indie, Rock, Classic Pop, Electro 10.30pm, Free ■ Jezabelle The Purty Kitchen, 34/35 East Essex St, Temple Bar, D2 Live Classic Rock 7pm, Free before 11pm ■ The DRAG Inn The Dragon, Sth Great Georges St, D2 Davina Devine presents open mic night with prizes, naked twister, go-go boys and makeovers. 8pm, Free

■ John Fitz + The K9s + DJ

Mick B Fitzsimons Bar, 21-22 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2 Free, 9 – 1.30am ■ DJ Keith P Fitzsimons Club, 21-22 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2 Free, 11pm Classic hits & party pop

Wednesdays ■ Songs of Praise The Village, 26 Wexford St., D2 The city’s rock and roll karaoke institution enters its fifth year. 9pm, Free ■ Hump Pravda, Lower Liffey Street, D1 DJ’s Niall James Holohan & Megan Fox. Indie/rock/alt/ hiphop & Subpop 8.30pm - 11.30 pm ■ Dublin Beat Club Sin è Bar, 14 Upr Ormond Quay, D Showcase live music night 8pm, Free ■ Galactic Beat Club The Turk’s Head, Parliament St & Essex Gate, Temple Bar, D1 Disco, Boogie, House, Funk and Balearic 11pm, Free ■ Blasphemy Spy, Powerscourt Town Centre, South William St, D2 Upstairs Indie and pop, downstairs Electro 11pm, €5

80s, Indie, and Electro 11pm, Free ■ Synergy Solas Bar, 31 Wexford St, D2 All kinds of eclectic beats for midweek shenanigans 8pm, Free ■ Dean Sherry Sin, Sycamore St, Temple Bar, D2 Underground House, Techno, Funk 9pm ■ 1957 The Dice Bar, Queen St, Smithfield, D7 Blues, Ska Free ■ Soup Bitchin’ Panti Bar, 7-8 Capel St, D1 Gay student night ■ The Song Room The Globe, 11 Sth Great Georges St, D2 Live music 8.30pm, Free ■ First Taste Crawdaddy, Old Harcourt St Station, D 2 A new weekly party playing all new and advance music in The Lobby Bar 7pm, Free ■ Unplugged @ The Purty The Purty Kitchen, 34/35 East Essex St, Temple Bar, D2 Live acoustic set with Gavin Edwards 7pm, Free before 11pm ■ Space ‘N’ Veda The George, Sth Great Georges St, D2 Performance and dance. Retro 50s, 60s, 70s 9pm, Free before 10pm, after 10pm €8/€4 with student ID ■ DJ Alan Healy Buskers, Temple Bar, D2 Chart Pop, Current Indie and Rock Music 10pm ■ Mud The Twisted Pepper, 54 Middle Abbey St, D2 Bass, Dubstep, Dancehall 11pm, €10 (varies if guest) ■ Sexy Salsa Dandelion Café Bar Club, St. Stephens Green West, D2 Latin, Salsa 8pm, Free

TOTALLY DUBLIN

■ Glitz Break for the Border, Lwr

■ Jason Mackay Sin, Sycamore St, Temple Bar, D2 Dance, R’n’B, House 9pm

■ Soul @ Solas Solas Bar, 31 Wexford St, D2 Mr Razor plays the best in Soulful beats and beyond. International guests too! 8pm, Free

■ Fromage The Dice Bar, Queen St, Smithfield, D7 Motown Soul, Rock Free ■ Bad Kids Crawdaddy Indie night extraordinaire 10.30pm, Free

■ CBGB Pygmalion, Powerscourt Centre, D2 Megan Fox & Niall James Holohan 9pm, Free

■ Control/Delete Andrews Lane Theatre, Andrews Lane, D2 Indie and Electro 11pm, €3/4

■ Extra Club M, Blooms Hotel, D2 Kick start the weekend with a little extra 11pm, €5, Free with flyer

■ Davina’s House Party The George, Sth Great Georges St, D2 Drinks Promos, Killer Tunes and Hardcore Glamour 9pm, Free before 11pm, €4 with flyer

■ Sidetracked Crawdaddy, Old Harcourt St Station, D2 Indie, Disco, Loungey House 8pm, Free ■ Off the Charts Twentyone Club and Lounge, D’Olier St, D2 R&B with Frank Jez and DJ Ahmed 11pm, €5

■ After Work Party The Purty Kitchen, 34/35 East Essex St, Temple Bar, D2 Live Rock with Totally Wired. 6pm, Free before 11pm ■ Big Time! The Bernard Shaw, 11 - 12 Sth Richmond St, Portobello, D2 You Tube nights, hat partys... make and do for grown ups! With a DJ.

■ Muzik The Button Factory, Curved St, Temple Bar, D2 Up-Beat Indie, New Wave, Bouncy Electro 11pm

■ The Panti Show Panti Bar, 7-8 Capel St, D1 Gay cabaret. 10pm

■ Noize Andrews Lane Theatre, Andrews Lane, D2 Student night with live bands, Indie and Electro 9.30pm, €5 or €8 for two people with flyer

■ Mofo + One By One + DJ

Jenny T

■ Thursdays @ Café En Seine Café En Seine, 39 Dawson St., D2 DJs and dancing until 2.30am. Cocktail promotions. 8pm, Free ■ CBGB Pygmalion, South William St, Dublin 2 Crackity Jones & Readers Wives on the decks Free ■ Guateque Party Bia Bar, 28-30 Lwr Stephens St, D2 Domingo Sanchez and friends play an eclectic mix 8.30pm

Fitzsimons Bar, 21-22 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2 Free, 9pm – 1.30am ■ The Bionic Rats The Turk’s Head, Parliament St & Essex Gate, Temple Bar, D1 Dance, Jump and Skii to Reggae and Ska Free, 10pm ■ DJ Dexy Fitzsimons Bar, 21-22 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2 Energetic blend of dancefloor fillers Free, 11pm ■ Eamonn Barrett 4 Dame Lane, D2 Electro Indie Free, 10pm

■ Rob Reid + EZ Singles + ■ Beatdown Disco South William, Sth. William St. D2 Stylus DJs Peter Cosgrove & Michael McKenna - disco, soul, house 8pm, Free ■ Wild Wednesdays Twentyone Club and Lounge, D’Olier St, D2 Frat Party €5 entry, first drink free ■ Shaker The Academy, Middle Abbey St, D2 11pm, €8/6

DJ Karen G Fitzsimons Bar, 21-22 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2 Free, 9pm – 1.30am DJ Darren C ■ DJ Darren C Fitzsimons Club, 21-22 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2 Chart, pop & dance with a twist Free, 11pm ■ Space N’Veda The George, George’s St., D2 Free, 11pm Exquisite Mayhem with Veda, Davina & Guests

B + DJ Dexy Fitzsimons Bar, 21-22 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2

■ Sounds@Solas Solas, Wexford St, D2 9pm-1am, Free

■ A Twisted Disco Ri-Ra, Dame Crt, D1

Thursdays

■ The LITTLE Big Party Ri-Ra, Dame Crt, D1 Indie music night with DJ Brendan Conroy 11pm, Free ■ Mr. Jones & Salt The Twisted Pepper, 54 Middle Abbey Street, D2 House, Electro, Bassline 11pm, €8/5 ■ Alternative Grunge Night Peader Kearney’s, 64 Dame St, D2 Alternative grunge 11pm, €5/3 ■ Eamonn Sweeney The Village, 26 Wexford St, D2 10pm

■ Global Zoo Hogans, 35 Sth Gt Georges St, D2 Groovalizacion bringing their infectious and tropical selection including Cumbia, Samba, Dub, Reggae, Balkan, Latin and Oriental Sound 9pm, Free ■ DJ Jim Kenny Buskers, Temple Bar, D2 Chart Pop, Current Indie and Rock Music 10pm ■ The Beauty Spot Dakota Bar, 8 South William

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TOTALLY DUBLIN

Street, Dublin 2. A new night of Fashion, Beauty, Shopping and Drinks in association with Style Nation and sponsored by Smirnoff. 7pm, Free ■ The Odeon Movie Club The Odeon, Old Harcourt St. Station, D2 Classic Movies on the Big Screen at 8pm. Full waiter service and cocktails from €5. June - Dark Comedy. 8pm, Free ■ Tanked-Up Tramco Nightclub, Rathmines Student Night, Drinks From €2 10:30pm, €5 ■ Jugs Rock O’Reillys, Tara St. Late Rock Bar, All Pints €3.20, Pitchers €8 9pm, €5 ■ Thirsty Student Purty Loft, Dun Laoghaire Student Night, All Drinks €3.50 10pm, €5 entry ■ Davina’s Club Party The George, George’s St., D2 Free, 11pm Davina Divine hosts with Peaches Queen, Bare Buff Butlers & Special Guests

Fridays ■ Housemusicweekends Pygmalion, Sth. William St., D2 House music magnet with special guests each week 12pm, Free ■ NoDisko Pravda, Lower Liffey Street, D1 Indie/Rock N Roll/ Dance 10pm – 2.30pm. ■ T.P.I. Fridays Pygmalion, South William St, D2 Pyg residents Beanstalk, Larry David Jr. + guests play an eclectic warm-up leading up to a guest house set every week. 9pm, Free ■ Hustle The Odeon, Old Harcourt St. Station, D2 Dance floor Disco, Funk and favourites. All Cocktails €5/. Pints, Shorts & Shots €4 10pm, Free ■ Friday Hi-Fi Alchemy, 12-14 Fleet St, D2 Rock, Funky House and Disco 10.30pm ■ Disco Not Disco Shine Bar, 40 Wexford St, D2 Disco, house, funk & soul 9.30pm ■ Fridays @ The Turk’s Head The Turk’s Head, Parliament St & Essex Gate, Temple Bar, D1 Live guest bands and DJs 11pm, Free ■ Rotate Solas Bar, 31 Wexford St, D2 Oliver T Cunningham mixes it up for the weekend! 8pm, Free ■ Friday Tea-Time Club Break for the Border, Johnston’s Place, Lower Stephens St, D2 Karaoke with Cormac and

TOTALLY DUBLIN

Stevo from 6pm. Budweiser promotions. DJs until late. ■ Fridays @ Café En Seine Café En Seine, 39 Dawson St, D2 DJS and dancing until 3am. Cocktail promotions 8pm, Free ■ Cosmopolitan Club M, Anglesea St, Temple Bar, D1 Chart, Dance, R&B 11pm, €9 with flyer ■ Afrobass South William, 52 Sth William St, D2 Dub, Ska, Afrobeat 9pm, Free ■ Foreplay Friday The Academy, Middle Abbey St, D2 R ‘n’ B, Hip Hop, Garage 10.30pm, €10 after 11pm ■ Hells Kitchen The Dice Bar, Queen St, Smithfield, D7 Funk and Soul classics Free ■ Friday Night Globe DJ The Globe, 11 Sth Great Georges St, D2 DJ Eamonn Barrett plays an eclectic mix 11pm, Free

DJ Paddy Scahill Free before 11pm, €5 with flyer, €8 without ■ Music with Words The Grand Social, Lwr. Liffey St, D1 Indie, Ska, Soul, Electro 9.30pm, Free ■ Processed Beats Searsons, 42-44 Baggot St. Upper, D4 Indie, Rock, Electro 9pm, Free ■ The Bodega Social Bodega Club, Pavilion Centre, Marine Rd, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin Soul and Disco with Eamonn Barrett 11pm, €10 (ladies free before midnight) ■ Scribble The Bernard Shaw, 11 - 12 Sth Richmond St, Portobello, D2 Funk, House, Dubstep, Hip Hop 8pm, Free ■ Room Service Feile, Wexford St., D2

Rock n Roll with Rory Montae in the bar while Aoife Nicanna and Marina play House and Latino Breaks and Beats in the club 10pm, Free ■ Basement Traxx Hogans, 35 Sth Gt Georges St, D2 Freestyle club with DJ’s Half Dutch and Dejackulate spinning funk breaks, hip hop, ska, reggae and party nuggets 10pm, Free ■ Let’s Make Party The Village, 26 Wexford St, D2 With DJ Mikki Dee 10pm, Free ■ DJ Barry Dunne Buskers, Temple Bar, D2 Chart Pop, Current Indie and Rock Music 10pm

Soul, Funk, Disco 11pm, Free

Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2 Dublin’s biggest party night 11pm, Free

■ Squeeze Solas Bar, 31 Wexford St., D2 Aidan Kelly does his thing. Expect the unexpected. 8pm, Free

■ Saturdays @ Break for the

Border Lower Stephen’s St, D2 Current chart favourites from DJ Eric Dunne and DJ Mark McGreer. 1pm, Free

■ A Jam Named Saturday Anseo, Camden St., D2 DJs Lex Woo, Mr. Whippy, Matjazz, Warm DJ & friends. Jazz, disco, breaks, latin, hip-hop, house, afrobeat, funk, breakbeat, soul, reggae, brazilian, jungle. 7pm, Free

■ Transmission The Button Factory, Curved St, Temple Bar, D2 Indie and dance with international guests 11pm, varies

■ The Matinee Brunch Club The Odeon, Old Harcourt St. Station, D2 Super family friendly brunch club. Kids movies on the big screen at 3PM. 12pm – 6pm, Free

■ Pogo The Twisted Pepper, 54 Middle Abbey St, D2 House, Funk, Techno 11pm, €10 (varies if guest) ■ Pentagon POD and Tripod, Old Harcourt Station, Harcourt St, D2 Access all areas at the Pod complex with local residents and special guest DJ slots over five rooms 11pm, €12

Anto’s X Factor The George, George’s St., D2 Free, 9pm The search for Dublin’s singing sensation is back! Prize €1,000 & Professsional Recording Session

■ Dizzy Disko, Andrews Lane Theatre, Andrews Lane, D2 11pm, €10 ■ KISS Twentyone Club and Lounge,

■ Ri-Ra Guest Night Ri-Ra, Dame Court, D2 International and home-grown DJ talent 11pm, €10 from 11.30pm ■ Late Night Fridays The Sugar Club, 8 Lwr. Leeson St, D2 Residents include The Burlesque and Cabaret Social Club & Choice Cuts 11pm ■ War Andrew’s Lane Theatre Indie, Electro and Pop 10pm, Free before 11pm, €7/€10 ■ Al Redmond Sin, Sycamore St, Temple Bar, D2 R’n’B, House, Chart 9pm ■ Fridays @ V1 The Vaults, Harbourmaster Place, IFSC, D1 Progressive Tribal, Techno and Trance 10pm, €5 before 11pm, €10 after ■ Sticky Disco The Purty Kitchen, 34/35 East Essex St, Temple Bar, D2 A gay techno electro disco in the club and indie, rock, pop, mash and gravy in the main room 10pm, Free before 11pm, €7 after ■ Sub Zero Transformer (below The Oak), Parliment St, D2 Indie, Rock, Mod 11pm, Free ■ Stephens Street Social Club Bia Bar, 28/30 Lwr Stephens St, D2 Funk, Soul, Timeless Classics ■ Panticlub Panti Bar, 7-8 Capel St, D1

Latin, Funk, Disco, uplifting Choons and Classics 9pm, Free ■ Frat Fridays Twentyone Club and Lounge, D’Olier St, D2 Student night with drinks promos and DJ Karen 10pm ■ John Fitz + The K9s + DJ

Darren C and DJ Mick B Fitzsimons Bar, 21-22 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2 Free, 8pm – 2.30am ■ DJ Ronan M and DJ Ross Fitzsimons Club, 21-22 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2 Funky Friday and music mayhem Free, 11pm ■ Green Sunrise The Turk’s Head, Parliament St & Essex Gate, Temple Bar, D1 Funky club house, Elektronika and Disco with some guilty pleasures Free ■ Fridays @ 4 Dame Lane 4 Dame Lane, D2

followed by DJ Karen ■ Late Night Live Gaiety Theatre Live music 11pm, €TBC

Saturdays ■ Shindig Shebeen Chic, Georges St, D2 Each and every Saturday you’ll find the Shindig Crew rocking Shebeen Chic’s quirky Bar with an eclectic mix of music to move to. Free, 8pm ■ Konstrukt The Grand Social, Lwr. Liffey St, D1 DJ Eamonn Barrett. Indie/ Electro/Party Anthems. 10pm - 2.30a. ■ Propaganda The Academy, Middle Abbey St. D2 British indie disco conglomerate 11pm, €5 ■ Solar The Bull and Castle, 5 Lord Edward St., D2

D’Olier St, D2 Keep It Sexy Saturdays with DJ Robbie Dunbar 10pm, Free before 11pm, €8 after

■ Flirt Alchemy, 12-14 Fleet St, D2 Sultry, Funky and Sexy Beat alongside Chart Hits 10.30pm

■ Saturday with Resident DJ Club M, Blooms Hotel, D2 Chart, Dance and R&B 10:30PM, €15/€12 with flyer

■ The Weird Scientist Eamonn Doran’s, 3a Crown Alley, Temple Bar, D2 11pm, €8/5

■ Viva! Saturdays The Turk’s Head, Parliament St & Essex Gate, Temple Bar, D1 Retro club with house, electro and 80s 11pm, free

■ Laundry Hogans, 35 Sth Gt Georges St, D2 Bumpin House, Techno, Disco, Nu Disco 10pm, Free

■ Saturdays @ Café En Seine Café En Seine, 39 Dawson St, D2 DJs and dancing until 2.30pm. Cocktail promotions 10pm, Free

■ Sugar Club Saturdays The Sugar Club, 8 Lwr. Leeson St, D2 Salsa, Swing, Ska, Latin 11pm, €15

■ Guest band + DJ KK and

■ Reloaded The Academy, Middle Abbey St, D2 Commercial Electro 10:30pm, €5 before 12, €8 after

DJ Keith P Fitzsimons Bar, 21-22 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2 New live band plays every Saturday night 8pm, Free ■ DJ Dexy and DJ Aido Fitzsimons Club, 21-22

■ Saturday Night Globe DJ The Globe, 11 Sth Great Georges St, D2 DJ Dave Cleary plays an

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eclectic mix 11pm, Free

80s with DJ Mark Kelly 10pm, €10

■ Space... The Vinyl Frontier Ri-Ra, Dame Court, D2 Soul, Funk, Disco, Electro with DJ’s Glen and Gary from Beatfinder Records 11pm, Free

■ Toejam The Bernard Shaw, 11 - 12 Sth Richmond St, Portobello, D2 Afternoon: Car boot sales, film clubs, music lectures, t-shirt making etc. Later on: Resident DJs playing Soul, Funk, House, Electro

■ Irish Reggae Dance Peader Kearney’s, 64 Dame St, D2 Reggae 10pm, €5 ■ The Promised Land The Dice Bar, Queen St, Smithfield, D7 Soul, Funk, Disco Free ■ Saturdays @ V1 The Vaults, Harbourmaster Place, IFSC, D1 R ‘n’ B, Soul and Hip Hop with regular guest DJs ■ Wes Darcy Sin, Sycamore St, Temple Bar, D2 R’n’B 9pm ■ Basement Traxx Transformer (below The Oak), Parliment St, D2 Indie, Rock 11pm, Free ■ Downtown Searsons, 42-44 Baggot St. Upper, D4 Indie, Soul, Chart 10pm, Free ■ Strictly Handbag Bodega Club, Pavilion Centre, Marine Rd, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin

■ Sidesteppin’ Bia Bar, 28/30 Lwr Stephens St, D2 Old School Hip Hop, Funk 45s, Reggae 8pm, Free ■ Saturday @ The Village The Village, 26 Wexford St, D2 Pete Pamf, Morgan, Dave Redsetta & Special Guests 11pm ■ Whigfield Pygmalion, Sth. William St., D2 House and techno til late, with special guests each week 10pm, Free ■ DJ Karen @ The Dragon The Dragon, Sth Great Georges St, D2 House music 10pm ■ Beauty Spot Karaoke The George, Sth Great Georges St, D2 Karaoke and DJ Miguel Gonzelez playing super sexy Spanish House. 9pm, Free before 10pm, €10 after ■ Basement Club Panti Bar, 7-8 Capel St, D1 Pop and Electro

■ Saturday @ The Wright Venue

Funky House & RnB DJs, 10pm, €10

The Wright Venue, South Quarter, Airside Business Park, Swords, Co Dublin Rock, Pop, Hip-hop, Dance 10pm

■ Late Night Live Gaiety Theatre Live music 11pm, €TBC

■ Punch The Good Bits Indie/Disco in one room and Techno/House and Electro in the main room 11pm, €2 between 11-11:30 ■ Saturdays @ 4 Dame Lane 4 Dame Lane, D2 Goldy mixes beats/breaks/ hip hop and funk in the bar and Gaviscon plays everything under the sun in the club 10pm, Free ■ Eardrum Buzz Hogans, 35 Sth Gt Georges St, D2 House party vibes with Thatboytim playing mix of dance floor classics with of hip hop, reggae, ska, rock, electro and teenage memories. 10pm, Free ■ DJ Stephen James Buskers, Temple Bar, D2 Chart Pop, Current Indie and Rock Music 10pm ■ Rocked O Reillys, Tara St. Launching 9th October with LLUTHER, Rock DJ,All pints €3.20, Pitchers €9 9pm, €5 ■ Saturdays @ Purty Loft Purty Loft Nightclub, Dun Laoghaire

Sundays ■ Ear Candy Solas Bar, 31 Wexford St, D2 Disco tunes and Funk Classics to finish the weekend. 8pm, Free ■ Jitterbop The Grand Social, Lwr. Liffey St, D1 DJ Oona Fortune. Rockabilly/ Swinging Sounds. 8pm - 11pm. (2.30am on bank holidays) ■ The Matinee Brunch Club The Odeon, Old Harcourt St. Station, D2 Super family friendly brunch club. Kids movies on the big screen 3PM. 12pm – 6pm, Free ■ Sundown Bia Bar, Lwr. Stephen’s St., D2 Chill-out house, funk, electronics and acoustic 10pm, Free ■ The Latin Beat The Odeon, Old Harcourt St. Station, D2 Learn to dance Salsa & Samba from some of the best instructors in Ireland. Classes from 6pm, club from 8pm - late, Free ■ Dancehall Styles The Button Factory, Curved St,

Temple Bar, D2 International dance hall style 11pm, €5 ■ The Workers Party Sin, Sycamore St, Temple Bar, D2 With DJ Ilk 9pm ■ Session Pygmalion, Powerscourt Centre, D2 40% off all the booze all day & Mr. Ronan spinning only the best Indie, Rock & Roll. Free in before 4pm, €5 after. ■ Hang the DJ The Globe, 11 Sth Great Georges St, D2 Rock, Indie, Funk, Soul 9pm, Free ■ Gay Cabaret The Purty Kitchen, 34/35 East Essex St, Temple Bar, D2 Gay cabaret show 9pm, Free before 11pm ■ 12 Sundays The Bernard Shaw, 11 - 12 Sth Richmond St, Portobello, D2 Funk, Disco, House 6pm – 12am, Free ■ DJ Karen The George, Sth Great Georges St, D2 Pop Commercial and Funky House Free before 11pm, €5 with flyer, €8 without ■ The George Bingo with

Shirley Temple Bar

■ Elbow Room South William, 52 Sth William St, D2 Jazz, Soul, Disc & Latin 8pm, Free ■ Alan Keegan + One By

One + DJ Darren C Fitzsimons Bar, 21-22 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2 9pm, Free ■ M.A.S.S (music/arts/sights/

sounds) Hogans, 35 Sth Gt Georges St, D2 Power FM curates a night of sights & sounds with Dublin based Arts collective Tinderbox providing visuals and Power FM’s DJ’s playing Soul to Rock n Roll to Punk 7pm, Free ■ Get Over Your Weekend Panti Bar, 7-8 Capel St, D1 Lounge around with Penny the Hound. All drinks half plrice all day. 1pm, Free ■ DJ Paul Manning Buskers, Temple Bar, D2 Chart Pop, Current Indie and Rock Music 10pm ■ Sunday Roast The Globe, Georges St, D2 9pm, Free ■ Magnificent 7’s 4 Dame Lane, D2 The Ultimate Single’s Night Free, 7pm

The George, Sth Great Georges St, D2 Bingo & Cabaret with Shirley Temple Bar 8.30pm, Free

Clubbing once-offs January Friday Jan 7th ■ Joker & Nomad The Twisted Pepper, 54 Middle Abbey St, D2 Bristolian dubstep producer Joker slinks in to town with MC/partner in crime Nomad. €10, 11pm

Sat Jan 8th ■ Marcel Dettmann The Twisted Pepper, 54 Middle Abbey St, D2 The Berghain and Ostgut ton Kingpin returns to rinse the Twisted Pepper basement.

€10, 11pm

Fri Jan 14th ■ Handsome Paddy The Bernard Shaw, 11 - 12 Sth Richmond St, Portobello, D2 Top-drawer hip hop, dubstep, glitch, disco and all sorts from one of Dublin’s finest Djs. Free, 4pm

Sat Jan 22nd ■ Ali Shaheed Muhammad The Sugar Club, 8 Lwr. Leeson St, D2

The producer and DJ for the legendary Tribe Called Quest lands down in the Sugar Club. Get your tickets now because they’ll go like hot cakes. €15, 10pm

Sat Jan 29th

Sat Feb 5th ■ Gary Beck The Twisted Pepper, 54 Middle Abbey St, D2 Young up and coming Scottish techno producer makes his Irish debut for Colourtv. €10, 11pm

■ Groovement soul present

DJ Karizma The Twisted Pepper, 54 Middle Abbey St, D2 Soulful US house DJ returns for Groovement Soul. Technically outstanding and has records for days. €10, 11pm

Trad January Sat Jan 8th

Free, 6pm Angry ballads every Sunday

■ Tumbleweed Love Sessions The Cobblestone 9pm, €8 Regular folk sessions

Thu Jan 14th

Sun Jan 9th ■ Holy Bleedin Jaysus The Pint, Eden Quay

TOTALLY DUBLIN

■ Holy Bleedin’ Jaysus The Ball Alley, Lucan Free, 8pm More ballads, every Thursday

Sat Jan 15th

■ The Special Concensus Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre €18, 7:30pm Bluegrass boys

Fri Jan 21st ■ Téada Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre €16, 7:30pm Trad stalwarts

Fri Jan 28th ■ Tremolo The Cobblestone 9pm, €10 Cork trad 4 piece ■ The Fox Hunt & The

West Virginian bluegrass and old-timey tunes

Sat Jan 29th ■ Harvest The Cobblestone 9pm, €8 Neil Young folk tribute night

Henry Girls

Wed Feb 2nd

Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre €16, 7:30pm

■ Dick Gaughan & Andy

Irvine Whelans €tbc, 8pm Scottish Folkster with Planxty’s Scot

Sat 5th Feb ■ Sharon Reid and The Attic Knights 9pm, €5

www.totallydublin.ie

Theatre January ■ Jane Eyre Gate Theatre Jane Eyre (Andrea Corr) tells the story of a young woman who survives a wretched childhood, unbroken in spirit and integrity, to eventually fall in love with the troubled Mr. Rochester (Stephen Brennan). A tale of defiance and desire, it remains as firm a favourite today as when it first appeared over 150 years ago. Until January 15th, 7.30pm €25-35 ■ Arrah-na-Pogue Abbey Theatre As night falls on the Wicklow mountains, popular rebel Beamish Mac Coul is lying in wait. He’s out to ambush Michael Feeny and relieve him of a ‘big lump of money’ from rent collected. Until 5th February, 7.30pm €15-38

Starring George McMahon as Jack,and Emma Warren from BBC’s “Over the Rainbow” as Jill. 2nd-16th January, 2pm & 6pm/7.30pm €18-24 ■ Sleeping Beauty Lambert Puppet Theatre 2 - 22nd January, 3.30pm €11 - 44 ■ Alice in Wonderland Pavilion Theatre Join Arclight Theatre Company as it follows the White Rabbit all the way to Wonderland. See how Alice deals with the Queen of Hearts andher army of Cards. 25-29th January, 7.30pm €12-16 ■ Cinderella, The Final

Frontier

As you Are Now so Once Were We is a new way to reflect on ourselves, our culture and an attempt to understand Ireland in Joyce’s words: “A nation is the same people living in the same place.” The Peacock 25th January - 5th February, 8.00pm €13-25

Pavilion Theatre There’s three minutes left till midnight, but is that enough time for Buttons (a.k.a. The Doctor) to secure the future of the Universe from his evil twin brother, Zips, while helping Cinderella get her Prince? But why is Charming sometimes so .... ‘Horrid’? And why do people keep appearing out of the fireplace? Until 9th January, 2pm and 6pm €14-20,

■ Jack and the Beanstalk The Helix

■ Celebrity Project Arts Theatre

■ As You Are Now So Once

Were We

When a couple meet through online dating, with all the halftruths and Photoshop enhancement that social networking can provide, how will their modern day love story play out? 11-29th January, 8.15pm, €10-15 ■ The Field Olympia Theatre Directed by Joe Dowling with Brian Dennehy performing the iconic role of ‘The Bull’ McCabe 14th January to 12th February, 7.30pm €25-30 ■ Void Story Project Arts Theatre Void Story follows a beleaguered pair of protagonists on a rollercoaster ride through the decimated remains of contemporary culture. 13-14th January, 8pm €16-20 ■ I Am My Own Wife The Pearse Centre I Am My Own Wife is an examination of the life of German antiquarian Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, born Lothar Berfelde, who killed her father when she was a young boy and survived the Nazi and Communist regimes in Berlin as a transvestite. 25th January-5th February, 8pm €10-15

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TOTALLY DUBLIN

Visual Art January Bad Art Gallery 79 Francis Street, D8

■ The Bad Art Gallery

Christmas Show Everything on an 8x10 inch canvas and all paintings under €500 December 1 - January 14

Chester Beatty Dublin Castle, D2

2, Miroslaw Balka presents Part 2. January 21 – March 23

Draiocht

Blanchardstown Centre, D15 ■ Amharc Fhine Gall VII Annual exhibition is showcasing the work of Fingal artists, particularly recent graduates. November 12 - January 22

■ Heroes and Kings of the

Shahnama The Shahnama (Book of Kings) is one of the great classics of world literature. Frequently referred to as the Iranian national epic, it relates the glorious tales of the heroes and kings of Iran, from the dawn of time until the Islamic conquest in the mid-seventh century. This epic poem of some 60,000 verses was completed in the year 1010 by the poet Firdawsi and to mark the 1000th anniversary of this great event, the Chester Beatty Library is presenting a major exhibition of some 150 paintings, all drawn from it own important Shahnama collection. November 19 - March 20

Convention Centre Dublin

Mayor Street, Spencer Dock, D1 ■ The Art Park Curated by the Sebastian Guinness Gallery, this exhibition will transform the rear wall of the CCD into a canvas for video art, digital media, animation, film, photography and literature. Images from the recently published book Phot20graphy, celebrating 20 years of the iconic fashion and portrait photography of Barry McCall, will be featured – including a large number of ‘celebrity portraits’, from Liam Neeson to Boyzone. Adjoining retail units will be available as exhibition spaces for project related or individual exhibitions. December 9 – January 15

■ Home Graphic Studio Dublin rounds off its 50th Anniversary with a Members’ Exhibition on the theme of ‘Home’. The title refers to our notions of belonging and family and is particularly relevant at this time of year, a time when we return to the places and people that create our own sense of home. All the feature prints showcase the finest skills in fine art printmaking techniques, including etching, lithography, woodblock print, linocut and a variety of mixed media techniques. All works are priced under €250. November 12 - January 22

Gallery of Photography

Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, D2 ■ SHOWCASE SHOWCASE is a celebration of new photographic talent in Ireland. It features work by eight emerging photographic artists shortlisted for the Gallery of Photography Artist’s Award, Ireland’s leading award for contemporary photography. The work by the eight photographic artists highlights how this most powerful medium can creatively explore contemporary issues. December 2 – January 30

Graphic Studio Dublin Cope Street, Temple Bar, D2

Douglas Hyde Gallery Trinity College, D2

■ Jockum Nordstrom: While

the Mortar Dries Jockum Nordstrom’s drawings and collages tell dreamy stories that are strangely brittle; they may look like illustrations for children’s books, but this is misleading, because they have a tough adult edge. His work, which also has a strong kinship with folk and outsider art, succeeds in avoiding pastiche and cuteness. November 12 - January 12 ■ Boucherouite Rag Rugs

from Morocco The boucherouite is a Moroccan ‘rag rug’ made by hand from all kinds of recycled materials, including plastic, nylon, and lurex. Made for local use, these extraordinary weavings break away from traditional North African conventions of design, texture, and colour; they also raise many intriguing questions about changes in socio-economic conditions and the impact of western culture on traditional societies. November 12 - January 12 Between Honey and Ashes Two parallel exhibitions sharing the same title: Part 1, in the main gallery space is by Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, whilst in Gallery

TOTALLY DUBLIN

■ Little Christmas 2010 Following the huge success of last year’s Little Christmas show in 2008, this exhibition features a suite of images with a paper size of 20 cm x 25 cm and limited to an edition of 20 based on the theme ‘matrix’. December 9 – January 29

Green on Red Gallery 26-28 Lombard Street East

■ Renewing: new and recent

work Group exhibition showcasing the exciting new work of gallery artists, including Damien Flood, John Cronin, Fergus Martin, Niamh O’Malley, Nigel Rolfe, Ronan McCrea. Caroline McCarthy, John Graham, Arno Kramer and Paul Doran. December 16 – January 29

Hugh Lane Gallery

Charlemont House, Parnell Square North, D1 ■ The Golden Bough: Gavin

Murphy Gavin Murphy makes works through an assemblage of unique fabricated elements, sourced and found objects, video, sound and photography. Using cultural

matter as his material-medium, he references art, history and theory to form a spatial and temporal narrative arc made up of intercommunicating texts, combined with an interest in the sculptural possibilities of cinematic structures and mise en scène. November 4 - January 16 ■ Richard Tuttle Richard Tuttle ‘Triumphs’ at Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane is a site specific exhibition and collaboration with the artist. Responding to the local as encountered in the early Georgian architecture of the main gallery Charelmont House (designed by Sir William Chambers in 1765) and to the Hugh Lane collection (established in 1908), Richard Tuttle will install a Polysemous multipart horizontal installation in the galley’s new wing (2006). In works such as the shaped plywood wall reliefs of the 1990’s to recent handmade printed paper assemblages, Richard Tuttle will configure his artworks in new forms that have emblematic meaning to his interest the Augustan era and its polysemous aesthetics. November 19 - April 10

IMMA

Royal Hospital, Military Road, Kilmainham, D8

and organising them in creations which present new, often fantastical, representations of the world from which they were sourced. The exhibition features painting, drawing and sculpture from Irish artist Mark McGreevy and American artists Matthew Northridge and John J. O’Connor. November 5 - January 8

Mother’s Tankstation Ussher Island, D8

■ Declan Clarke January 12 – February 12

National Gallery Ireland Merrion Square, D2

■ Graphic Studio: 50 Years

in Dublin Graphic Studio marks the gift of more than 30 fine art prints to the collection of the Irish Museum of Modern Art on the occasion of Graphic Studio Dublin’s 50th anniversary, which IMMA is delighted to receive to add to its holding of modern and contemporary prints as part of the National Collections of Ireland. September 8 – January 3 ■ Post-War American Art:

The Novak/O’Doherty Collection This exhibition marks the generous gift of works by art historian Barbara Novak and artist Brian O’Doherty / Patrick Ireland to the IMMA Collection. September 8 – January 30 ■ The Moderns In celebration of the 20th anniversary of IMMA’s foundation in 2011 the Museum is presenting The Moderns, a major exhibition from its Collection which occupies almost the entire Museum. October 20 - April 3

Kevin Kavanagh Gallery Chancery Lane

■ Paul McKinley January 6 - 29 The LAB Foley St, D1 ■ Short Answers to Long,

Complicated Questions The LAB has brought together the work of three artists whose interest in the appropriation of imagery binds them together. Their use of the everyday imagery that clutters our minds results in both ordered and chaotic creations that align familiar objects and images in re-contextualised environments. The works utilise the abundance of material and information we absorb in daily life, arranging

■ Colour and Light: Caring

For Turner’s Watercolours The annual exhibition of Turner’s watercolours returns for the month of January again. This year, the theme is ‘care of the collection, past and present’. Henry Vaughan, the English collector who bequeathed the collection to the Gallery in 1900, was very aware of how delicate and light sensitive watercolours are. This is one of the reasons he stipulated that the watercolours be displayed in January only, when the natural light levels are at their lowest. Due to modern lighting technology, it is now possible to show the works in a controlled environment suited to the display of works on paper, however, the National Gallery continues to adhere to the tradition of showing the Turner watercolours in January. The exhibition will be complemented by a display of silhouettes and miniatures from the Mary A. McNeill Bequest. January 1 - 31

NCAD Gallery Thomas Street, D8

■ A Space For Learning An innovative exhibition from the Irish Architecture Foundation, showcasing a unique collaborative project between architects/ architectural graduates and transition-year students. Ten architect-student teams created films, installations, models and drawings to illustrate their ideas about learning environments. This exhibition opens up a new discussion on school-building design, highlighting issues such as sustainability, light, shape and colour in educational spaces. November 5 - January 29

Oisin Gallery 44 Westland Row, D2

■ Winter Exhibition Until January 15

Oliver Sears Gallery

Hibernian Academy

■ Now and then A group exhibition by gallery and invited modern and contemporary artists. Features works by Hughie O’Donoghue, Sean Scully, Joan Mitchell, Sean Hillen, Joseph

■ Nevan Lahart ■ Artists Curate:126 ■ Roisin Lewis ■ Mirror Mirror, UL Self

29 Molesworth St, D2

Ely Place, D2

Walsh, Mark Fairnington November 25 – January 31

Portrait Collections

■ Imogen Stuart RHA All January 15 – February 28

Project Arts Centre

Talbot Gallery 51 Talbot Street, D1

Temple Bar, D2

■ Beautiful Man Inspired by the poetry of Kathy Enders, Beautiful Man is realised through the art of printmaking by both Irish and International artists. Kathy Enders is a young Irish poet in her mid twenties and has been based in Dublin most of her life. Her mother is Irish, an artist and her father was German, born in the Late 1940’s and died when the poet was a young child. Both parents have played an important part in shaping her life and the poetry that she writes. When a group of artists read Kathy’s poetry they were moved by her words and the imagery it conjured. Seven of these artists have interpreted Kathy’s work by taking an emotion or a line from the poetry that draws a reflection on their own lives, they have brought the poetry to life in their own unique style. December 9 – January 18

■ The Repetition Festival

Show Exhibition bringing together four film installations and a selection of artworks by Clemens von Wedemeyer. In his films Clemens von Wedemeyer addresses the critical issues that form our daily realities – migration, diaspora, social isolation – whilst constantly probing the relationship between film and its consumers. Von Wedemeyer often employs the conventions of documentary filmmaking (although his films are not documentaries), and includes a behind the scenes component to some of his films to underscore the fictional or subjective realities of the moving image. November 25 - February 19

Science Gallery

Taylor Galleries

Pearse Street, D2

■ Visceral: The Living Art

16 Kildare Street, D2

Experiment

■ Janet Mullarney - Things

Science Gallery and SymbioticA, a groundbreaking art research lab in Australia begin a new experiment in January 2011 when science and art collide in VISCERAL: THE LIVING ART EXPERIMENT. VISCERAL will confront audiences with the delicate processes of modern biology to explore our changing understandings and perceptions of life in the light of rapid developments in the life sciences and their applied technologies. A range of award-winning work from 17 different artists will challenge visitors to consider the tension between art and science and the cultural, economic and ethical implications of biosciences today. January 28 – February 25

Stone Gallery Pearse Street, D2

■ Winter Exhibition Stone Gallery and invited artists November 25 – 2011

Royal

Done November 19 - December 12 Christmas Group Show December 16 – January

Temple Bar Gallery & Studios 5-9 Temple Bar, D2

■ Annika Strom: From the

community hall and stage At Temple Bar Gallery and Studios Dublin, Annika Ström presents a stage for an event: a performance or a talk. It is built out of basic wood and is adorned with textile works from Sweden. The piece is functional as a stage, as we know is used to announce, act out or to express emotions to the public. But this platform is also reminiscent of a piece of furniture, kept in a private space. The meaning is taking place, a performance perhaps: The audience is looking back at themselves and they are participants in this meaning. December 11 – February 5

www.totallydublin.ie

Comedy weekly January The Wool Shed Baa & Grill Parnell Street, D1 ■ Mondays The Comedy Shed Comedy night with MC Damo Clarke 9.00pm, €5.00

Sheehan’s

Thomas Read’s

■ Tuesdays The Comedy Dublin troupe perform with a night of improv and stand-up

■ Thursdays The Underground Comedy Club Dublins anything goes alternative comedy ginch, full bar all night and DJ 9.00pm, €5.00/€8.00

Catham St., D2

Hedigans, The Brian Boru Prospect Road, Glasnevin, D9

Ha’penny Bridge Inn

Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, D2 ■ Tuesdays & Thursdays Battle of the Axe at Capital Comedy Club Dublin’s long standing open mic night 9.00pm, €9.00 ■ Wednesdays & Sundays Capital Comedy Club The club’s flagship night 9.30pm, €7/€5

■ Tuesdays Hedigan’s comedy features some of the best improv and comedy talent Dublin has to offer.

Anseo

Camden St., D2 ■ Wednesdays ‘Laugh out loud’ comedy night with Aidan Killian 8.30pm, €5.00/€7.00

Parliament St., D2

Slattery’s

Lower Rathmines Road ■ Farlmeister’s comedy box 9pm, €5/€2

The International Bar Wicklow St., D2

■ Mondays Comedy Improv night 8.30pm, €8/€10 ■ Tuesdays Andrew Stanley’s Comedy Mish Mash

8.30pm, €8/€10 ■ Wednesdays The Comedy Cellar with Andrew Stanley Ireland’s longest running comedy night 9.30pm, €8/€10 ■ Thursdays & Fridays Resident MC Aidan Bishop takes to the stage 8.45pm, €8/€10 ■ Saturday The International Comedy Club Early and late shows 8pm and 10.30pm, € ■ Sunday What’s New at the International New material night

The Bankers Trinity St., D2

Comedy improve with The Craic Pack 9pm, €8/€10 ■ Saturdays Stand Up @ The Bankers 9pm, €8/€10

The Flowing Tide Lower Abbey St., D1

■ Fridays Neptune Comedy Night

Peader Kearneys 64, Dame St., D2

■ Fridays ‘The Comedy Galf’ boasts international comedians and drink specials 9.00pm, €10/€8/€5

Twisted Pepper 54 Middle Abbey Street

■ Fridays Comedy Ireland holds their weekly Voice Box, Zocorro and Street Justice Showdown nights 8pm, Free

Shebeen Chic South Great George’s St., D2 ■ Sundays Comedy Crunch Stand-up comedy 9.00pm, Free

The Belvedere Great Denmark St., D1

■ Sundays Comedy Dublin host Sunday improv sessions. 8pm, €5/€6/€8

■ Thursdays & Fridays

Comedy once-offs January ■ Inn Jokes Hosted by Colm O’ Regan The Patriot’ s Inn Pub, Kilmainham 19th of January 9:00pm, Free Entry ■ Des Bishop ‘My Dad Was Nearly James Bond’ Pavilion Theatre Dun Laoghaire 1st – 5th February 8.00pm, €20/25 ■ Katherine Lynch ‘ Tha Hack Of Ya’ Vicar Street 3rd – 5th February 8.00pm, €20/25

Poker January Fitzwilliam Card Club Online booking www. fitzwilliamcardclub.com

■ Mon €75+5 Texas Holdem Freezeout 8:30pm

■ Wed €20+5 Texas Holdem Rebuy 8:30pm

■ Fri €55+5 Texas Holdem Scalps 8:30pm

■ Sun €50+5 Texas Holdem Freezeout 8:30pm

■ Tue €50+5 Texas Holdem Double Chance 8:30pm

■ Thur €95+5 Texas Holdem Double Chance 8:30pm

■ Sat €120+5 Texas Holdem Freezeout 8:30pm

■ Special Event Last Thursday of every Month - €250+20 Freezeout. Biggest regular poker

tournament in Dublin with 140+ players. 8:30pm

Jazz January Sundays ■ The Merrion Gates Fitzpatricks Castle, Killiney 12.30pm, Free ■ Stella Bass Trio Cafe en Seine, Dawson St. 2pm, Free ■ Louis Stewart Trio Stags Head, Dame Court 6pm, €8 ■ Jazz Globetrotters Purty Kitchen, Temple Bar 6pm, Free

TOTALLY DUBLIN

■ The Hot Club The Queens, Dalkey 6.30pm, Free Gypsy Jazz ■ Max Greenwood Town Bar and Grill, Kildare St 7pm, Free ■ Globetrotter Quartet Shebeen Chic, South Great Georges St 10.30pm, Free

Mondays ■ Hot House Big Band The Mercantile Bar, Dame St. 9.15pm, €8

18 Piece Big Band ■ Essential Big Band Grainger’s Pub, Malahide Rd. 9.30pm, €5 17 Piece Swing Orchestra ■ The Hep Cat Club The Grand Social 8pm, €8

Wednesdays ■ Jam Session Centre for Creative Practices, 15 Lwr. Pembroke St. 8pm, €7

Thursdays

■ Isotope JJ Smyths, Aungier St. 9pm, €10 ■ Alex Mathias Quartet International Bar, Wicklow St. 9pm, Free ■ Live Jazz Dax Cafe Bar, 23 Upper Pembroke St. 7pm, Free

Fridays ■ Live Jazz Dax Cafe Bar, 23 Upper Pem-

broke St. 7pm, Free

JANUARY (ONE OFFS)

Saturdays ■ Kevin Morrow Quartet Mespil Bar, Burlington Hotel, D4 7.30pm, Free ■ Live Jazz The Queens, Dalkey 9.30pm, €10

■ Sarah Buechi (Trilogue) Hugh Lane Gallery Sunday Jan 16th Midday, Free ■ The Jazz Cats The Village, Wexford St. Friday Jan 28th 7.30pm, €12

■ Live Jazz Dax Cafe Bar, 23 Upper Pembroke St. 8pm, Free

www.totallydublin.ie

jazz

Words Ollie Dowling Usually this time of year is quiet on the ground for jazz performances, but not this year, as with all the usual residencies still continuing throughout this month we also have some interesting things happening in the city. Firstly, we have two nights at the National Concert Hall promoted by Robert Nolan, with Saturday January 8th dedicated to the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest Big Band (all 50 members). I saw them a number of years ago at the NCH and remember when they played outstanding versions of Glenn Millerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;In the Moodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Moonlight Serenadeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 2,000 people stood up and gave them a rapturous applause. The following night, Sunday 9th, we have the London Big Band celebrating the music of Burt Bacharach and Tony Bennett and both concerts start at 8pm and tickets can be booked at 01 4170000 or online at www.nch.ie. Highly recommended. Next thing to mark in your phone is the Love Cats Burlesque troupe at the Village, Wexford street on Friday Jan

28th. This Bray-based collective of jazz musicians, singers and burlesque performers who came together in the Summer of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;09 and recently appeared at the Dublin Fringe festival, have a night of sleazy jazz from the Jazz Cats and teasing dance routines from the Velvet Vixens, with a special appearance from Mr.Burlesque â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rodney Jamesâ&#x20AC;? who was lead dancer with the Moulin Rouge production. Doors 7.30pm and admission is â&#x201A;Ź12 at the door. One to watch out for in February, is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Somewhere under the Rainbowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; a tribute night to the music of Liza Minnelli featuring Sharon Sexton in the leading role and a very near lookalike in real life. This happens on Sunday Feb 6th at the Olympia Theatre with Doors at 8pm and tickets priced at â&#x201A;Ź25. Lastly, my tip for good things in 2011 are local 8 piece jazz/funk brass ensemble called Shake your Brass, just over 6 months together and former members of the DCU jazz band. This outfit have been doing some very low key gigs around town but have sold out every time, so if you hear about them playing soon get there early. jazzindublin@gmail.com

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5D= 50<4 ! B284=24 <DB82 , F0G ?;DB 5>BC4A ?;024 C4<?;4 10A 3D1;8= ! >55 30<4 BCA44C FFF F0G<DB4D<?;DB 84 ^a 20;; %& '"&" >?4= B4E4= 30HB 0 F44: ;0C4 >?4=8=6 C7DAB30H 5A830H 0=3 B0CDA30H www.totallydublin.ie

Grand Canal Square D2 â&#x20AC;˘ Mount Merrion â&#x20AC;˘ Naas TOTALLY DUBLIN

icons

What makes Dublin Dublin? TD’s new guide to the best bits of the city...

Shelbourne Park

IMMA

Once home to the migratory Shelbourne FC, Shelbourne Park has since, quite literally, gone to the dogs. A Ringsend institution, the greyhound track’s environs have changed over time from working class core to Dublin’s tech quarter - its adapted suitably, but there’s still few more old school Dublin thrills. South Lotts Road, Dublin 4

Kilmainham’s Royal Hospital has been the home of Irish modern art since 1991, but it stands as the country’s most spectacular 17th century building. Indebted Paris Les Invalides, IMMA’s sprawling grounds and super-maintained cloisters and courtyard are as fascinating as the art contained within. Military Road, Kilmainham, Dublin 8

The Shelbourne Hotel

Leo Burdocks

Mulligans

One of the city’s classiest hotels, the Shelbourne has been puffing up pillows since 1824. Home to the drafting of the Irish constitution, the Shelbourne also boasts some non-historical attractions in its Horseshoe and Oyster bars, and steak-lovers paradise The Saddle Room. Or just go and stare at the building from Stephen’s Green. 27 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2

If you like some history with your chips, Leo Burdocks has as much backstory as it does salt and vinegar. Its Werburgh St. branch has been chopping potatoes for almost a hundred years now, and the chips are only getting better. Pay a visit, and ask about their celebrity fans. 2 Werburgh Street, Christchurch, Dublin 8

A magnet for both tourist and native, traditional pub and sometime Bachelor’s Walk set Mulligans is as renowned as watering holes in town come. Mulligans perfects the basics and in the grand Irish tradition avoids ‘yer fancy stuff’. It’s nonetheless a welcoming refuge for all patrons. 8 Poolbeg Street, Dublin 2

Dublin Zoo

Bewley’s Grafton St.

Teddy’s Ice-Cream

With components as old as its founding in 1831 (though probably no venerable animals quite so ancient), the Phoenix Park’s zoological gardens are steeped in stories as tall as giraffes. Easily the most worthy day out in Dublin. Phoenix Park, Dublin 8

Not the first Bewley’s built, but certainly the most famous, the tea dynasty’s Grafton St. branch is an architectural polyglot, with Parisian, Viennese, Egyptian and Oriental influences to match the company’s far-reaching range of teas. 78/79 Grafton Street, Dublin 2

Satisfying the sweet teeth of South Dublin since 1950, Teddy’s Ice Cream hasn’t had to change its formula an iota. A red, white, and blue must for ice-cream eaters of all seasons. 1a Windsor Terrace, Dún Laoghaire

TOTALLY DUBLIN

www.totallydublin.ie

BAD ASS CAFE

Temple Barâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest culinary institution, the Bad Ass is stop number one for hungry visitors. Just ask Bruce Springsteen. With an approachable menu, and a particularly novel ordering system is rightfully the go-to for Dublin firsttimers. 9-11 Crown Alley, Temple Bar

www.totallydublin.ie

TOTALLY DUBLIN

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Minted The Mint Bar Words Derek Owens It’s nice to imagine, when you’re drinking at a bar favoured by the self-styled ‘movers and shakers’ of Irish business, that the snippets of conversation you hear relate to something really juicy: a multi-million euro deal going sour perhaps, or a leading Government Minister’s drink problem – maybe even plans for a coup in an obscure, sub-Saharan nation. Unfortunately, ever since those embarrassing Price Waterhouse Coopers emails went public, we know that Ireland’s lumbering, grey-suited manhood is more likely to be discussing whether Sally in accounts is a lesbian (no mate, she just doesn’t like obese borderline alcoholics) or the latest intake of “clunge”. And thus, a good chunk of the magic in high-end cocktail bars has been lost forever. Not that you’d know it from the menu here. The Mint Bar still offers their ‘minted’ cocktail, a blend of cognac, vodka, high end liquers and – grotesquely – 24-carat gold for €500. More telling, we find, is that the cheaper replica, ‘skinted’, retails for the low, low price of €11.50. This is a place where the drinks cost real money, and the bar staff’s kind offer to hold our credit card for the evening and let us run up a tab is a Faustian pact: I handed mine over for an evening’s guilt-

TOTALLY DUBLIN

free drinking, knowing full well the blast of anxiety that awaited when the time came to punch in the PIN. Amazingly, though, The Mint Bar is a place that never makes you feel ripped off. This is a rare trick, and most cocktail bars should take note that it comes down to little things: a menu outlining the precise spirits and ingredients used, table service that’s attentive but doesn’t hover, and the option to use prosecco instead of champagne in sparkling cocktails. They want your money, sure, but they won’t trick you to get it. Passing on those champagne cocktails (bubbly tends to overpower just about everything else in a drink), we tested the bar’s mettle with one classic and one signature drink. In the worst places, a sidecar is prepared as a martini with brandy in it – mine was perfectly bittersweet, the sugar pressed along the sides of the glass blending with the sharp kick of lemon, even though the rind in the glass had seen better days. My wife picked an elderflower Collins, primarily because The Mint Bar uses the award-winning St Germain elderflower liqueur in their drink. That may make us sound like the kind of people to order a ‘minted’, but it does makes a difference – the resulting cocktail has

a more delicate flavour than in the many places that use cordial instead. It’s after a little lubrication that the personality of the place comes out. The setting, in a converted bank vault, is a delight: granite walls, low vaulted ceilings, and no expense spared on the furniture either. Unfortunately, any sense of luxury that the décor provokes is undone by a music policy that can, most charitably, be described as eclectic. It’s unclear what demented hidden hand is choosing the tunes; what is apparent, however, is that the maestro is as comfortable with obscure, bouncy eutrotrash-pop as he or she is with genuinely soothing jazz. You’re best off visiting when live music is played – Friday’s salsa night may not be your thing, but they also host occasional one-off gigs with more appropriate lounge music. More drink was needed. The Mint Bar serves food, prepared upstairs in the hotel, and also does Irish and continental beers. However, you’re missing the point of the place if you ignore the extensive cocktail menu, and we opted for another classic-and-signature combo. We discovered they do a mean mint julep, classically presented, with the quality bourbon enhanced by genuinely fresh mint. My choice was the zombie. They warn on the menu that only two zombies will be served per person in a night, and I sneered a little at the brazen mythmaking – until I read the ingredients. Four types of rum, apricot brandy and patron citronge, are delivered with lime and pineapple juice, plus a dose of pomegranate syrup and a sugar cube bobbing along the top. At €14.95, the resulting fruity creation is dangerously easy going down: I only realised how much alcohol has entered my system, and how quickly, when I stood up for that date with the Chip-and-PIN. The bill hits €50 – a pricey start to a night out, for sure, but one that doesn’t leave us feeling cheated. Westin Hotel 5 College Street Dublin 2 T: 01 6451322

www.totallydublin.ie

Fake It AHeart Journey Into The of Darkness Words Daniel Gray

4TEPPIN° 6P Performance group rehearsals for Smooth jive and west coast swing Starting in March. SoDaNet.pdf

Dance House, Foley Street, Dublin 1 M

www.totallydublin.ie

11:15:53

Ever gaze in the dead black eyes of Fade Street characters and wish you could achieve a similar level of unadulterated coolness? Then, man, you need to stop drinking in JJ’s. If you want your own RTE series, an undercut will not be enough. You need to engage with the right people, and the right people are in the right bars. South William Street’s Pygmalion has managed to establish itself as the daytime hangout of plug earrings despite being only a toddler in terms of bar lifespans. Expect afternoon pints of dry cider under the smoking canopy and slagging passing shoppers through the internal window of the Powerscourt Shopping Centre. Music-wise, Pyg does little to sate its hipper patrons - you might just get a mix of Strokes songs - but its occasional hip-hop nights, half-price drink Sundays, and stellar DJ booking mean you start in the afternoon, and finish the next morning. Proximity to delicious burritos aid the war effort. You’ve broken the newbie barrier. Show producers have noticed your presence. You hear them muttering about a walk-on part. Establish your credentials by making a beeline for a Bodytonic building, right now. If you want to be a

11/08/2010

king for a day, then the Bernard Shaw is your palace. Car-boot sales, a brokendown bus selling pizza, graffiti battles, mojitos, moustaches, and a goddamn pool table. What more do you need? Your time in the Shaw is soundtracked by what you think is dubstep, but is in fact some unpronouncable spin-off of it, mixed with Colombian afro-pop and 90s commercial trance. Nevermind a five-minute role as an extra, RTE’s honchos are now talking about offering you your very own show. It’s time to prove yourself. You need a joint nobody else knows about. You’re in business. Somebody named Worf in the Shaw smoking area tells you about a secret rave his friend is running after-hours in an abandoned cinema in Rathmines. Loaded up on 2cb and Long Islands, you walk there and offer up the safely-guarded secret password at the back door. And then you’re in. Something’s wrong. Everybody’s younger than you, and have had a serious headstart on the piercings. It’s like a school disco, except with rats, and a couple of 40-something crusties as chauffeurs. The DJ plays LCD Soundsystem’s Losing My Edge. You leave, and cry a little in the lane. The cameramen have gone home.

Contact alan@danceclub.ie or 085-8434071 for more details

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Magic 8 Ball Juno’s Words Katie Gilroy Picture Emma Brereton

Call us a pair of dumb Southsiders but we thought postcodes north of the river were denoted by uneven numbers. How then is Juno’s Cafe located in Dublin 8? Maybe the map’s wrong, we concluded before setting off on our journey, adding a second entry to our mental list of things Google had to answer for, Panos Zambetakis being the first. Sure enough, we traversed the Liffey from South to North and headed up Parkgate Street no nearer to figuring out this brain-racking postcode anomaly. Geography was never either of our strong suits; all that thinking did make us hungry though. Devised by Nordic chef Juha Salo, Juno’s

Cornucopia

Wholefood & Vegetarian

menu is a crowd pleaser of bistro favourites like cider battered fish and chips, pork belly with sauerkraut and serial box-ticker bangers and mash. Lunchtime offerings include down-to-earth sort of stuff like chip butties and a roast in a roll, the kind of real food we’re all craving these days. You’d be mistaken to think the Finnish man’s simple approach to providing for the masses is generic, lazy or boring though. Everything at Juno’s is homemade from the pillow soft brown bread to the freshly whipped tartar sauce that comes with the cod. Salo even smokes his own fish, chillies and lemons. For this alone, he deserve major brownie points. An immediate ambiance greets us at the door before a beaming manageress in nautical stripes leads us to a prime spot down the back, beside a radiator. Quirky touches, from the wooden school chairs complete with bookracks to the butcher style red and white tile clad walls, add to the all-round New York feel of this cosy space that hums with the sound of happy customers. We are not deflated when our starters appear to miss the mark somewhat. A potato and bacon stew is masquerading as a smoked haddock chowder (€6.95); while tasty, the fish is lost amongst the large chunks of the other ingredients. But Juno’s homemade brown bread is a credit to the nimble fingered baker. The deepfried calamari (€6.95) is the pale colour of McDonald’s chips, Niamh, a very critical chef, points out and I concur that they are lacking a certain crispness, although the chilli jam is delicious and the green salad brings a buoyant burst of freshness to the

Dublin’s ﬁnest bar and restaurant in a unique waterside setting Function rooms available

plate. A dish for working class heroes but worthy of kings, bangers and mash are currently the Ugg boots of the culinary world; you can’t glance at a menu in Dublin without spotting the chummy pair and there’s no sign of them going away just yet. I chucked my cumbersome Penny’s version of the Aussie footwear long ago but predict greater longevity for this bistro staple. The sausage at Juno’s is of the Cumberland variety and, nestled in a mound of creamy mash, it promptly addresses any pangs for hearty, comfort food (€13.95). An able match for the slightly spicy sausage is the sweet onion gravy that is mopped up readily. Niamh’s easily manageable organic beef burger (€14.95) neatly fits in the palm of her hand but she complains of an overpowering barbecue flavour that usurps attention from the meat’s excellent quality and towers over the other accompanying condiments garlic aioli and tomato relish. The chips are thick and rustic and live up to their city-wide reputation. A whole poached pear with hazelnut parfait (€6.50) and a gooey chocolate brownie speckled with pecans (€6) are our two dessert choices and are both top notch puds. Our bill including two glasses of Montepulciano Albruzzo comes to a reasonable €67.30. For its flair alone, we would return to Juno’s in Dublin 8. If only we could solve that blasted postcode puzzle. 26 Parkgate Street Dublin 8 t: 01 6709820

Happy New Year from the Team at

Cornucopia Restaurant 19/20 Wicklow Street, Dublin 2. Live Music Thursday to Sunday: 7.30-9.30pm Tel: +353 1 677 7583 Fax: +353 1 671 9449 Email: info@cornucopia.ie - OPENING TIMES Monday to Wednesday: 8.30 – 9.00 Thursday to Saturday: 8.30 – 10.30 Sunday: 12.00 – 8.30

TOTALLY DUBLIN

Millenium Tower Charlotte Quay Dock Dublin 4 01-668 8862 www.oceanbar.ie

We are offering Totally Dublin discount card holders 10% off your food bill for the whole of January 2011*. Eat, drink and be merry. *Terms and conditions apply www.totallydublin.ie

4 5 24 . *6 7 14

Tapas Menu available from 5 pm Mixed Bowl of Luxury Mediteranean Olives â&#x201A;Ź4.95 â&#x20AC;˘ Duo of Carlingford Lough Oysters â&#x201A;Ź5.95 â&#x20AC;˘ Lemon, Garlic & Herb SautĂŠd Gambas â&#x201A;Ź7.95 â&#x20AC;˘ SautĂŠ of Irish Chicken Livers On Toast, Apple Concentrate â&#x201A;Ź6.95 â&#x20AC;˘ Marinated White Bean, Sundried Tomato & Shallot Salad â&#x201A;Ź4.95 â&#x20AC;˘ Garlic and Herb SautĂŠd Potatoes â&#x201A;Ź4.95 â&#x20AC;˘ Charcuterie & Cheese Plate â&#x201A;Ź18 â&#x20AC;˘ Caramelised Single King Scallop, Honey Citrus Dressing, Rocket Leaves â&#x201A;Ź3.95 â&#x20AC;˘ SautĂŠed â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grade Aâ&#x20AC;?, French Foie Gras On Toast â&#x201A;Ź15 â&#x20AC;˘ SautĂŠed Chorizo & Garlic Mushrooms â&#x201A;Ź5.95 â&#x20AC;˘ ConďŹ t Greshingham Duck Leg on Grilled Bread, Onion Chutney â&#x201A;Ź5.95

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236 LOWER RATHMINES ROAD, DUBLIN 6 TEL: 01-4977057

Our tapas menu is designed for those who love to try different dishes, it is ideal for sharing and we encourage guests to order wines by the carafe to accompany their food selection. Should you need any help or advice in choosing either wine or tapas donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hesitate to ask a member of our team.

A 12.5 % Service Charge Will be Added to Parties of 6 or More 11 Upper Baggot Street, Dublin 4 T: 01 6687170 Opening hours Mon-Fri: Lunch 12-2.30, Dinner 5-10.30 Sat: Dinner 4-10.30

Bloom Brasserie has attracted a lot of attention for its food... experience it! www.totallydublin.ie

TOTALLY DUBLIN

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An Education The Schoolhouse Words Katie Gilroy Picture Emma Brereton

TOTALLY DUBLIN

Class is in session. On a screen in the corner, Brian Lenihan mouths his budget. Thankfully the thing is on mute. Save for the odd close-up of a weary looking Minister for Finance and an even less heroic Cowen being transmitted into the main bar area, the Schoolhouse is abound with festive cheer and despite the two unsavoury blippos on an otherwise pleasant landscape; I still have an appetite for lunch. Ours’ is a late one but previous visits to this old redbrick building on Northumberland Road that served as St. Stephen’s Parochial School from 1861 – 1969, has taught us to hang back a while and suffer the impatient belly growls so as to be sure to get a seat. After three o’clock on a snow struck Tuesday, we are pleased to bag a bench beside one of three roaring gas fires from which a pair of Christmas stockings hang and sway conveniently in time with the likes of Wizzard and Slade blasting from the speakers above.

Whatever about dire fiscal news issuing from Minister Lenihan, to hear that Olivier Quenet of La Maison on Castlemarket Street is now responsible for the menu at the Schoolhouse is very good news indeed. In the last six months, the Breton has not only injected a bit of French sophistication into the bar menu but, his Gallic flair for fine dining may also be experienced at his self-titled elegant dining room in a separate annex of the Schoolhouse Hotel. As much as we enjoy starched table cloths, today’s freezer temperatures call for comforting pub grub. The fish cakes (€7.50) surprise us with their high fish content. There is nothing synthetic about the accompanying tartare sauce and the green leaves to the side are nicely dressed, albeit a bit unadventurous. Also served on a long and heavy wooden board, the chicken liver pate (€6.50) which comes with toasted sourdough is very satisfying. Our gripe with the cranberry sauce on the side is that it looks and tastes more like strawberry jam and has the lumpy nature of a poor quality store bought variety. Both main courses are not only generous in size but tout exceptional value. A flavoursome traditional lamb stew (€14.50) burns my mouth with every bite but waiting for the thing to cool is simply not an option. Full of staple Irish ingredients - potato, carrot and superbly tender meat, the stew is just what is needed on this cold winter’s day. On my companion’s plate sits a large quantity of flaky fish in crispy batter (€14.90) and home-made fries that cannot be finished despite valiant efforts (although when something is this good, little effort is required). The base of the ramekin once hidden by a miniature mound of mushy peas is now visible, wiped clean by my friend. There is no room for dessert but no doubt Quenet has some seriously good sweets up his sleeve. If my memory of the puddings at La Maison and the now defunct Olivier’s at O’Brien’s serves me well, we are making a huge mistake by giving this course a miss. Plenty of time for stuffing ourselves at Christmas however. With a coke (€2.80), our late but certainly not light lunch came to €46.20. 2-8 Northumberland Road Ballsbridge Dublin 4 t: 01 6675014

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8 SOUTH WILLIAM STREET, D2

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It aids weight loss and tones, increases metabolism, improves the appearance of cellulite, muscle and skin tone, and reduces stress. While there are a number of vibrating training systems on the market, the Power Plate is the only one with a patented manipulation of gravity. For as little as â&#x201A;Ź10 a session, BodySmart workouts cater to any age group and fitness level, including elite athletes, individuals with joint and mobility problems, individuals

who suffer from MS, osteoporosis and other neuromuscular conditions, to the average male or female who simply want to stay in shape and feel young. The studio runs classes each half hour from Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm, and on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm. For more information, check out www.bodysmart.ie. BodySmart has studios in Grand Canal Square and Mount Merrion. Call 1800 700 777 today

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bitesize

Words Katie Gilroy Pictures Emma Brereton

L. Mulligan. Grocer In March 2010, the 200 year old pub in Stoneybatter shut shop only to be injected with a new lease of life the following July when it was taken over by three food and drink experts: Colin, the beer nut; his wife, Seaneen, the victual genius; and Michael, the ‘whiskey evangelist’. Between them they’ve managed to create a food and drinking emporium that not only prides itself on being ‘fiercely local’ but marries well the traditional aspects of an old, historic watering hole with the aloof style of an exciting new gastro pub. Although Colin insists that he’s ‘the least trendy person ever’, Mulligan’s has the potential to lure shaggy-haired hipsters from whatever achingly cool, hangout they may be hiding in with the promise that it’s anything but mainstream. The list of libations alone – over 100 individually selected beers and whiskies from across Ireland and around the world - are enough to tempt anyone inside its swinging doors. Beer tastings take place every second Saturday from 3-5pm and in honour of the Scottish icon Robert Burns, Mulligans will host a special supper on 23 January at which attendees will enjoy a meal matched with beer and whiskey pairings. The day-to-day menu (attached to a wooden clipboard) includes old favourites with a local twist such as moules frites (€15) and herb-crusted haddock with mushy peas (€13.50) as well as more unusual offerings like wild venison carbonade (€16) and a veggie friendly butternut squash tagine (€12.50). For afters there’s chocolate stout mousse (€5), twice spiced ginger cake with whiskey-laced pouring cream (€5.5) or a cheese board complete with home-baked oatcakes (€7.50) touting the likes of Bellingham Blue and Mossfield Organic; Irish cheeses supplied locally by two lads who live just a stone’s throw away. 18 Stoneybatter Dublin 7 t: 01 670 9889

White Tea Architect Alice Burns swapped a life designing buildings for a two year stint as head chef aboard a Caribbean-bound private cruise ship on which she worked with her husband despite having no previous cooking experience. Literally throwing herself in the deep end, Alice was responsible for planning the menu, stocking up on supplies and providing the meals for both her employers and their team of staff. Having conquered a host of culinary challenges on high waters, managing a new business on dry land should be no bother to her. The Kildare native has taken up residence on the first floor of Brian S. Nolan; the interior design shop on Upper Georges Street, Dun Laoghaire, where she has installed an elegant tea room complete with a fully equipped kitchen for preparing food onsite. The décor at White Tea is feminine and chic with plenty of florals and on display in glass cabinets and on shelves

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is an olio of delicate china tea-cups that Alice has amassed over the years. Open from 9am-4pm Tues-Sat, the first-floor eatery offers a simple selection of lunch options using seasonal ingredients. The soup of the day may be butternut squash (€4.95), the tart a smoked salmon, crème fraiche and chive quiche (€8.50) and the salad with rocket, feta, grilled aubergine and avocado (€8.95). Tempting treats such as raspberry scones, lemon drizzle cake and gluten free flapjacks are baked daily and a selection of these may be enjoyed during afternoon tea which costs €30 for two people. Solaris in Galway supply the herbal tea leaves while the beans come from a boutique coffee roasters in Cork by the name of Badger & Dodo. 102 Upper George’s Street Dun Laoghaire Co. Dublin

www.totallydublin.ie

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Y L L A T O T

FOOD

Restaurant Guide

Kafka

Odessa

Le Bon Crubeen

On the doorstep of the Swan Centre lies one of Rathmines’ best kept secrets. Kafka offers affordable, wholesome, and well-made brasserie fare at a reassuringly reasonable cost. The sparse, minimal décor goes hand in hand with the delicious diner-style food; free of pretence and fuss. With a varied but not overstretched menu, Kafka touches enough bases to cover most tastes. Appetizers range from delicious chicken wings to golden breaded brie, while the main menu offers up anything from hearty bangers and mash, to porcini mushroom risotto. While their prices are easy on the pocket, Kafka cuts no corners with quality of their food.

Odessa is Dublin’s original dining lounge, a mesh of style and substance. Thanks to its newly-popular Fivers menu, its defining quality has become offering affordable sophistication. The restaurant offers a mouth-watering menu renowned for its tapas-style offerings and an unparalleled cocktail menu, all in a chilled-out atmosphere.

A relative new comer to Dublin’s restaurant scene, Le Bon Crubeen is a refined yet unpretentious brasserie. With food quality at the forefront of their philosophy, the people behind this Talbot Street establishment serve up honest, well sourced, brasserie fare. Impressive rotations of weekly specials accompany a menu that offers up among other things, pork belly, and Steak frite, the benchmarks of any brasserie worth its salt.

236 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6

14 Dame Court, Dublin 2

t: 01 670 7634 www.odessa.ie

81- 82 Talbot Street, Dublin 1

www.leboncrubeen.ie t: 01 704 0126

t: 01 497 7057

The Best Western Dublin Skylon Hotel

The Green Hen

33 Exchequer Street, Dublin 2

Upper Drumcondra Road

Open for lunch, dinner, brunch, and snacks, Exchequer Street’s Green Hen offers one of Dublin’s most idiosyncratic menus - with mains ranging from fresh sea trout to tartlet of St. Agur cheese, and duck and mushroom pie amongst the daily specials, the Green Hen’s platters are unparalleled. Traditionalists, fear not - ribeye steak, and duck confit all offer equally delicious options for the less adventurous.

The Rendezvous Room Restaurant is open for both breakfast and dinner. Enjoy a delicious meal in the relaxing and pleasant surroundings, with both A La Carte and Table d’Hote Menus available. The Skylon also boasts a superb selection of wines to choose from. Enjoy a drink or a meal in the Cosmopolitan Bar, newly decorated in traditional Irish style. This is the ideal meeting point for any occasion and is a favourite with locals and visitors alike. Evening menu is also available.

t: 01 6707238

t: 01 808 4418

The Exchequer

Teddy’s Ice-Cream & Grill

A bright addition to Dublin’s growing ‘gastro pub’ scene, The Exchequer abides by its mission to provide fresh, simple, and wholesome food to accompany its impressive selection of cocktails, wine, and imported beers. The stylish and plush surroundings encourage relaxation, but their approach to cuisine is anything but lax. Their well thought out lunch and dinner menus are outdone only by the Sunday roast, which is fast becoming a weekly institution.

99-cone institution for nearly 60 years in Dun Laoghaire, Teddy’s Dundrum Grill offers another side to one of Dublin’s most-loved establishments – Teddy’s offers steak, spare ribs, and burgers par excellence, without destroying your wallet in the run-up to Christmas. And yes, they still do the best ice cream in town.

3-5 Exchequer Street, Dublin 2

Dundrum Town Centre

t: 01 2964799 ek@teddys.ie

www.theexchequer.ie t: 01 670 6856

Eden

Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 The acclaimed, award-winning Eden restaurant serves contemporary food with a distinctive Irish flavour, overlooking the vibrant Meeting House Square in Temple Bar. With a set of mouthwatering dishes available for mains, from mushroom tarts to duck confit, and a stunning location, Eden is one of Dublin’s must-eat experiences.

t: 01 670 5372 www.edenrestaurant.ie

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Venu

Café Carlo

Anne’s Lane, off South Anne St, Dublin 2

63 - 64 O’Connell Street, Dublin 1

Venu has enjoyed a loyal following since it opened in 2006 and it has been renowned for its well-executed, varied food menu and for its award-winning cocktail bar. If you are looking for a vibrant place that serves great cocktails and quality ‘home-made’ dishes at reasonable prices it is hard to look much further than Venu Brasserie. Tues - Sat: Dinner 5.30 til late Saturday Brunch: 12pm til 4pm

The relaxed and intimate setting of Café Carlo, coupled with its high-quality, reasonably priced food and friendly, attentive staff has made this restaurant a huge favourite with Dublin diners. Not only is it a popular choice with visitors to our fair city, it's also found a place in the hearts of the discerning locals, who return time and again to soak up the Cafe Carlo atmosphere and enjoy some genuinely delicious food. Free glass of wine with every main course when mentioning this ad!

t: 01 67 06755 www.venu.ie charles@venubrasserie.com

t: 01 888 0856 www.cafecarlo.net

www.totallydublin.ie

The Butcher Grill

Coppinger Row

Bloom Brasserie

A new venture from the successful Dillinger’s of Ranelagh, the butcher Grill is a more meaty affair than its sister restaurant. The Butcher Grill offers a wide spread of carnivorous meals cooked on wood-smoked grills, from veal striploin to grilled halibut. With an excellent starters menu featuring oysters, beef carpaccio and Irish rabbit, the Butcher Grill excels in its variety - but don’t worry, the dessert menu is decidedly meat-free. A new jewel in the Ranelagh culinary crown.

The Bereen brothers from the South William Urban Lounge have created an exciting new option for dining out in Dublin: fresh, simple Mediterranean dishes, perfect for diving in and sharing with friends, family and work colleagues alie, in the funky laid-back atmosphere of Coppinger Row, slap-bang in the middle of the coolest quarter of south city Dublin

Bloom Brasserie is a restaurant with lofty ambitions. With an excellent head chef well versed in the traditions of French cuisine, Bloom’s offers up accessible cuisine that accentuates their quality local ingredients. Head chef Pól Ó hÉannraich has lovingly assembled a menu that sees Angus Beef carpaccio alongside Caramelised King Scallops, and Roast Seabass. All dishes are freshly prepared and cooked to perfection.

92 Ranelagh Village, Dublin 6

t: 01 498 1805

Off South William St, Dublin 2

Mon - Sat Lunch Menu 12 - 3pm Afternoon Menu 3 - 6pm Dinner 6 - 11pm Sunday Brunch 12.30 - 4pm Evening 6 -9pm

11 Upper Baggot Street, Dublin 4

Chrysanthemum

Unit 1 Old Orchard Inn, Butterfield Ave, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 Attached to the Old Orchard Inn, this Chinese restaurant on Rathfarnham’s Butterfield Avenue has an extensive menu, which couples traditional Chinese cuisine with several house specialties. Cantonese style fillet of beef and black pepper spring lamb head a thoroughly enticing menu.

t: 01 493 4938

www.bloombrasserie.ie t: 01 668 7170

t: 01 672 9884 www.coppingerrow.com

Tante Zoe’s

Diep Noodle Bar

1 Crow Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2

Ranelagh Village, Dublin 6 Thai and Vietnamese food experts, Diep, offer a great value noodle-based menu with an exciting and exotic range of dishes including soups, salads and stir-fries. Diep Noodle Bar’s Bangkok Street Food menu is a steal and includes three courses of soup, appetiser and main course for €16 available Monday to Sunday until 7pm. With it’s fresh and genuine approach to cooking alongside it’s popular cocktail bar, warm hospitality and it’s releaxed but vibrant atmosphere. Diep Noodle Bar is a firm local favourite.

Temple Bar, Dublin’s own French Quarter - is an appropriate home for this lively Cajun/Creole restaurant where great music meets great food. Try the gumbos, Jambalayas and blackened dishes... You won’t find better this side of the Mississippi. Originated from Louisiana, and is a combination of American Indian, African, French and Spanish cuisines - and it’s Tante Zoe’s speciality. Tante Zoe’s also has private rooms to cater for parties of 20, 40 and 100 people.

t: 01 6794407 www.tantezoes.com

t: 01 497 6550 www.diep.net

The Chili Club

Yo Thai

1 Anne’s Lane, South Anne Street, D2

Deerpark Road, Mount Merrion, Dublin 18

Just shy of its 20th birthday Dublin’s Chili Club has had a welcome restyling and is now under new management. Quietly hidden away in Anne’s Lane opposite Kehoe’s Pub, the Chili Club was Dublin’s first Thai restaurant and has since its heyday been consistently serving, delicious, authentic Thai food. A recent makeover of cool greens and vibrant fuschia, along with a new bar breathes fresh life into the premises. It has long been a popular spot with local stockbrokers and visiting celebrities and continues to draw an eclectic clientele. A two course lunch is €9.95, three course €12.95 and a recessionary early bird menu is priced at a tempting €14.95. Combine these reasonable prices with cool tunes, friendly staff and a carefully selected wine list, this makes the Chili Club an ideal place for after work supper or a great night out.

This much loved fusion restaurant marries traditional Thai food with the energy of Japanese Teppanyaki tables. Whether you want their highly skilled chefs to put on a show cooking at the table, or simply order food to you table, Yo Thai is a reliable source of good quality East Asian cuisine.

t: 01 288 8994

t: 01 677 3721 info@chiliclub.ie

Pacino’s

Il Primo

The Farm

Chai Yo

For over 15 years Pacino’s has been a family-run restaurant known for its delicious ‘Classic & Gourmet’ pizzas and pastas, steaks and salads. It serves traditional, fresh, quality Italian cuisine. Its beef is 100% Irish, and sourced from reputable suppliers, and its pizza dough made fresh, inhouse, daily. Pacino’s offers a modern dining experience, with an old world vibe – stylish brickwork, wooden floors and soft lighting all combine to create a relaxed, rustic, informal atmosphere.

Il Primo is one of the longest-established Italian restaurants in Dublin’s city centre. For over a decade, Il Primo has been serving rustic Italian food paired with some of the best wines that Tuscany has to offer. Most of its wines are imported directly to Il Primo and cannot be found anywhere else in Ireland. The restaurant is located in a romantic period house, which has been converted into a lively, homely bar area and a cosy and intimate dining room, located five minutes from St. Stephen’s Green. The emphasis throughout Il Primo is on providing some of the finest wines from Tuscany with a range of simple and delicious Italian dishes in the heart of Dublin.

The Farm is about tasty homemade locally sourced free range, organic and fresh food. Healthy vegetables and fresh herbs. All their food is freshly prepared and cooked to order.

Famed for their Teppenyaki tables creating a unique and interactive eating experience, as well as meals made from the freshest, highest quality ingredients and a great party opportunity, Chai Yo perfects the balance between fun and food. For the less party-inclined of visitors, there is a quieter downstairs section. Something for everyone!

18 Suffolk St., Dublin 2

t: 01 677 5651 www.pacinos.ie

16 Montague Street, Dublin 2

t: 01 478 3373 Email: info@ilprimo.ie

www.totallydublin.ie

3 Dawson St, Dublin 2

11 am to 11 pm 7 days a week

t: 01 671 8654 hello@thefarmfood.ie

100 Lower Baggot St, Dublin 2

Mon-Fri:12.30-3pm, 6pm-11.30pm Sat: 5.30pm-midnight Sun: 3pm-10pm

t: 01 676 7652 www.chaiyo.ie TOTALLY DUBLIN

SuperMassiveBlackHole www.supermassiveblackholemag.com Aside from being a whorling void munching up stars in the midst of galaxies, and a neo-prog hit single by Muse, Super Massive Black Hole is also the name of a photography mag you should know about. We like this magazine not only because of its high quality visual and written content, but are also a bit swayed by the fact it’s one of the few mags of this nature to stem from our shores – SMBH is the first online international photography publication in Ireland, in fact. But though both the magazine and its founder, Barry W. Hughes, are Dubliners, it’s been quite the hit internationally as well – contributors stem from everywhere from Finland to South Africa. Photography may seem like a fairly limited field of creativity, however the magazine deals with the medium widely: they accept “almost anything involved with the photographic process”, be it video-stills, essays or articles on the subject, photographic documentation of other creative projects (e.g. performances), as well as straightforward snapshots. Each issue takes on a theme with December’s offerings, issue six, confronting the subversive topic of ‘Death and the Ritual’. The responses to the topic vary tremendously, refusing to explore the theme in an obvious way, so things stay fresh as you flick through the pages. Virtual page-flicking, that is – like many emerging magazines, particularly ones for niche audiences such as SMBH, the publication can only be read online. PDF copies become available to download from their site (www.supermassiveblackholemag. com) around three times a year. The obvious upside of online-only magazines is that everything’s free – so a subscription to your inbox comes far easier on your wallet than a printed photography mag would. (Now wouldn’t it be nice to find a magazine that is both free AND on-paper? Imagine...) - RA

EC - Elva Carri RA - Rosa Abbott RK - Roisín Kiberd

TOTALLY DUBLIN

Tat Mags

A Visual Feast

Inked Girls, Curious Fiend, Prick Magazine

Irish Street Art: Stencils, Paste Ups, Murals, and Portraits [Independent Pub.]

Yes, they do exist, and it’s not all just Flash roundups and buxom tarts with tribal lower backs. Tattoo culture is a worldwide obscurity, and how better to celebrate it than with magazines which do it justice as an art and a lifestyle? The wonderfully-named Prick Magazine warns off newbies with its front pages full of ads for ‘H2Ocean’ sanitizer and a ‘new generation of tattoo guns’, as does the story further in on ‘play piercer’ Max Brand, whose creative approach sees backs and ribcages studded with barbells and implanted metal rods, photographed by the artist himself in stomach-lurching detail. As a primer in body modification, Prick throws you in at the deep end. Curious Fiend is a webzine spawned by tattoo culture but drawing on various arts. Though it looks patchy, it turns out to be a polished, surprisingly high-minded take on the alt arts scene, featuring interviews including Irish artist Conor Harrington, music, typography, parkour and radical horticulture. The interviews are especially useful to artists looking for guidance; UK illustrator David Shillinglaw describes his day as ‘Coffee. Eat. Coffee. Work. Coffee. Work. Sleep. Coffee.’, and no interviewee hesitates to discuss finances, whether this means taking commercial work to fund private projects, or living the ‘starving artist’ dream. And then we come to the motherlode; Inked Magazine’s annual girly edition, now in its fourth year, kicks off with ‘Megan’, the pneumatic lovechild of Jodie Marsh and Pete Burns, with a full set of sleeves and a similarly ‘modified’ chest and lips. Next we’re plunged into Suicide Girls territory (yes, the smirky brat with the pigtails lives on!) with ‘Rachel’, wearing geek glasses, thigh-high sports socks and little else. It features a requisite number of broad-shouldered biker dames with frighteningly hefty physiques, but the edition is redeemed by the cover shoot, all hyper-coloured, David LaChapelle kitsch, shot by somebody named ‘Dangerously Dolly’. The print is glossy and (most of) the girls are delicious, but, like the swallows and mermaids snaking up the models arms, one can’t help but think there’s just too much of a good thing. - RK

Dublin’s appetite for the illegal beauty of graffiti is dulled by the constant bombardment of scrawley tags and tipp-exed ‘who loves whos’ in this collection of local street art. What Lauren Teeling and Rua Meegan have created is a well-documented appetizer of clever stencils, paste-ups, murals and installations. The book is a photographic showcase of the work of Irish practitioners such as ADW, Will St. Leger and Conor Harrington, and includes commentary from the artists themselves. Also featured in the book are works in Ireland by internationallyrenowned purveyors of the medium. The authors are street art fans themselves, and it was a love of the artform that led them to compiling the book. As a result the book transmits an infectious passion. Side effects of consuming A Visual Feast may include noticing more and more bits of street art everywhere, wondering who did it and what it means, as well as late night trips down the nearest alley with a pair of marigolds and a spray can. Available from Easons, Urban Outfitters, Tower Records, GStar Stores, ANewSpace Gallery, All City and at www.avisualfeast.ie - EC

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Burlesque Director: Steve Antin Talent: Christina Aguilera, Cher, Stanley Tucci Released: 17th December

■■■■■ The King’s Speech Director: Tom Hooper Talent: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Timothy Spall Released: 7th January Colin Firth delivers an astonishingly brilliant central performance in Tom Hooper’s follow-up to The Damned United, detailing King George VI’s struggle to overcome his stammer between the years of 1925 (when he is still Prince Albert, Duke Of York) and 1939, enlisting the help of Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian speech therapist with whom he (initially reluctantly) develops a close personal bond. There is much to dislike about the film, on paper, charting a rather unremarkable narrative course through what is admittedly a rather trifling affair (though speech impediments are perhaps a more serious issue for monarchs), and those of us familiar with 20th century history will be aware of how the matter is concluded well in advance of such happening on-screen. However, the subject matter is lent an unprecedented poignancy and intrigue by Colin Firth’s consummate, affecting performance as George VI, gripping one’s attention from beginning to end and cementing his status as a genuinely good actor in spite of all the terrible films he’s been in (I don’t think he has an addiction or mental illness to blame it on either, unfortunately for the critical community). This might well be contemporary, British “white telephone” cinema, which does not contest the nature of monarchy nor indeed occupy itself with broader political questions relating to the British Empire as it was at the time, but it is a stark and captivating study of a vulnerable yet courageous man, worthy of anyone’s time. If the promise of a “meaty” portrayal of Winston Churchill by Timothy Spall isn’t a good enough reason for you to see the film, the scene in which Firth stammers his way through a bedtime story at his daughters’ request might well be the most touching thing I’ve seen on-screen in 2010. Oisin Murphy

Morning Glory Director: Roger Michell Talent: Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton, Harrison Ford, Jeff Goldblum Released: 21st January

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Burlesque is an easy film to slag. It isn’t a complete disaster and is possibly a future guilty pleasure for a lot of people due to some fun set pieces, truly remarkable costumes and just the general camp aesthetic of it all. Ali (Xtina) is a small-town waitress with no family. So one day she closes the restaurant, sings on the table-tops, then heads off on a bus to L.A. She is down on her luck, naive and penniless. That is until she encounters The Burlesque Lounge, a crumbling theatre with no money but lots of heart. Ali is smitten and blags her way into a waitressing job and is soon revealed to be the club’s greatest asset who might just save the joint before the bank forces them to sell to a slimy investor. Be prepared for a silly plot, some hammy performances, a lot of skin and visual candy. If you know what you’re in for you might just enjoy this mess of glitter and tassles. It earns a whole extra star for Stanley Tucci’s marvellous presence. - CL

Becky is a dreamer, she has dreamed of being a television producer since she was a little girl. After being let go from the morning programme she produces in New Jersey she desperately tries to find a new job, any job! She is ecstatic when she lands the job of Executive Producer with Manhattan morning show “Daybreak”, despite warnings from everyone involved that it is the worst job ever and she won’t last five minutes. This is a story of someone who refuses to give up and is rather inspiring in a frothy kind of way. Her adversaries in the form of vain anchor Collen (Keaton) and pompous Mike (Ford) are formidable and it takes a special kind of plucky heroine to penetrate their hearts. Luckily Rachel McAdams is delightfully well-rounded and loveable as always which allows the audience to forgive the films less pleasant qualities and accept it for the mindless romp it is. Fun, but forgettable. - CL

Catfish

A Thorn In My Heart

Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman Talent: Yaniv Schulman, Megan Faccio, Aimee Gonzalez Released: 17th December

Director: Michel Gondry Talent: Aunt Suzette Release date: 7th January

Tech-phobes left cold by The Social Network will find vindication in Catfish, a slow-burning documentary about the online friendship between a documentary filmmaker, Nev, and a young artist named Abby. Nev begins as smug and suspect, requesting art from the precocious eight-year-old who contacts him out of the blue, as well as forging curiously strong online ties with her family. If shooting a documentary about the young artist through the perspective of her much-older male friend seems curious, things later take a far stranger turn. Catfish’s dull production disappoints, and the moral of the film is one already known to anyone raised on Net Nanny and Comic Chat. However, what emerges is a genuinely perturbing study of just how much we give of ourselves to the online ether, a limbo plane on which truth lacks a concrete definition. Catfish terrifies by spinning a narrative from these personal details, available for free to anyone on any of us. It is open-access horror, the definitive anti-Facebook movie. - RK

A sleepy, slow-paced documentary just that little bit too familar to anyone burdened with annoying relatives over Christmas, Michel Gondry’s documentary is no less tender and imaginative than his fictional efforts. The film takes Gondry’s aunt Suzette, a retired teacher, as its subject, following as she revisits the schools she taught in over twenty years ago. Particular in that particularly French manner, Suzette commands the screen from the outset, holding court at the dinner table and narrating long-winded, open-ended tales of past family gatherings. Moments of surrealism and clay-mation tableaux punctuate a slight, yet endearing portrait of a woman coming to terms with time’s passage and her son’s homosexuality. The son in question, Jean-Yves, gives a rival commentary on their difficult relationship; the warring two provide a strange kind of context to Gondry’s rebel spirit, but his subjects are so underwhelmingly genial that there’s very little conflict, and, by proxy, little plot; the director simply lets them ramble good-naturedly on until they reach the end of their dinner speeches. - RK

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OM - Oisin Murphy IL - Ian Lamont CL - Charlene Lydon RK - Roisin Kiberd

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For more album reviews, videos, mp3s, single reviews, live previews, interviews, music news and comprehensive gig listings throughout the month, visit our new website www.totallydublin.ie

games

Words Zoe Jellicoe

Super Mario All Stars 25th Anniversary Edition Nintendo – Wii

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Commemorating Mario’s appearance in 1985 and Nintendo’s lack of shame, this is a re-release of a re-release of a compendium of the original three Mario Bros NES games and one previously unreleased (but now released four times) Japan-only title. These were all fantastic games in their own right, and then on the SNES with updated graphics and a save file system, were better than ever. Princesses in other castles in Mario Bros, quirky turnip throwing in Mario Bros 2, raccoon suits in Mario Bros 3 and nail-biting difficulty in Lost Levels make these some of Nintendo’s best and most memorable games. These are games we’ve seen dozens of times, but that’s ok! It’s the price that irks. The four NES games are available for download individually for €5, but what should be a SNES game (usually €8 each for download) costs at least €30. This would be a great game if we weren’t being forced to pay a tenner for a save feature. Cheap shot. - JH

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Ubisoft – Xbox360, PS3

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Horrorshow Do we play frightening video games for the same reasons that we watch horror films? To an extent, yes. And because of its medium, video games might have an even greater capacity to scare us. It’s often difficult for people who don’t enjoy the being frightened to understand how others could take pleasure in the sensation. One way of understanding the attraction of horror is as an adrenalinehigh; a similar rush of intensity which people get from roller coasters, sky-diving, or chess boxing. It’s been argued that it is the feeling of relief, once the tension has eased and the frightening moment ended, that we crave, rather than the anxious feeling of fear itself. The only reason we are willing to put ourselves through moments of fearful discomfort is because of the relief following it. Video games take things one step beyond, by (as many argue) being a more immersive medium. The leap is huge: there’s a tremendous difference between reading about or watching someone else wandering into a scary shack on an isolated farm, and having to “do it yourself”. Even though you aren’t actually in the game, you are in near-complete control

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Ass Creed Bros follows italo-hunk Ezio high-stepping around renaissance Rome with Da Vinci and Machiavelli – curiously explained as being the “genetic memory” of the guy from Prison Break and his hacker historians in future Italy. Future Italy is an awful place full of clichéd conversations that must be waded through before we can get in the magic memory machine and start having fun leaping gaily from rooftop to rooftop fighting the evil Borgia. The liberation of Roma unfortunately never challenges, combat and climbing look good, but feel detached. Although Ezio seems to do most things for you, luckily it never bores - Rome feels like a real city full of people, with plenty to climb and fall off. The main story could be finished in a few hours, but you won’t want to skip the side quests – crazy cultists, Leonardo’s war machines and assassin recruitment give hours of distraction. Assassins recruited can be called in to help in battles or sent away on contracts in a Football Manager style system, adding more depth to a great (albeit easy) game that could have done without the awful framing device. - JH

Super Meat Boy of your character, and any failures are dependent upon your own abilities. As with other good horror, less is more – you shouldn’t be attacked by waves of monsters. There might only be one lurking somewhere, but you don’t know when you were going to bump into one. The promise of monsters is always more scary than the actual monsters. In a good scary video game, you will move slowly, keep your back to the wall, spin around quickly at any sound, and ration your bullets. When games really scare us, we often shirk fights and attempt to just run away. Which is probably what most of us would do in a real life zombie apocalypse. Even if you enjoy frightening films and books, you might not necessarily enjoy the video games because of the level of control that you have over the story. The demands made by an immersive game upon people who secretly don’t enjoy the feeling of being scared, only the relief following it, may indeed be too much. A high-level of commitment to horror is required here – unlike a book or film you can’t just skip passages or hide behind a cushion.

Team Meat – PC, Mac, Xbox360, Wii

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Not for the faint of heart or short of temper, Super Meat Boy is an eye-gougingly difficult platformer. The controls are simple and tight – and they need to be. Our meaty morsel of a main character moves at lightning pace, sliding along floors and walls on a film of blood, splattery death always milliseconds away. The ingenious level design demands that you think fast and act faster. Each level can be successfully completed in a matter of seconds, but only after ten minutes of repeated death by buzz saw, lava blob and laser beam. This does involve an element of memorisation, but this is a small complaint. Pulse quickening music, a 16-bit art style straddling the cutesy/gory line and a huge number of levels and unlockables seal the deal on one of the best games this year. - JH

JH - John Hyland

www.totallydublin.ie

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www.gourmetburgercompany.ie

TOTALLY DUBLIN