Something for the weekend: Five things you need to check out (10 – 12 May)

If you'd prefer slow food to fast food, we've got you covered.

We are nearing the middle of May and still it doesn't feel like summer, but it will come. Won't it? Of course it will! Anyway, there are still loads of things to be doing over the weekend which are not reliant on the weather. Get up and get out.

Burren Slow Food Festival

You can stick your fast food where the sun doesn't shine (probably anywhere in Ireland so) because we prefer slow food and in the Burren, they've even dedicated a whole festival to it. Taking place in Lisdoonvarna, the Burren Slow Food Festival 2019 sees some of the island’s best culinary talents working with Irish seaweed and sea vegetables in their dishes – chefs as diverse and exciting as the product with which they are working. There will be loads of talks from experts in the field and two exclusive pop-up restaurant events will take place, inspired by the weekend’s theme of seaweed, with limited tickets available for each on Eventbrite.ie.

The Acoustic Yard Music Festival

If you're fed up with music that relies on electricity, this festival could be right up your street. Well, on the streets of Westport in Mayo anyway. The Acoustic Yard Music Festival returns for its fourth year this weekend, with some of the finest songwriters and musicians in Ireland and the world all gathering in the beautiful town. Acts already confirmed for this year include: The Pale, Morrissey and Marshall (pic above), Aoife Scott and Matt Owens from Noah and the Whale. The festival offers three days of concerts, workshops and free open-air daytime events.

Fairy Lore and Landscapes Exhibition

This is not a washing up liquid exhibition. It's part of the Fairy Lore and Landscapes Project, which comprises an ethnographic documentary and a comparative study in the form of a book, and an interactive database will be launched in the future. The ongoing comparative ethnographic research project examines traditions connected to fairies and how related beliefs, legends and attitudes are connected to landscapes. The project investigates fairy lore as an aspect of intangible cultural heritage in its connection to materiality in landscapes, sites, and sense of place, in relation to Ireland, Iceland and Newfoundland in Canada. It all takes place in the UCC Study of Religions Department at University College Cork’s Boole Library (exhibition space on the ground floor).

Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series - Dublin

This is a spectacular event. Witness grown adults throw themselves off cliffs in the name of sport and entertainment. Dublin will host the second of the seven stops of the 2019 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series at Dún Laoghaire Harbour on Saturday and Sunday, when the world’s elite male and female divers will return to Ireland. Hosted three times previously on Inis Mór, this is the first time the World Series event will be held in the capital, with thousands expected to attend this dramatic competition. With more twists than a M. Night Shyamalan movie, this will be an incredible spectacle.

PhotoIreland Festival 2019

This runs until the end of July, but is well worth checking out. It all takes place in Dublin at The Library Project, Temple Bar, and at Rathfarnham Castle, with works by Luis Alberto Rodriguez, Benedetta Casagrande, Leonardo Falascone, Lucie Khakhoutian, Clare Lyons, and Yvette Monahan. The two main shows running this weekend are The People Of The Mud by Luis Alberto Rodriguez, at The Library Project, and The Invention Of Memory at Rathfarnham Castle. There are other fringe events you can check out via the festival website. There is also a handy Day-By-Day page which allows you to see exactly what's open on any given day.