Top things to do in Dublin: week of 20 April 2026

Right, Dublin. The clocks have been forward for nearly a month and the city has started behaving like the days are actually long again. Here's what's on, Monday through Sunday.

Monday — easy night in the city

Mondays are deadly quiet here, which is grand if that's what you're after. The Cobblestone in Smithfield has its session as it does every night, no fanfare. Whelan's has a singer-songwriter slot upstairs that's usually worth a fiver in. Otherwise, one of the bistros on Camden Street — that's a plan in itself.

Tuesday — startup meetup in the docklands

The Dublin Founders Tuesday group meets at one of the Grand Canal Dock spaces this week — short panel, drinks afterwards, the crowd is a healthy mix of early-stage founders, a few of the engineering leads from the bigger players in town, and a steady minority of recently-arrived London expats. RSVP early, it's been filling up fast since the new year.

Wednesday — Vicar Street gig

Vicar Street has a properly good booking on Wednesday — a touring act doing the kind of show that always works in that room. Tickets were going at time of writing. Door at 7.30, support is worth the early arrival, main on by 9.

Thursday — comedy at the International

Thursday at The International Bar has its long-running comedy night — mixed line-up, mostly Irish comics with one or two visiting acts. The room is small, the laughs are real, the pints are reasonable. Get there before 8 for a seat.

Friday — Stoneybatter trad and a long night

The trad session at Walsh's of Stoneybatter on Friday is the move. Properly good musicians, no tourists, the bar staff know what they're doing. After, one of the bars on Manor Street will keep you going. If you want a club, Index has a strong booking and the door is friendly enough.

Saturday — full day plan

Saturday is the day to commit. Lunch at one of the spots in the Liberties, walk along the canal, coffee in Stoneybatter or Phibsborough, then dinner somewhere in the city centre. The Workman's Club has its Saturday programme upstairs and downstairs — the upstairs is usually the better booking, the downstairs is louder. Pick one and stay, don't be hopping around, you'll loose the night.

Sunday — Dún Laoghaire market

If your Saturday wasn't catastrophic, the People's Park market in Dún Laoghaire on Sunday is the move. DART out, walk the pier, eat something from one of the stalls, walk back. Fresh air on the face, sea on the left, the city behind you. It's deadly.

The wider list

There's alot more on this week than I've fit above — the smaller venues, the standing meetups, gigs at places like The Sugar Club and The Grand Social. The Dublin this-week page pulls all of it into one filter. Useful for filling the Tuesday and Thursday gaps when the headline calendar is thinner.

A note on weather

Forecast is standard late-April Dublin — sun, then rain, then sun again, all before lunch. Bring a coat to the gig, even if it looks fine when you leave the house. It will not be fine. This is Ireland in April.

That's the week. Tuesday for the meetup, Wednesday for Vicar Street, Friday for the trad, Sunday for the pier. Grand stuff.