Niche travel

It’s back to the school of life this September as Dubliners make the most of a packed timetable of cultural events.

Sharpen your pencils for a festival season that includes Mountains to Sea, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown’s book festival, where the line-up includes Man Booker winner Howard Jacobson, as well as Phillipa Gregory and John Banville.

Hot on its heels is the Dublin Fashion Festival, in which clotheshorses will gallop across the city from fashion event to fashion event, including catwalks in bars and pop-up shops in unlikely settings.

Dublin Fringe, a multi-disciplinary arts festival, will see more than 500 events take place in 40 venues over 16 days, while Dublin Culture Night returns to ensure we get even less sleep than normal, with 150 venues getting involved including the Dublin Writers Museum and Trinity College Library.

Rest your body but stimulate your mind with a dose of drama at the Dublin Theatre Festival, the theme of which is Your City, Your Stories.

Organisers are erecting a giant, illuminated smiley (they hope) face which will reflect the expressions on the faces of passersby to get a sense of how we’re all feeling: knackered probably, because the cultural bonanza continues into October, when Open House Dublin celebrates the city’s architecture and Hard Working Class Heroes – where one ticket will bag you 100 bands in six venues over three days.

And talking of music, the Guinness initiative, Arthur’s Day, is back on September 27th, with acts including Fatboy Slim, Professor Green, Tinie Tempah and Amy MacDonald. You’re going to need a mid-term break of your own after that lot.