Paddy goes piano jazz:If St Patrick's Day leaves you with a bad taste of diddly-aye, refresh your palate with some piano jazz this week when the Neil Cowley Trio comes to town. Cowley, a former member of Brand New Heavies and Zero 7, was a child prodigy who performed Shostakovich at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London at the age of 10.
He has run the gamut of musical styles, from classical through soul, since then, ending up at an eclectic jazz mix that takes in a little of everything but gives out something altogether new. He's joined by Richard Sadley on double bass and Evan Jenkins on drums for another of the energetic live performances that are making a name for the trio in the UK. Catch them at Dolans Warehouse in Limerick on Wednesday and the Sugar Club in Dublin on Thursday. Fiona McCann
Beady eye
Wouldn't it be great to take a hobby you loved as a child and turn it into a small business? That's what Fiona Fewer, a Dublin-based designer, is doing with Dink Design, her handmade-jewellery venture. As a young girl Fewer made spectacular outfits for her dolls, recalls her mum, and in her teens she taught herself to craft jewellery, making a necklace for her debs and costume pieces for friends. Now a graphic designer and mother of two, Fewer has gone back to her creative roots and set up a studio in her Kimmage home, sourcing crystals, gems and precious metals from all over the world to create one-off designs that sell for between €30 and €60, including one made of amber freshwater pearls with Swarovski crystals and sterling silver for €38. "I get really excited when a new shipment of beads and materials arrives," says Fewer, who sells her creations online and through craft fairs. "I love sorting them out, deciding what will go with what. I go into my studio just for a second and, before I know it, an hour has passed. Making the pieces has become a huge passion. I find it very therapeutic." Call 01-4929708 or see www.rubylane.com/shops/dinkdesign. Claire O'Connell
Home-grown humour
As you read this Neil Delamere is in Johannesburg, cracking up a South African audience on this quintessentially Irish of days. He's ever more popular at home, and now it looks as if he's on the rise internationally, too.
The Offaly-born comedian first appeared on the national radar when he joined The Panel, on RTÉ2, in 2004. Since then he has wisecracked with high-profile figures such as John Simpson, the BBC's world-affairs editor, and Howard Marks, the writer and former dope dealer - and almost without exception he made them laugh. Which of the show's guests impressed him most? "Heston Blumenthal," he says, referring to the Michelin-starred chef. "Well, I picked somebody hard to spell, because I knew you'd have to write it down."
Making the transition from stand-up to television doesn't appear to have fazed him. "The Panel is the closest you can get to stand-up. It's a live audience, so you know what works straight away. But at the same time it's recorded, so you can get the best possible show out of it, and get rid of the bits that don't work."
Storytelling is one of the central features of Irish humour, he says. "If there's something I want to really develop and become good at, in terms of comedic style, it's storytelling, rather than the quick punchline delivery."
Neil Delamere is at Vicar Street, Dublin, on Thursday, on Sunday, March 25th and on Sunday, April 1st. Fiona McCann
Let there be light
Sunshine is on the way. I'm referring not to the weather - this is Ireland, after all - but to the latest film by Danny Boyle, the cult director of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later. It is set in 2057, when the sun is dying and humans face extinction. An eight-strong crew aboard the Icarus II spacecraft are tasked with using a nuclear bomb to reignite the sun. If Boyle's previous films are anything to go by, this will be no run-of-the-mill space-mission flick. And, just to brighten up your day, the Irish Film Institute is hosting a preview screening - and the Irish premiere - of the film on Monday, March 26th, at 7.45pm. It will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Boyle, his producer Andrew Macdonald and his star Cillian Murphy (left). Call 01-6793477 or see www.irishfilm.ie. Eimear McKeithSoaking it up
With its ice-cream shops, gaming arcades and dodgems, Newcastle in Co Down is an old-fashioned seaside resort. But in recent years the down-at-heel town - beautifully situated under the dark sweep of the Mourne Mountains - has been undergoing a slow renaissance. The iron-grey Irish Sea is still as freezing as ever, though, so why not take a dip in the North's first seaweed baths instead? Lower yourself into a roll-top bath filled with warm seaweed-strewn saltwater at Soak Baths, based in a lovely old Victorian terrace on South Promenade. It's not a new concept: the rural farming community has enjoyed the benefits of seaweed soaks for centuries. The mineral-rich water is said to be invaluable for easing all kinds of aches and pains, as well as giving a boost to skin and hair. Take along a CD and you can even listen to your favourite music as you swill around for an hour. It doesn't have to be a solitary pleasure: a double bathroom is available, so bring your partner and take a bath each. A perfect end to a day tramping in the Mournes. Prices start at £20 (about €30). See www.soakseaweedbaths.co.uk. Fionola Meredith
Cloona collection
Although Shanleys of Westport has closed down after a century of trading, Cloona Designs, run by Helen Shanley, continues to thrive in the town. She will have a new address from this month on James Street, where her interesting collection of labels, particularly in co-ordinating linens, will be sold exclusively in Ireland. Aimed at flattering women from sizes 10 to 26, Cloona Designs is the only stockist, for example, of Walking Works of Art, a Welsh company specialising in colour-saturated silk and velvet scarves and capes. New this season is the Shinobu range, from Japan, which uses traditional dyeing methods and natural plant pigments for its fabrics. Deirdre McQuillan
Words and music
Wednesday is UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and what better way to mark it than with an eclectic evening of words and music at the Irish Writers' Centre? A selections of readings will be given by writers such as Olutoyin Pamela Akinjobi, from Nigeria, as well as participants in the centre's writers' group for aspiring authors from Ireland's ethnic-minority communities, including Anita Beloiu from Romania and Tsogbadrakh Dashdondov from Mongolia. The readings will be peppered with acoustic sets by four up-and-coming Irish bands: Reemo, Henry Sails, The Isohels and Borndays. The evening kicks off at 6.30pm at 19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1; admission is free. See www.writerscentre.ie or call 01-8721302. Eimear McKeith
• Dublin Painting & Sketching Club's 129th annual exhibition opens on Monday at 11am at the Concourse arts centre, County Hall, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, where it runs until April 1st. Work by more than 70 contemporary artists - some members of the RHA - will be on show, with prices ranging from €150 to €1,000. Always worth a look. Call 01-8389718
Readers' requests:the dress worn by the young Irish model Laragh McCann on last week's cover was by Sass & Bide, €775 from Tulle in Market Arcade, South Great George's Street, Dublin 2, worn over an Eilish Boyle cream pin-tuck chiffon layered dress, €560 to order from www.ailishboyle.com.