FAIR DEAL: The Art Ireland fair has been running in Dublin for six years; this weekend it's expanding to Cork. Maria McMenamin, organiser of the Dublin and Cork events, has been developing art fairs in Ireland since seeing similar events in the UK, and she hopes to bring her fairs to Galway and Belfast next year.
This weekend, more than 40 galleries and artists will be exhibiting their work in Cork City Hall. The Kinsale Art Gallery, Cunnamore Galleries and the Carrigaline Art Studio will be represented, and local artists such as Philip Gray and Mary Gough will be present in person, along with artists from further afield, including Kevin Sharkey and Claudio Viscardi. Prices start at €100 for a print, but the exhibition will also include original works of painting, sculpture and photography. Cork Art Fair, today and tomorrow, Cork City Hall. www.corkartfair.com. Adults €10, concessions €5, under-12s free. Nicoline Greer
DESTINATION HOWTH
It's been a long time coming, but as the new development overlooking Howth Harbour nears completion, the seafront is looking better than ever. There's a farmers' market every Sunday; one of the Beshoffs is rumoured to be planning an oyster bar on the pier; there are a number of new shops worth exploring, and we love the new Skyy Bar atop Michael and Mark Wright's latest venture, which has a gastro pub on the ground floor, a Lemongrass restaurant on the first floor and the Skyy Bar above that. The design is slick, the food is good, they aim to have a long list of cocktails as well as wines available by the glass. Best of all, of course, is the view and the fact that locals and visitors have a new destination. Wright's Findlater Howth, Harbour Road, Howth, Co Dublin. Patsey Murphy
SNAP UP A SNAP
More than 165 photographers will display their work on the railings of St Stephen's Green, Dublin, today and tomorrow. The People's Photography event is growing every year, with mostly amateurs or aspiring professional photographers exhibiting their work. The event was started 20 years ago by Podge Kelly but had begun dwindling in size about six years ago. Spurred on by the digital revolution, organiser Eddie Mallins revived it. This year's, he hopes, will be the biggest yet. People's Photography 2005, today and tomorrow, 10am-6pm, St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2. www.peoples-photography.com. Nicoline Greer
FIREWALK WITH ME
"Firewalking" - that's taking your shoes off and walking on red-hot coals - comes to Sligo next month. The event is organised by Oona Doherty, who says firewalking transformed her life after she first tried it two years ago. At the time, her life was going through a bad patch, but she says she has "not had a bad day" since. "It's so empowering - you feel like you can do anything afterwards." She has invited Mikal Nielsen, who began firewalking 17 years ago, from New Zealand to show people how to strengthen their minds and bodies so they don't get burned. To book for the firewalking course (Sept 30th-Oct 2nd, price from €299), contact Oona on 071- 9145523 or oonadohertysalon@eircom.net. Tomorrow, Mikal Nielsen will give a free talk on firewalking at 8pm at the Model Arts and Niland Gallery. Nicoline Greer
FLUSH IN THE PAN
Belfast's Waterfront Hall welcomes the movers and shakers in the bowl world to the Toilet Summit in late September, including an exhibition of new products at St Gerorge's Market (September 26-29th). www.2005worldtoiletsummit.com Sarah Marriott
STRETCH AND GO
A "dynamic yoga" holiday takes place on September 21st-28th in unspoilt northwest Ibiza, run by Jennifer Keegan, an occasional contributor to this magazine. Classes, she says, will be small, relaxed and intimate and held outdoors on a shady terrace overlooking a bay. Included are coastal treks, beach trips, rock swimming, markets as well as "lots of chilling out in the sun". The price of €680 also includes half-board, three evening meals and accommodation in a pretty cliff-top villa with infinity pool and spectacular views of the sea (pictured). For information or booking, contact Jennifer on 01-4537386 or jenniferk@eircom.net.
TO THE RIGHT HOUSE
Did Virginia Woolf have a room of her own when she was growing up? Find out when you stay in her old family home, now one of the unusual private houses offering B&B in central London. Ideal for people who hate impersonal hotels, Uptown Reservations (which lists houses of historical and architectural interest in Chelsea, Knightsbridge and the West End) aims to match guests with hosts. So if, for example, you're visiting London to go to the theatre, you may end up staying with a fellow theatre-lover. From £72 for a single. Contact: www.uptownres.co.uk, 0044-2073513445.
Sarah Marriott