Some 35,000 music lovers are expected in Dublin for the second annual Irish Music and Culture Festival that starts later today.
The four-day event - celebrating the island's traditional arts - features concerts, workshops, children's events and a photographic exhibition.
Visitors - around 10,000 of whom are jetting in from overseas - can also enjoy traditional storytelling and a lively trad and folk pub trail. Organised by local traders, the festival is designed to bring culture back into the capital's Temple Bar quarter.
Many of Ireland's most talented traditional musicians and singers are due to give rare Dublin performances, including Peter Horan, Gerry Harrington, Ollie Ross, Martin Quinn and Angelina Carberry.
A new feature of the 2007 programme will be the Showcase Concerts, which aim to highlight young talented musicians on the traditional music scene.
The event will end with a gala concert in the Olympia Theatre featuring Dervish, Lunasa and Scottish singer Julie Fowlis on Sunday night.