DUBLIN:CULTURE IS a dish best served at night judging by the relaxed, carefree mood on the streets of the capital last night.
The annual after-hours culture festival, now in its fifth year, produces something mellower than a carnival atmosphere but no less invigorating, or as one woman put it: “the perfect antidote to the city’s all pervasive pub culture”.
This year’s event saw a record 132 venues throw open their doors to the public. The purpose, said the organisers, was to turn the city and its historic spaces into a public gallery for the evening.
Rather surprisingly, one of the most popular attractions last night was the Freemasons’ Hall on Molesworth Street.
Designed by British architect Edward Holmes in the 1860s, the Victorian building boasts a seriously spooky Egyptian-themed chapter room and a Knights Templar room designed as a medieval chapel.
Inside, one lady asked the curators how one got expelled from the organisation. “Atheism, breaking the law and non-payment of dues in the main,” she was politely informed.
Not as mysterious as the rules governing nearby Leinster House, some might say, where people queued for tours for Dáil and Seanad Éireann.
Tom Kelly, from Dublin but living in the UK, described the tour as “concise but informative”.
“It’s fascinating to see the original interiors restored to the colour design of the 1760s.”
Indeed, with such a variety of events on offer, many seemed content to simply stroll around the streets, sampling what they came across.
“Dublin definitely looks better at night,” said one American tourist, who thought Culture Night was a great idea.
To coincide with Dublin’s designation as Unesco City of Literature, literary readings were staged in unusual settings.
The Unitarian Church on St Stephen’s Green provided a gothic backdrop to an open-mic poetry night, sponsored by Poetry Ireland. Dublin writer Michael O’Loughlin read his poem The Cormorant to a small, hushed audience. He later confessed the bird in his poem may have actually been a shag, a similar looking species, but he thought better of renaming the piece.
On the Sean O’Casey Bridge, actors Oddie Braddell and Dylan McDonagh performed pieces from the playwright’s Shadow of a Gunman and The Plough and the Stars.
During their performance, a cruise boat passed under the bridge with another actor in animated pose.
Visitors might have been forgiven for thinking we were actually a land of saint and scholars, contrary to what the bond markets make of us.
Indeed, a group of Brazilians, with little English, looked on, rather bemused, seemingly unaware the events were part of a festival.
“I think it’s a brilliant idea. Town is just so vibrant,” said Violet Quigley, from Donaghmede.
On Francis Street, there was a carnival atmosphere with people spilling out of the small galleries, drinking and eating.
Artist Kevin McSharry painted in the window of the Bad Art Gallery while people looked on, and a samba band played outside.
The festival, organised by Temple Bar Cultural Trust, is really only in its infancy but it appeared to be drawing significant crowds last night.
The trust’s chief executive Dermot McLaughlin said he expected this year’s numbers to at least equal the 150,000 in attendance last year.
“Our audience research tells us many people are going to cultural events for the first time, which is astonishing. It suggests the opening times of many of these places are out of sync with what people want.”
The Culture Night formula seems to attract clusters of friends as well as families. Young sisters Catherine and Maeve Ronayne, from Templeogue, said they loved the storytelling best, especially the tales read by Karl O'Neill from his book The Most Beautiful Letter in the Worldon the Liffey cruise. "The granny was all whiny and stuff. He was really acting the stories," said an animated Catherine.
There was a hive of activity in Temple Bar, in around Meeting House Square, where it all started in 2006. Culture Nighters were settling in for a night of movies, culminating in a screening of The Commitments, when this reporter hurried past realising he’d already tested and tasted too much to make his deadline.
