Still no plans for the weekend? Fear not - there are many festivals and events taking place all around the country offering theatre, food and literature attractions.
Dingle Peninsula Food and Wine Festival – Dingle, Co Kerry, all weekend
This year's festival aims to show the influence that local food had on the area since the late 19th century. The festival's highlight will be an animation experience, which will be accompanied by music, multimedia presentations and storytelling. Some of the local delicacies which can be sampled during the festival include mackerel, mutton pies and rabbit stew. dinglefood.com
Westport Arts Festival – Westport, Co Mayo, all weekend
This is the first weekend of the Westport Arts Festival, which will run until October 14th. More than 100 events will take place during the ten-day festival, which will include comedy, workshop, music, literature and theatre, as well as events for children. One of the weekend's highlights will be a screening of Singin' in the Rain followed by the festivals first ever live club music night. westportartsfestival.com
Taste of Monaghan Festival 2012 – Monaghan Town, Co Monaghan, all weekend
Local and international cooks will be taking part in this year's festival, with celebrity chef, Neven Maguire holding a cookery demonstration tomorrow. Although the focus is on the food, there will also be a parade of 187 pipers and drummers, with performers coming from around Ireland, as well as the United States and Spain. tasteofmonaghan.com
Dublin Theatre Festival – Dublin, Co Dublin, all weekend
The theatre festival continues this weekend, with more staged attractions to draw crowds in. Plays such as Hamlet and The Picture of Dorian Gray have been running for a number of days but are on a limited run and will be wrapping up soon. There are also special events taking place throughout the city during the weekend. dublintheatrefestival.com
Athlone Literary Festival – Athlone, Co Westmeath, all weekend
This festival began on Thursday and will continue until Sunday, with a wide variety of events including creative writing classes, poetry workshops and walking tours. The festival will conclude with a Sunday Miscellany. Guest speakers include Paul Durcan and Nell McCafferty. athloneliteraryfestival.com