The Guide: The Pogues, Ralph Fiennes, Celine Byrne and other events to see, shows to book and ones to catch before they end

Event of the week

The Pogues

Tuesday, December 17th, 3Arena, Dublin, 7pm, €51.20, ticketmaster.ie

It had to happen. Shortly after the death of Shane MacGowan, a year ago, his fellow Pogues founders Spider Stacey, James Fearnley and Jem Finer decided to revisit and celebrate the band’s debut album, Red Roses for Me, from 1984. They tested the waters with a London gig earlier this year. It was such a success that they decided to put on a bigger version – and what better time than when Fairytale of New York is playing in every shop you walk into? Joining the trio for a run-through of the album (and a rake of other songs from the Pogues back catalogue) are Grian Chatten and Tom Coll of Fontaines DC, Nadine Shah, John Francis Flynn, James Walbourne, Ian Lynch and Daragh Lynch of Lankum, Junior Brother and Kojaque. The most joyous gig of the year from a band you don’t meet every day?

Gigs

Maria Doyle Kennedy

Saturday, December 14th, Levis Corner House, Ballydehob, Co Cork, 8pm, €25, leviscornerhouse.com; Sunday, December 15th, Coughlans, Cork, 7pm, €25, coughlans.ie

We don’t see Maria Doyle Kennedy behind a microphone for ages, then she and her musician husband, Kieran Kennedy, pop up around Christmas time for a string of shows. We also haven’t seen her on Irish screens since her nuanced turn as Birdy Goggins in Kin, but she has been busy nonetheless (with the BBC series Lost Boys & Fairies, the US series Outlander and the South African series Recipes for Love and Murder). Performing and singing are equal priorities, however, and while she hasn’t released any new music since Fire on the Roof of Eden, her superb double album from 2021, these low-key shows will be welcomed by the faithful.

Kate Nash

Tuesday, December 17th, Limelight, Belfast, 7pm, £28.25; Wednesday, December 18th, Academy, Dublin, 7.30pm, €28, ticketmaster.ie

Kate Nash, the London-born singer-songwriter of a Dublin nurse, snagged headlines recently when she started an OnlyFans account (titled Butts 4 Tour Buses) to offset the financial losses of touring and to highlight her agency over her body and how she uses it. Reports from Nash’s UK gigs emphasise her blend of unapologetic career moves – “I’ve been causing a bit of a riot with my bum,” she told one newspaper – and pop-punk songs that tackle issues such as mental health, empowerment and politics. Expect to walk away with a smile on your face.

Morgana

Friday, December 20th, Button Factory, Dublin, 7pm, €24.99, ticketmaster.ie

It has been just over 10 years since Morgana (Morgan MacIntyre) and Gemma Doherty formed Saint Sister, but with that unit on hiatus the pair of musicians and songwriters are forging ahead separately. While Doherty has worked with Bono of U2 (on his Stories of Surrender book tour, in 2022-2023), Morgana has taken a lower-profile approach, working with the Dublin hip-hop artist Nealo and the Northern Irish songwriter Ciaran Lavery. Her recently released debut single, I’ll Cry When I’m Dead, is the first of several skilful electro-pop tracks from her forthcoming solo album, which is scheduled to arrive in the first half of 2025.

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Charity

Merchy Christmas

Saturday, December 14th, and Sunday, December 15th, Grand Social, Dublin, 11am-7pm, free/suggested donation €6, instagram.com

Five years on the go and Merchy Christmas remains one of the best ways for fans to pull a cracker with their favourite Irish music act – bands and artists attending include Curtisy, Gilla Band, Gemma Dunleavy, Lankum, Nealo, Mary Wallopers, Pillow Queens and Gurriers. Buying merchandise benefits not only the musicians but also the event’s two charity partners, Dublin Simon Community and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. The weekend also features raffles, spot prizes and surprise live performances.

Classical

Celine Byrne’s Christmas Celebration

Monday, December 16th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm, €31.50, ticketmaster.ie

What could be more Christmassy than an evening of festive orchestrations (courtesy of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra), operatic picks and a selection of seasonal carols and songs, including Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Silent Night, Edelweiss, Nella Fantasia and O Holy Night? Who said “Bah humbug”? You’ll have a twinkly ball of a time at this soirée hosted by Celine Byrne, whose background in opera, national and international, is impeccable.

Stage

TS Eliot Lecture

Sunday, December 15th, Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 6pm, €49/€15 (sold out), abbeytheatre.ie

In something of a coup, the ninth TS Eliot Lecture features the English actor Ralph Fiennes reading Eliot’s Four Quartets, themed reflections on our relationship with the divine. Fiennes will also discuss the poems (as well as his personal and creative history with them) with the Irish actor Ingrid Craigie. The lecture will be introduced by Seamus Heaney’s daughter, Catherine, a director of the late Irish poet’s estate.

Visual art

Hoor

Until February 28th, Toradh Gallery, Ashbourne Library, Co Meath, free, opening times vary, meath.ie

Hoor, subtitled An Exhibition of Poetry and Illustration, features the combined work of the Belfast poet Jim McElroy (whose titular poem won the MCC Cultural Services Francis Ledwidge Award in 2020) and the Berlin-based, Kells-born Ann Kiernan, an illustrator who has won multiple awards for her editorial artwork for Politico, the Washington Post, the Financial Times and the New Statesman. Kiernan’s eight mixed-medium works, which were commissioned by Meath’s county arts office, complement McElroy’s earthy text with defined strokes and sharp, vivid angles.

Still running

One Leg One Eye

Thursday, December 19th, and Friday, December 20th, Project Arts Centre, Dublin, 8pm, €26, projectartscentre.ie

The solo project of Ian Lynch, of Lankum, is typically idiosyncratic as it explores the connections between drone music, doom metal and Irish rhythms that are usually found in dank, underground pits. One Leg One Eye’s impressive, immersive debut album, ... And Take the Black Worm with Me, will be delved into.

Book it this week

Lana Del Ray, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, June 30th, ticketmaster.ie

Weezer, Trinity College Dublin, July 2nd, ticketmaster.ie

Kaleidoscope Festival, Russborough House, Blessington, Co Wicklow, July 4th-6th, ticketmaster.ie

My Bloody Valentine, 3Arena, Dublin, November 22nd, ticketmaster.ie