A guide to what's going on this week
The Allianz National Football League starts this weekend with Dublin and Tyrone involved in the first match to be played under lights at Croke Park (tonight, 7.30pm). Croker will also be the venue for next weekend's Six Nations match against France, but before then the first-round fixtures have to be settled; today England host Scotland and Italy take on France in Rome. Tomorrow, Ireland play Wales in Cardiff. And before the Croke Park fixture against Wales in March, Steve Staunton brings his team to San Marino for the Euro 2008 Group D Qualifier on Wednesday.
Music Network tours provide an opportunity to see music from around the world at local venues. The Ingrid Laubrock Quintet, which is part of the London collective F-IRE, is touring Ireland this month. German-born Laubrock won the 2004 BBC jazz award for innovation. The tour starts in Dolan's, Limerick on Wednesday and takes in Thurles, Bray, Dublin, Drogheda, Castlebar and Moate before finishing in Belfast on February 17th. See www.musicnetwork.ie.
Organisers of the Dublin Toy and Train Fair hold four events a year at which dealers sell toys and train sets. Where else would you find die-cast Dinky and Corgi models, Hornby trains, Meccano sets, lead soldiers, antique dolls, comics and annuals? The next event is on tomorrow from 10am-5pm at Clontarf Castle Hotel. See www.dublintoyandtrainfair.com
At 3pm tomorrow at Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, artist Seán Shanahan will be discussing his studio practice with Irish Times critic Aidan Dunne in the context of the ongoing The Studio exhibition. Admission is free. The gallery is also running a series of informal "coffee lectures" on favourite artworks and, on Wednesday at 11am, Christina Kennedy will host a lecture on Andy Warhol. See www.hughlane.ie.
David Mamet is known for plays such as Glengarry Glen Ross and film screenplays for Wag the Dog and The Untouchables. The Gate Theatre is producing Mamet's American Buffalo, which previews from Thursday and opens on February 13th. Directed by Mark Brokaw, it stars Aidan Gillen, Domhnall Gleeson and Sean McGinley.
Waterford IT and the Garter Lane Arts Centre present Waterford New Music Week from tomorrow until Saturday, February 10th. The festival centres on performances of Lily's Labyrinth, an opera for children by Marian Ingoldsby and Ben Hennessy. Other events include recitals, workshops and masterclasses. See www.waterfordnewmusicweek.com.
Lost Trolley Productions's version of The Night of the Tribades, Per Olov Enquist's study of Swedish playwright August Strindberg, runs at Andrews Lane Studio until next Saturday. See www.andrewslane.com. Meanwhile, Mamma Mia! kicks off on Tuesday at the Point and continues until March 17th. See www.thepoint.ie.
Tonight at the Ambassador, Klaxons headline the ShockWaves NME Awards Indie Rave tour. CSS, The Sunshine Underground and New Young Pony Club complete the line-up.
Tomorrow at the National Concert Hall, Nico Brown leads a team of professional musicians for a Parent & Toddler event, suitable for children aged six months to three years. The 2007 Rising Star Recital on Wednesday features Emer McDonough (flute) and Jeremy Young (piano). See www.nch.ie.