Super horses and super heroes dominate events over the weekend as the weather prepares to take a not-so-super turn for the worse.
The National Hunt Festival at Punchestown, Co Kildare, enters its final day tomorrow. The Taoiseach will attend to present prizes to the winning owner, trainer and jockey. JP McManus is expected to be named champion owner and Willie Mullins to be champion trainer, while Paul Townend and Davy Russell battle it out for the jockey’s title.
Since its introduction as a festival day the Saturday has become the second biggest day of the festival, and the focus of the day will be youth in the AES Champion Four Year Old Hurdle, with €80,000 at stake.
Racing at the festival today starts at 3.40pm, with the last race 7.45pm, and huge interest will focus on whether Hurricane Fly can repeat his Cheltenham success in the Champion Hurdle at 5.30pm. There is also racing at Leopardstown on Sunday.
Sunday will see super powers in the park as the Super Hero Fun Run 2011, in aid of Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, takes place in Phoenix Park at 10.30am. As part of the 5km run/walk, the hospital is aiming to break the Guinness Book of Records record for the most people dressed up as Superheroes in one venue - currently set at the 1,580 who dressed up in Los Angeles last year.
More than 1,000 adults and children donned their costumes in the inaugural event last year, raising over €130,000 for the hospital.
Phoenix Park will host another fundraiser on Saturday in the Joints in Motion walk. The walk, which starts at 11am, is part of a nationwide movement led by Arthritis Ireland to get people walking (2.5k or 5k) to prevent or treat arthritis while fundraising.
The Knockmaroon Gate in the park will be closed from 10am to 12:30pm as a result, while Ordnance Survey Road and Chesterfield Avenue will be shut from 10:30am to 12:30pm.
Elsewhere, the commemoration of the 96th anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania off Co Cork will take place in Cobh on Sunday.
The Cunard liner sank on May 7th, 1915, after it was hit by a torpedo fired by a German submarine off the old Head of Kinsale. Of the 1,257 passengers and 702 crew on board, more than 1,100 died.
Organised by Cobh Tourism, the commemoration will include prayers and music at the Lusitania graves in the Old Church Cemetery just outside Cobh, a parade to the Lusitania Peace Memorial in the town, and a wreath-laying ceremony.
On the sporting front, Leinster hope to take their winning form from the Heinken Cup semifinal into the Magners League as they take on Glasgow Warriors at the RDS tonight, with kick-off at 7.05pm. A provincial derby in Limerick will see Munster keen to get back to winning ways as they host Connacht at Thomond Park, with kick-off again at 7.05pm.
Ulster travel to play the Dragons in Wales in what is the last round of Magners games before the play-off stages.
Turning to pedal power, the Dublin Mountains Partnership will officially open the first official mountain bike trail in the Dublin Mountains at Sunday noon. The Ticknock Forest trail, near Sandyford, is 8km long, was designed by the Coillte Recreation Team, and will be opened by Minister for Sport Leo Varadkar.
A number of races catering for youths, the baggy-short brigade, and the racing set will be run around the course, although these are pre-entry only at http://www.biking.ie/dublin-blitz.
In Cork, the Trash Culture Revue, staged by an arts co-operative based at www.mutantspace.ie, runs until Sunday, with an array of events including a free Nashville songwriting workshop at the Roundy tomorrow at 4pm.
Other entertainment can be found at Disney Live! Mickey's Music Festival, taking place over the weekend at various times at Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin, featuring remixed greatest hits from Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Disney/Pixar's Toy Story.
In terms of travel, new Irish Rail schedules for all Heuston and some regional routes will take effect from Sunday, and passengers on all routes are advised to view the new schedules, as many services will see departure time changes, or changes to stopping patterns of trains.
There is also disruption to flights to and from Italian airports due to a general worker's strike there, and passengers are advised to consult their airlines' websites before travelling.
Weatherwise, Met Éireann is predicting further outbreaks of rain showers on Saturday, with a few bright or sunny breaks in between. Temperatures will be mild, and even warm, with temperatures coolest along the east and southeast coast.
The unsettled weather will continue on Sunday and on Monday, carrying a risk of flooding, especially in the south and southwest. Sunday is forecast to be a windy and showery day, with winds reaching gale force on many Irish coasts and a risk of thunder.
