Enjoy the Glenamaddy theatre festival which runs from the 23 March to 1 April. Glenamaddy in Co Galway will be hosting their 56th Annual Theatre Festival under the auspices of the ADCI. Ten different plays will be shown over 10 nights in both open and confined sections. Some of the competing groups in the open section include Ennis Players with The Colleen Bawn by Dion Boucicault and Wexford Drama Group with Portia Coughlan by Marina Carr. Acts in the confined section include Glenamaddy Players with By the Bog of Cats by Marina Carr. The full lineup is available at www.glenamaddydrama.com. Curtain is at 8pm sharp each night. Booking is at 086-204 5896.

Immerse yourself in literature as the eagerly anticipated Mountains to Sea Book Festival, which takes in the stunning Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown for five whole days from 22 March to the 26 March. The festival has a programme bursting with events and activities, so there is something for everyone who attends. There’ll be guest appearances, panel discussions, poetry events, recitals and a full family programme, with workshops, sessions and masterclasses. Mountains to Sea will enlighten, inspire, entertain and fascinate, so make sure you book your tickets to this exceptional festival. It will set the beautiful seaside area of Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown alight. Tickets from €2.

Explore some theatre next weekend as Bookworms, penned by Bernard Farrell, comes to the Solstice arts centre in Navan, Co Meath, from 29 March to 1 April. Bookworms brings you into a book club as a fly on the wall, and you won’t quite believe what you see. A sharp series of social observations underpin this play, which follows an all-female book club which finally opens its doors to men for the first time. This farcical play may be outlandish but from time to time, elements will definitely strike closer to home and, at the very least, it might dissuade you from ever opening your book club up to spouses. Tickets from €13.

Listen to Isla Grant perform at An Grianan Theatre, Co Donegal, on Thursday 23 March. The Scottish singer comes from a farming background. Her parents were dairy people and she loved the farm life. Her love of music started at an early age when she would listen to records her mother had. She has a great passion for folk and country music and after 11 albums, some of which have gone triple platinum, Isla branched out and started her own record label. Isla is a very experienced musician and singer and she brings her new tour to Donegal this weekend. Tickets €25.

Indulge in creativity by heading along to the Global Irish Design Challenge at the National Craft Gallery in Kilkenny, which runs each day this week, except Monday, starting at 10am. The idea for the Global Irish Design Challenge grew from a desire to seek out designers and innovators who are driven to find solutions to the challenges humanity faces. The challenge received over 140 entries from 14 countries and, following a selection process by an international panel of judges, over 50 projects were chosen for exhibition. Phone 056-232 11 for more information.