Sing along with the Garth Brooks Tribute act on 17 June. The Everglades Hotel is delighted to welcome back Ireland’s best-loved Garth Brooks tribute show starring Derry’s very own Jason Hughes. Jason will be performing the best of American country singer Garth Brooks’ songs including Friends in Low Places, If Tomorrow Never Comes and Papa Loves Mama. Tickets are on sale at the hotel reception or on Ticketmaster. Doors open at 7.30pm and the show starts at 9pm. Strictly 18 years and older. Tickets are priced at £16. For more information or to book in for a pre-show dinner or an overnight stay visit www.hastingshotels.com or call 0044-287 132 1066.

Enter into the past with a tour of Wicklow’s Historic Gaol. Meet Mary Morris the matron and her husband, the ill-mannered old gaoler; then board the convict ship HMS Hercules for a rough voyage to the New World. Enjoy the atmosphere of one of Ireland’s most historic buildings, with an animated snapshot of life in a historic Irish prison. You might even bump into some famous faces along the way. Just be polite to the gaoler – you might have to stay. Partially guided tours and free multilingual audio guides available. Tickets start from €5 for children to €7.90 for adults. For more information call (0404) 61599 or email info@wicklowhistoricgaol.com.

Visit Limerick Racecourse for one of their famous twilight evenings on Saturday 17 June. You will find lots to enjoy at Limerick Racecourse.

The fine course at Greenmount Park opened in 2001 and has hosted some incredible National Hunt and flat racing ever since. The oval, 11-furlong track annually plays host to the Fergus O’Toole Memorial Novice Hurdle and Greenmount Park Novice Chase, among others. The team does like to mix it up at Limerick Racecourse, with live music and flat racing as the sun goes down. Who says equestrian sports and an indie-heavy set list can’t go hand in hand? Racing on the flat course will start at 5.30pm and will continue into the sunset. Tickets from €15/€10 and children under 12 go free. For more information visit www.limerickraces.ie.

Immerse yourself in Trim Haymaking Festival in Co Meath on 18 June. Find your inner farmer and try your hand at some sheaf tossing at the National Hay Making Festival in Trim – just a stone’s throw from Dublin. This is a fun day for all the family with working horses, vintage tractors, pets’ corner, kids play area, and folklore and tales. Admission is €10. For further information visit www.trimhaymakingfestival.com.

Experience the Baltimore Pirate Festival, Co Cork. From 16 June to 18 June, all pirates (past and present) are invited to celebrate and commemorate the demise of 108 settlers taken away as slaves by Algerian Pirates on 20 June 1631 at the Baltimore Pirate Festival. Highlights includes visits to the 13th century fully restored O’Driscoll Castle, pirate dress competition, pirate boat trips, a family treasure hunt, and pirate bouncy castles and games. For further details visit www.baltimore.ie. CL

GOING OUT

Festivals

Cork Midsummer Festival 2017

16-25 June: Cork Midsummer Festival is an annual multi-disciplinary arts festival that uses the city as its backdrop and inspiration. It provides high-quality arts events, both national and international, for audiences of all ages. Its programme provides opportunities for significant public participation and engagement, supports the development of emerging artists across all art forms, and provides a unique platform for work by local and national artists. For more information call (021) 421 5159 or email info@corkmidsummer.com.

Dalkey Book Festival 2017

15-18 June: Dalkey Book Festival, described by Salman Rushdie as “the best little festival in the world”, takes place every year in June. It was set up by Sian Smyth and David McWilliams in 2010. Since then the festival has hosted internationally renowned writers, including Booker Prize winners, a Nobel Laureate, Impac winners, Oscar winners and Costa winners. This is sure to appeal to the bookworms among you. The charm of this festival is undoubtedly the intimate nature of the numerous events, which take place in pubs, cafés, shops, schools and the local town hall as well as the medieval graveyard, the secret garden marquee and the Masonic Lodge. Dalkey is the kind of place where you will casually bump into some of the world’s greatest writers, in the parks, pubs and cafés of this compact town. For more information on the event visit www.dalkeybookfestival.org.

Comedy

David O’Doherty

8 June: The Aldi Bublé, the Ryanair Enya, is delighted to present an evening of his latest jokes and songs. David has spent the last year on tour round America with Flight of the Concords and performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and Melbourne Comedy Festival. Over Christmas he sold out a record-breaking 11 nights at Whelan’s, and has just completed his largest-ever UK tour. As seen on Channel 4’s 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. This time David takes to the stage in the Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge, Co Kildare, at 8pm. For further details contact (045) 448 327 or visit www.riverbank.ie.

Theatre

Wonderland

20 June: TV and West End star Wendi Peters, much loved for her acclaimed portrayal of Cilla Battersby-Brown in Coronation Street, will headline the UK and Ireland tour of Wonderland as Queen of Hearts, alongside musical theatre favourite Dave Willetts, who rose to fame for playing the title role in Phantom of the Opera, as White Rabbit and West End and Broadway leading lady Kerry Ellis as Alice. Following sold-out seasons in Tampa, Texas and Tokyo, the multi Grammy and Drama Desk Award nominated Frank Wildhorn’s Wonderland comes to Dublin for the very first time in this brand-new production. Hailed by the New York Times as “inspirational”, Wonderland is an enchanting musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, with a huge heart, a medley of magic and a whole lot of wonder. The show starts at 7.30pm and tickets range from €20 to €40. For more information visit www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie.

Music

Pierce Turner’s Church Tour

17 June: The grand piano and the church organ makes St Iberius the only venue in Wexford where this album can be reproduced. The show takes place on Saturday at 8.00pm. Tickets are on sale for €22. For more information visit www.ierceturner.com.

DANCING DIARY

Connacht

Galway: Ballinasloe, Shearwater Hotel, 18th June, Michael English

Mayo: Claremorris, McWilliam Hotel, Big Band, 16th: Brendan Shine & Mike Denver, 17th: Barry Kirwan & Mike Denver, 18th: Mike Denver (3-5pm). Kavanaghs Bar, 16th: Ger Long, 17th: Nigel Livingstone, 18th: Michael Regan (8-10pm)

Leinster

Carlow: Carlow, Seven Oaks Hotel, 20th June, Pat Daly

Kilkenny: Pilltown, Pilltown Gaa, 18th June, Teddy & Cathal Barry

Meath: Navan, The Ardboyne, 19th June, Patrick Feeney

Westmeath: Moate, The Well, 17th June, Jimmy Buckley

Munster

Cork: Mallow, The Hazel Tree, 16th June, Shane Owens

Cork: Glanmire, The Vienna Woods, 21st June, Martin Kearney & Art Supple

Cork: Macroom, Riverside Hotel, 19th June, Olivia Douglas

Limerick: Kilmallock, Bulgaden Castle, June 20th June, Finbar Dennehy

Limerick: Adare, Woodlands Hotel, 18th June, Patrick Feeney

Limerick: Caherconlish, Millenium Centre, 17th June, PJ Murrihy

Tipperary: Tipperary, Times Hotel, 18th June, Gerry Guthrie

Tipperary: Newport, Ballymackeogh, Aherns, 17th June, Country Roads

Ulster

Donegal: Bundoran, Allingham Arms, 17th June, Paul Kelly & Mick Flavin

Down: Newry, Mourne Country, 17th June, Shane Owens

Donegal: Letterkenny, Josies , 16th June, Jimmy Buckley

Monaghan: Monaghan, Hillgrove Hotel, 18th June, Jimmy Buckley

Monaghan: Castleblayney, The Glencarn, 16th June, Patrick Feeney

Tyrone: Moy, The Ryandale, 17th June, Robert Mizzell

Tyrone: Omagh, Silverbirch Hotel, 16th June, Jim Devine