Big Maggie

At the Gaiety Theatre

Now in its seventh year, First Fortnight is an arts festival with a difference. The aim of the festival is to raise awareness of mental health issues and allow them to be discussed in an open way, thus breaking down the stigma that is far too often associated with such problems.

Every year, a handful of lucky people gather at Newgrange, about 40 minutes north of Dublin, for the Winter Solstice on December 21st. There they hope to see the sunlight seep into the chamber to illuminate the carefully positioned interior, just as they did 5,000 years ago when they were originally built. But even if you’re not lucky enough to visit for the Solstice, Newgrange is a breathtaking place that is worth visiting all year round.

Blarney Castle was built nearly six hundred years ago by one of Ireland’s greatest chieftains, Cormac MacCarthy, and has been attracting visitors to Munster ever since. People come from all over the world to kiss the Blarney Stone, only to leave with miraculous powers of eloquence.

Out to Lunch, the bespoke, boutique Belfast Arts Festival returns to wipe away those post-holiday blues from 8 - 31 January. Now in its 11th year, this year’s Out to Lunch Festival promises to serve up a mouth-watering menu of live music, comedy, spoken word, literature and theatre during the lunchtimes and evenings of January.