Cycle the Ring of Kerry the wrong way round
Hundreds of cycling enthusiasts will converge on Co Kerry for next Saturday’s Wrong Way Round Killarney Cycling Festival. With a choice of 160km and 180km routes, it starts and finishes at The Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney and should take between seven and 14 hours, depending on fitness levels. Participants will enjoy breathtaking scenery over Molls Gap to Sneem and on to Waterville, Glenbeigh and Killorglin, then the homeward stretch back to Killarney. Open to beginners, €55.
Put your enemy to the sword in Offaly
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Watch medieval jousting or try clay pigeon shooting at the Irish Game and Country Fair at Birr Castle Demesne, Co Offaly. The event next weekend includes a food festival, living history village and viking re-enactments. There are pony rides as well as fly casting and archery. The fair has everything for a country lifestyle, from tweed suits to Hunter wellies, cookery demonstrations and gourmet treats.
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Get into character at a costume exhibition
Some of the most famous clothing in Irish cinema has gone on display at the Little Museum of Dublin. Ireland at The Movies: Costume in Irish Cinema 1987-2015, includes items from In the Name of the Father, right, Calvary and Michael Collins. Curated by costume designer Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh and historian Veerle Dehaene, many of the items are from private collections and are on view for the first time.
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Find love in Lisdoonvarna
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Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival is every bit as relevant as it was in 1887, when singletons first flocked to the Co Clare town. Forget Tinder, this is Europe’s largest singles event.
It starts on Friday with a country music weekend and continues through September. Matchmaker Willy Daly will sprinkle a little of his magic on proceedings. The Outing, the world’s first LGBT matchmaking festival, is set to take place there in October.