Seven IMAGE staffers on the number one event they're looking forward to in 2024...
Lizzie Gore-Grimes, Editor-in-Chief
One of my new year resolutions for 2024 is to try and get outdoors as much as possible – like so many of us, I spend far too much time sitting in front of a computer. With this in mind, I am really excited about the Wander Wild Festival taking place in Killarney 22nd – 24th March, set against the glorious backdrop of the Killarney National Park (recognised as a UNESCO heritage site). If you haven’t yet been to the Park, make this your excuse to go; it’s really something.
Over the weekend there will be guided hikes, lake swims, mobile saunas, kayaking, horseback trekking and more. Some of the really unique experiences on offer include a Dark Sky Hike, where you’ll climb Carrauntoohil, Ireland’s highest mountain, and then once darkness falls, observe constellations, planets and shooting stars from one of the world’s best stargazing spots in Ireland. Not your average Friday night!
Plus sunrise dipping at Dundag or, for a more low-key, chilled out mood, you can lie down for a bit of Yoga Nidra as Gaeilge.
Sign me up!
Most events are ticketed, now live on wanderwildfestival.com, with some free activities also available.
Holly O’Neill, Digital Editor and Beauty Editor
I need to get to Andy Warhol Three Times Out in the Hugh Lane Gallery before it closes on January 28th! Five years in the making with over 250 works on loan from private collections and museums, all the favourites are in there, from soup cans to Marilyn and Mao. I also plan on raiding the gallery bookshop afterward, where they’re selling an exhibition catalogue with essays from the co-curators, art theorists and Panti Bliss – shut up and take my money.
Sarah Finnan, Deputy Digital Editor
I’m already counting down the days to festival season. I am not a winter girlie at all (even if my birthday is this month) so I can’t wait to shed the layers and set up camp in a mucky field surrounded by strangers… a hangover shared is a hangover halved. All Together Now was one of the highlights of my summer last year so that’s definitely on my 2024 bingo card.
Hannah Stapleton, Marketing Intern
I am well and truly happy when my calendar consists of a list of gigs and festivals I have to look forward to – so when that list is empty, I feel slightly on edge! Included in my list of upcoming gigs is a trip to the Iveagh Gardens to see Christy Moore. A bucket list item that I have, for years, dreamt of. All I have to do now is hope the weather works in our favour!
Shayna Sappington, Senior Branded Content Writer
Hands down the most exciting thing I’m looking forward to this year is seeing Hamilton in the Board Gais this October. There has been a resurgence in musicals and concerts this past year and it’s been so nice to attend these again. My husband and I originally watched the musical when it first came out on Netflix in 2020 and now we have a traditional viewing every Fourth of July. So, it’s safe to say we know most of the lyrics – history meets hip-hop in a very entertaining show. Plus, the spoiled boyish portrayal of King George III has us in stitches every time. I can’t wait to see it!
Sophie Power, Marketing & Memberships Director
I am most looking forward to seeing Hamilton in the Bord Gais Theatre in October this year. I saw it when it first came out in London and it was truly an unforgettable experience! The whole production is out of this world, the music is like nothing else. I highly recommend listening to and familiarising yourself with the show soundtrack and history of Hamilton before you go as the show is so fast-paced. A real spectacle!
Sarah Gill, Staff Writer
Heading down to Dingle for Other Voices has been on my bucket list for years now, but 2024 is when I’ll finally make it happen — I’m quite literally looking into accommodation already, and it’s not happening until December. The atmosphere of the village has been described to me as a festival without all the mud, and with the promise of pop up performances and hidden tickets to church gigs, the craic is bound to be electric.
Featured image via All Together Now