All things weird and walkable are promised in a range of events taking place across the country this weekend.
One of the headline events is Tedfest 3 - commemorating Dermot Morgan's satirical show - which returns to the Aran Islands over the weekend - just a week after it was last there.
Father Ted, featuring three Catholic priests on the fictional Craggy Island, orginally ran for only three seasons on Channel 4 between April 1995 and May 1998, but its appeal shows no sign of diminishing. Tedfest 3 was held on February 26th to March 1st, but due to the demand for tickets, a second sitting is taking place over the weekend on Inis Mór, having started on Thursday.
The second coming of the third fest features an array of activities, including the Beckettesque (a breakfast without Dermot Morgan), the educational (learning Irish through the medium of Father Ted) and the sporting (the Craggy Cup football tournament) on the Saturday.
Another mainstay of Tedfest, the lovely-girls competition, will also be held on the Saturday. The following day will feature, among other events, a treasure hunt with bicycles and the prizeless Father Ted quiz. Proceedings are, naturally enough, tied up with a session of crazy golf at 1am.
Those looking to stretch their legs rather than a sense of the surreal should head for Carlingford, Co Louth, which is hosting the Táin Walking Festival from today and over the weekend. The walks are tailored to suit those of all abilities, ranging from a 16km walk to Ravens Rockwalk that has a guide time of five to six hours on Saturday, to Maeve’s Gap Historical Walk, estimated to take three hours on the following day.
Families are also catered for in the shape of a walk and fitness programme for children aged between five and 12 on Saturday and a family treasure hunt on the Sunday.
In Dublin, more than 100 of Ireland's leading will gather at City Hall from today for the three-day Dublin Book Festival, which is billed as the largest annual celebration of Irish writing and publishing.
The event, which is tied to Dublin’s bid for permanent designation as the fourth Unesco international city of literature, will focus on female Irish writers, Edna O’Brien, Jennifer Johnston, Alice Taylor, Medbh McGuckian and Leland Bardwell attending. They will be joined by other writers, poets and personalities for a 44 readings, public interviews, workshops and book launches, all of which are free.
Literary leanings are also catered for at the Éigse Cholm Cille poetry festival in Derry. The festival, which was set up in 2002 to promote reading and writing in Irish and to celebrate writers of the wide area, is being held at the Magee campus of the University of Ulster and will includes poetry readings from many of the major figures in modern Irish poetry.
Among those presenting work in Irish tomorrow will be Cathal Ó Searcaigh, the subject of the controversial documentary Fairytale of Kathmandu; Gréagóir Ó Dúill; and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill. There will also be a discussion of influences on Irish poetry through the ages.
A presentation made to Anraí Mac Giolla Chomhaill, himself a native of Derry, in recognition of his contribution to Irish language teaching, scholarship and publication.
On the sporting front, the 2009 League of Ireland season kicks off with Premier Division title holders Bohemians travelling to Oriel Park to face First Division champions Dundalk, with kick-off 7.35pm. Tonight also sees Galway travel to St Patrick's Athletic, Bray Wanderers face Shamrock Rovers, and Derry playing Drogheda.
Ireland's rugby rugby players return to provincial duty over the next few days. Connacht and Leinster take on Welsh opposition tonight, with coach Michael Bradley's team taking on the Cardiff Blues at the Sportsground, and Leinster travelling to take on the Ospreys at Liberty Stadium.
Leinster lie joint second in the Magners League table with the Ospreys and are seeking to consolidate their position.
Matt Williams's Ulster team take on Glasgow Warriors at Ravenhill tomorrow and will be keen to rebound after their defeat to the Newport Gwent Dragons last time out. The Welsh team face Irish opposition again tomorrow, as table-topping Munster travel to Rodney Parade.
In the Hurling National League, Galway take on Kilkenny at Pearse Stadium on Sunday, while Tyrone host Galway at Healy Park for their Division One football clash.
Weatherwise, rain and drizzle in the southwest and west is forecast to spread across the country tomorrow morning, with strengthening winds. Temperatures will be mild, although there is likely to be widespread hill and coastal fog. According to Met Éireann, Sunday will be a very cold and windy, with blustery wintry showers, although bright or sunny spells are also expected. Sunday night will be cold with further wintry showers, but widespread frost is unlikely.
