Many people tend to view New Year's Eve through a prism of apathy coupled with a small dose of pressure and a sprinkling of boredom. Not the most appetizing way to think about what should be the 'biggest party of the year.'

It happens every year and as the years roll by it seems the night itself becomes less and less appealing. Even when you do plan something you feel that pressure of 'trying' to have a fantastic, memorable night. Nobody wants to 'try' to have fun, it should just happen. Well lucky for you folks who are planning on spending their night in our nation's capital, there is a fantastic collection of diverse entertainment happening over the four days surrounding the 31st December.

Now look, I know this is the internet and you are bombarded daily with hyperbolic statements full of superlatives telling you how amazing, wonderful and fantastic something is but just bear with me a moment as this might actually be something worth checking out.

The people behind The Gathering have designed a four day New Year's Eve festival. One of the main components is the 'People's Procession of Light' followed by the 'Countdown Concert' on the 31st itself. Rather than listen to me drone on about what it all entails, have a look at the video below of the 2012 procession.


Pretty impressive, no? Maybe it's just me but when I watched it, besides from recognising many streets and shop fronts, it felt like I was looking at another more sophisticated and cultured city. For some reason, we sometimes tend to think of Dublin as a city still stuck in the dark ages where there isn't much going on when in reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

The Procession is a 30-40 minute parade through the streets of Dublin that will incorporate elements of art, music and dance to provide fun and excitement for people of all ages. It marks the final moments of Ireland's unique and special year with a beautiful display that will light up the city's streets. 

The parade will begin at 5.30pm for participants and 6.30pm for those who just want to watch. You can sign up to register here in order to get info about tickets but you should really just go ahead and tie a torch to the end of your sweeping brush and get involved. It'll be the most dancing you'll do on a New Year's Eve without having to down 7 Jager bombs first.

The Procession finishes on Grafton Street and you won't have long to wait before the next event begins. In fact, you should probably start making your way down to College Green right after, what the organisers have termed, the 'grand finale' so as to secure a good spot for the Countdown Concert.



The music begins at 8pm and booked to play so far are Madness, Ryan Sheridan, MKS and The Strypes. Tickets are €25 and you can get them here. If the line-up isn't enough to lure you in, then know this oh clever reader, there will be a festival village with all the food and drink you could wish for. There will also be 3-D projections which will illuminate Trinity College and who knows maybe the world's favourite dead rapper might even make an appearance in hologram form again. (This is my own wild speculation, not anything official but hey, you never know)

So there you go, if you’d rather sit in with your parents and watch Jools Holland get his Hootenanny on for the millionth time, or go to a packed bar and spend most of your evening queuing for drinks then that's your choice, but don't use that boring old cliché of 'there's nothing to do in Dublin' because there most certainly is and it looks like a lot of fun.