What it is
The Mermaid is Bray’s main professional arts venue, a 242-seat theatre on Main Street that opened in 2002 in a converted municipal building, funded by the Arts Council, Wicklow County Council and Bray Town Council. It is more than a stage, though: the gallery and the café are both free to walk into, and on Monday and Tuesday nights the auditorium becomes the town’s art-house cinema. For a town of its size that range is unusual, and it serves a catchment of roughly 115,000 people across County Wicklow and south Dublin.
Inside
The 242-seat auditorium is a black-box space with a flexible stage, full lighting rig and digital projection with surround sound, so it swings easily between acoustic gigs, dance, full theatre productions and film. Next door, a bright 165-square-metre gallery runs eight to ten shows a year of Irish visual art, photography and community projects; admission is free, and the room can be hired for small events.
Tying the spaces together is the Críoch Café, the former Betelnut, open weekdays from 8am and Saturdays from 10am, with a theatre bar on show nights. It is the kind of place to linger over a coffee before a matinée. Behind the scenes, studio and rehearsal rooms host resident artists and the centre’s education and youth programmes.
Programming
The schedule is deliberately wide. On a given month you might catch a touring production from the Abbey or Gate, an experimental Irish play, a classical or world-music concert, or a family puppet show; the Little Folk series of music and storytelling is a reliable hit with younger children. Films run through the week, with art-house screenings on Monday evenings and a film club on Tuesday nights showing international and Irish titles.
Away from the stage, the centre runs pottery, mural-painting and creative-writing workshops, schools outreach and masterclasses, and the Take Part strand that gives emerging local artists a professional platform. The main season runs autumn to spring, lighter over the summer. Popular shows and workshops sell out well ahead, so book early online or through the box office.
Getting there and parking
The Mermaid is on Main Street, next to the Bank of Ireland and a five-minute walk from Bray Daly station.
- DART: step off at Bray Daly, out onto Main Street and turn left.
- Bus: Dublin Bus routes 84, 84a and 84b and local Wicklow services stop on Main Street within a couple of minutes’ walk.
- Taxi: from the town centre, usually €7 to €10.
Parking is the one thing to plan. For evening and weekend shows there is free underground parking behind the Civic Offices, reached by the right-hand road just off Main Street, but it is closed to daytime visitors on weekdays. During the day on a weekday, use the pay-and-display surface car park immediately left of the entrance; clamping is enforced if you don’t pay. Other pay-and-display car parks are scattered around town, including Killarney Road, Parnell Road, Connolly Square, Novara Avenue, Herbert Road, the Q-Park at the Primary Healthcare Centre and Bray Central.
Practical information
- Opening hours: the box office and gallery are open Monday to Saturday, 11am to 4pm, and until show time on performance evenings; on Sundays and bank holidays the box office opens an hour before the event.
- Admission: entry to the building, gallery and café is free. Tickets are needed only for performances, screenings and workshops, and since January 2023 every ticket carries a €1 facility fee towards refurbishment and running costs.
- Accessibility: level access to the main floor, designated wheelchair seating, accessible toilets and a hearing-loop system in the auditorium. Contact the box office ahead if you have specific access needs.
- Box office: 01 272 4030 or info@mermaidartscentre.ie.
The Mermaid is a registered charity and leans on ticket sales, memberships and donations, so a gift voucher, joining the Friends of Mermaid, or sponsoring a seat all help keep the programme going.
Exploring Bray afterwards
The coast is minutes away. The Bray Promenade is a flat, paved walk with harbour views and plenty of cafés; for something more strenuous, the Bray Head Coastal Walk climbs to views over the Irish Sea and the Wicklow hills, and on towards the Brandy Hole, a steep-sided smugglers’ cove. Back in town there are independent shops and old pubs. Make an evening of it: park free under the Civic Offices, catch a film on a Monday or Tuesday, and walk it off on the prom.