On Friday, Ireland celebrated its thirteenth Culture Night, an all-island celebration of arts, heritage and culture.

Various venues and organizations opened their doors to the public for free late-night entertainment, which included special talks, tours, and performances.

Culture Night, which is supported by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, began in Dublin in 2006. The initiative began as a way to encourage people of all ages to explore their local cultural venues and organizations and to become more involved in their local cultural community.

Culture Night has since grown into a significant national event, with an estimated 400,000 people participating across the island.

With over 3,000 events taking place in over 1,400 venues, we couldn’t begin to describe every happening that took place during this incredible celebration of Irish art, literature, fashion, food, film, music and more, so here's a look at just some of the highlights from Culture Night 2017.

Queues for #CultureNight already at Christ Church, Dublin. pic.twitter.com/hAPeall7Mp

— Mick Caul (@caulmick) September 22, 2017

Culture in every corner - seisiún underway at @marrowbonebooks #CultureNight #OícheChultúir

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Great performance by Athlone Youth Orchestra, as part of the @ArtsWestmeath #CultureNight programme. Lots of emerging musical talent! pic.twitter.com/zQJcglzKB0

— Culture Night (@CultureNight) September 23, 2017

Gorgeous! Artist @hazelahurley doing live illustrations on 17th floor of Cork County Hall, as the sun set on #CultureNight @corkcountyarts pic.twitter.com/3CC9aKnWym

— Culture Night (@CultureNight) September 23, 2017

Performers from @Branarteatar's 'The Shape Of Things' at a special Baby Culture Night event at @HawksWellSligo #CultureNight pic.twitter.com/ctmh7qJnPn

— Culture Night (@CultureNight) September 23, 2017

Some more great #CultureNight pictures from @TipperaryArts, including the 'Walk a Mile in My Shoes event at @LIT_Tipperary. pic.twitter.com/y1klTpSIBN

— Culture Night (@CultureNight) September 23, 2017

Some fun being had at @singalongsocial at The Amphiteatre. Just a little bit... #CultureNight

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