Heritage

Dungarvan is Seisiún ready as TuneFest 2024 Festival Beckons Head to Dungarvan from 21st-23rd June for concerts, including headline gigs with Cherish the Ladies, Talisk and Danú, music workshops, dancing, pub sessions, youth buskers, cd launches, and free outdoor gig rig performances. TuneFest Dungarvan, Ireland’s most exciting emerging traditional Irish music festival, will take place in the scenic harbour town of Dungarvan...

Joyce’s Dublin recalled in Bloomsday Festival   Ireland’s annual celebration of James Joyce’s seminal work, Ulysses, returns to Dublin in June with the five-day Bloomsday festival. Art, music, theatre, lectures, readings, walking tours and food events make up the packed programme that invites Joyce fans to see his famous novel Ulysses through a multitude of lenses. Bloomsday (11–16 June) recalls 16 June 1904,...

Bealtaine welcomes summer with festival fun   The festival of Bealtaine in May marks the beginning of summer in the Celtic calendar and, since it’s Ireland, it’s a good excuse for a party. Falling midway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, Bealtaine is one of Ireland’s four fire festivals, the others being Imbolc (February), Lughnasa (August) and the best known...

St Patrick’s Day celebrations around the world Over 75 million people around the globe claim to be of Irish descent. So it’s little wonder St Patrick’s Day has become a worldwide phenomenon. They say everyone is Irish on St Patrick’s Day, and with parades and events happening from Australia to Zimbabwe, that’s easy to believe. When the Irish first left the...

Take your pick from great St Patrick’s Day celebrations around Ireland   On St Patrick’s Day all the major cities on the island of Ireland stage fantastic festivals. So why not avoid the Dublin crowds and seek one out this 17 March.   This year St Patrick’s Day falls on a Sunday, so Monday 18 March 2024 will be a public holiday. Lucky...

  The ABAIR programme is back for 2024!   ABAIR is St. Patrick’s Festival’s flagship traditional arts strand, sponsored by the Arts Council Traditional Arts fund, which explores the Irish traditions of storytelling, song, and oral history and traces their links around the world. Curated by traditional singer Macdara Yeates, and now in its 6th year, the multi-format programme offers a wide array...

Ireland is going green (and not just on St Patrick’s Day)   The world goes green on St Patrick’s Day to celebrate all things Irish, but the island of Ireland is also going green in a different way. Ireland has committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. It’s a commitment that is...

Connect to Celtic Christianity on a Legacy of St Brigid tour Be inspired by the fascinating story of the life and legacy of St Brigid on an immersive tour led by an expert in Christian heritage. The Legacy of St Brigid tour introduces participants to one of the most important Irish saints – an icon who is revered across the...

Belfast 2024 celebrates the city’s creative culture Belfast is embarking on an ambitious cultural celebration in 2024 which will see the city come to life with creative projects, events and civic initiatives. Under the themes of Our People, Our Place and Our Planet, Belfast 2024 will present a year-long programme of exciting projects and events that will celebrate the city’s people,...

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum assembles “the boys of the NYPD choir” to sing Galway Bay this Christmas   Exhibition launches in Dublin telling the story of The Pogues and Shane MacGowan The Pogues’ song Fairytale of New York is regarded by many as the anthem for Irish global emigration.  It remains one of the most played Christmas songs of the...