This May, DDF shares dance that takes a stand, ditches convention and claims its strength. Dance that embraces the lows, celebrates the highs and welcomes our future. This year, dance demands to be heard. It’s time to DANCE OUT LOUD. The Dublin Dance Festival believes in the power of dance to move, connect and inspire change. With so much of Ireland’s culture tied up in language and the past, dance has a unique power to explore and express what it is to be human, right now.

Bealtaine is Ireland’s national festival which celebrates the arts and creativity as we age. The festival is run by Age & Opportunity, the leading national development organisation working to enable the best possible quality of life for us all as we age. This year Age & Opportunity unveils an all-new festival theme, ‘Lust for Life’, which reflects a familiar experience for many older people. To celebrate the theme Bealtaine Festival has commissioned a new essay, ‘Lust of Life’, by writer, former Labour TD and Bealtaine Festival ambassador, Liz McManus, which explores the n

With self-effacing humour and stories told of growing up on a remote Irish Island Niall McCabe possess an effortless charm which both captivates and liberates his audience. Like the wild Atlantic landscape of his home McCabe’s songs feel timeless and natural yet bely the dense shaping of a dynamic creative force. Deft, intricate guitar work brings a lightness to the weight of Island isolation yet the sound, soul and stories of McCabe’s life and experiences breathe a deep cultured sense of discernment through his vocals. His natural distinct voice is earning him a growing loyal fanbase, dis