The 2026 Bealtaine Festival, Ireland’s national celebration of creativity in older age (run by Age & Opportunity), takes place throughout May with events nationwide. It features a diverse mix of arts, film, performance, and community engagement, promoting the artistic contributions of older people. Proudly funded by the Arts Council and the HSE, with the support of communities nationwide and a vast network of accomplished local and national bodies.

On an island of storytellers and in a city where books are treasured, International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD) is Ireland’s leading literary event. Since 1998, we have brought the world’s finest writers together to enthral, engage and excite audiences. In readings, conversations, debates, screenings, guided walks, events, podcasts and broadcasts, we’re proud to celebrate the very best Irish and international fiction and non-fiction authors, poets, lyricists, playwrights and screenwriters. Irish language writing and emerging talent are always supported, and new voices championed

What does it mean to move into Irish as a writer whose work has been shaped in English? Join Naoise Dolan in conversation with Emma Ferrari who explore the creative and cultural possibilities of writing across languages. Drawing on their shared experiences of living and working multilingually, the conversation will range from Ireland to Italy and beyond. At its heart is the idea of exophonic writing — writing in a language that is not one’s first. Inspired by writers such as Yoko Tawada and Xiaolu Guo, Dolan considers how working in a second language can become an artistic choice, shapi