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.

One of Ireland's most successful singer/songwriters, Paul's legendary band, The Blades, was powered by a rich and memorable songbook including all-time classics Ghost of a Chance, Downmarket, and Revelations of Heartbreak. Fueled by Paul's Ringsend roots, an iconic voice, and heartfelt musical poetry, the band remain as dynamic and relevant today as they continue to attract new fans and pack out venues nationwide. Paul is in conversation with broadcaster/musician Tom Dunne (Something Happens)

After a sold-out run in The Boys’ School, Awkward Prods are bringing Diana BACK to Smock Alley Theatre due to exceptional demand, and this time the multi-award-winning, Edinburgh Fringe sell-out show takes the main stage. Do you know the story of Diana? Probably. But do you know this story of Diana? We very much doubt it. Join Diana in heaven as she shares the untold and untrue tale of her extraordinary life.  Combining drag, multimedia, audience interaction, puppetry, and a lot of queer joy, this unique celebration of the People’s Princess has won multiple awards and sold out venues

Adapted and directed by Liam Hourican​ With live period music from two acclaimed musicians! Leopold Bloom finds himself in the proverbial lion’s den of Barney Kiernan’s, subjected to the simmering antisemitism of the blinkered Citizen and a jeering entourage. A toxic mix of heavy drinking, Dublin pub banter and political discourse culminates in an explosion of xenophobic violence and an assault with a biscuit tin. In CYCLOPS, Volta draws on its roots in cabaret and sketch comedy to conjure Joyce at his comedic best. After three sold-out runs of its critically-acclaimed Counte

The table is set for Denis, arriving home from Dublin where he’s studying Medicine at Trinity College – a source of enormous pride for his besotted mother and of great resentment to his five other siblings. But when word comes that he may have failed his exams again, the final straw breaks. Threats of deportation, lawsuits, bribes and counter-bribes escalate, as the family twist the fate of their whiteheaded boy to suit themselves. Never mind about the girls. A smash hit when it premiered at the Abbey Theatre 110 years ago, Lennox Robinson’s The Whiteheaded Boy is a raucous, high-s

Join us on 5th of June at 21:00 at the stunning Monkstown Church for ’Our precious concert’ – one of our most beloved and best-selling programmes! Experience the majestic and timeless music of the legendary Lord of the Rings films in a breathtaking concert that will transport audiences straight into the heart of Tolkien’s universe. Howard Shore’s iconic soundtrack has captivated millions worldwide, and now, we bring it to Ireland! Performed by the modern orchestra Mystery Ensemble, this magical evening will transport you instantly into the heart of Tolkien’s universe, where e

Join Pallas Projects/Studios for an in-conversation event with artist Ciara Rodgers and curator Aideen Quirke, discussing Paper Façades make Tender Follies. Bringing her experience as a curator, facilitator, and collaborator working across contemporary art, collective care, and activist methodologies, Quirke will join Rodgers in a discussion expanding on the themes of the exhibition. These include architecture, gendered experiences of urban space, precarity, and the contradictions embedded within the contemporary built environment. Through installation, material experimentation, and spatial i

Get ready to step back into the glittering heart of Ireland’s showband era as the sell-out sensation ARE YA DANCIN’? returns—bigger, bolder, and bursting with warmth and charm. Following its hit national debut at 3Olympia Theatre in 2024, this vibrant Irish musical play written by Carol Gleeson and Helen Spring takes audiences on an unforgettable journey through the ballrooms and backroads of 1960’s Donegal. Meet Tommy O’Neill, an unassuming young man with big dreams and a band on the rise. As fame beckons, old traditions clash with new freedoms and Tommy struggles to find his

Bloomsday celebrates Thursday 16 June 1904, the day depicted in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, the central character in Ulysses. The novel follows the life and thoughts of Leopold Bloom and a host of other characters – real and fictional – from 8am on 16 June 1904 through to the early hours of the following morning. Celebrations often include dressing up like characters from the book and in clothes that would have been the style of the era. One of the hallmark fancy dress items of Bloomsday is the straw boater hat. Celebrations come in many differen