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

Essex born folk songwriter ‘Beans on Toast’ is an extremely unique performer. Twisting an age-old genre with a D.I.Y. approach and contemporary concerns has earned him the title of a cult figure who tells it like it is. A festival favourite (he’s played Glastonbury every year since 2005) and a prolific writer and performer. He’s written and recorded 16 albums and he’s played every bar, club, venue, pub, festival, party and honky-tonk you can think of. He’s a hippy, a punk, a poet, a drunk, a die-hard romantic and an eternal optimist. Singing simple songs that tackle big issues.

Opera. Movies. Book Readings. Live Music. Photographic Exhibition. Irish-Language Events. Discussion. Street Food. There's a feast of culture at Maynooth University’s annual Arts and Minds festival. Concession tickets available for Students/Unwaged/Senior Citizens/MU Alumni. Full programme listing here. The festival begins on Thursday, 9th with a concert version of Vivaldi's opera, L'Olimpiade courtesy of Irish National Opera. Our collaboration with Maynooth Film For All continues on Friday 10th with a screening of the award-winning movie, Ballywalter starring Maynooth graduate, Seána