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.

Irish Times arts journalist Nadine O’Regan hosts this much anticipated event with singer Mary Coughlan, Barry Devlin (bass/Horslips), and Keith Donald (sax/Moving Hearts). Expect an entertaining, honest, and revealing conversation with three of the most iconic figures in contemporary Irish music about their professional successes, personal lives ‘on the road,’ and varied tales of addiction. Open captioning will be available at this event.

SO Fine Art Editions are pleased to present Cut Flowers by Oisín Byrne, an Irish artist, writer and filmmaker based in London. This new series of screenprints continues his exploration of scale, bold colour, floral form, gesture and the passing of time, and will also open at Connolly, London, on 1 May 2026. Moving fluidly between painting, film, performance, sound and text, Byrne describes his studio practice as a dialogue between focused, reflective work and instinctive mark-making, often exploring the shifting boundaries between conscious thought and intuitive gesture. His studio itself