Festival season is upon us - but if you're not into the mega-sized music weekenders and are instead looking for something a little more diverse and arts-focused, there’s plenty of alternatives taking place across the country.
Here are ten of the best arts festivals happening across Ireland this summer.
1. Galway International Arts Festival (July 13th - 26th)
One of Ireland’s biggest and longest-running arts festivals, GIAF began in 1978 as an event organised by UCG’s Arts Society and local community members. Today, it’s a behemoth of the arts calendar, drawing both big international names and local heroes to the City of the Tribes. This year’s programme includes the legendary Patti Smith, The Flaming Lips and Cardinals; Druid’s production of Dion Boucicault’s The Shaughraun, the world premiere of the opera Testament (based on Colm Toibin’s The Testament of Mary) and immersive theatre experience Flight.
2. Cork Midsummer Festival (June 21st - 26th)
Fancy a jaunt to the Rebel County in June? The programme for this year’s Cork Midsummer Festival is as stellar (and as diverse) as always. Highlights include renowned French actress Isabelle Huppert undertaking a live reading of another French icon, author Guy de Maupassant; theatre by Thisispopbaby and Deirdre Kinahan; a collaboration led by performance artist Amanda Coogan in an adaptation of deaf writer Teresa Deevy’s 1939 radio play Dignity, and much, much more.
3. West Cork Literary Festival - July 10th - 17th
Venture a little further west and you’ll stumble upon this charming literary bash, which began in 1995 with readings in the local library and has since become one of the most renowned in the country. This year, authors making their way to the beautiful town of Bantry include John Banville, Charlie Mackesy, Katriona O’Sullivan, Ian Rankin, Sara Baume, Liz Nugent and many more, as well as numerous masterclasses and workshops in the mix for budding authors.
4. Earagail Arts Festival (July 10th - 25th)
Now in its 39th year, the Earagail Arts Festival showcases the natural beauty of Donegal by pairing it with some tremendous performances in music, circus, dance, theatre, visual arts and spoken word. You’ll find both Irish and international artists in venues spread across the county, with highlights including Welsh musician Gwenno in Letterkenny, Brigid Mae Power in Donegal Town, the popular Journals Fleadh (bringing readers, writers and literary journals together) and Catalan street theatre company Los Galindos.
5. Dalkey Book Festival (June 18th - 21st)
The Dublin seaside town of Dalkey once again plays host to a spectacular array of both Irish and international names in July. This year, visitors to Dalkey will include Salman Rushdie, Lionel Shriver, Tim Berners-Lee, Sebastian Faulks, Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. Irish authors including Anne Enright, Patrick Freyne, Jan Carson and more will also be joined on the programme by a number of children’s authors, including new Laureate na nÓg Chris Haughton, Dave Rudden, Sarah Webb and Chris Judge.
6. Festival of Writing and Ideas (June 5th - 7th)
Is this one of the most extraordinary arts festivals in the land? Without a doubt. Every year, the schedule for this weekend-long event in Borris, Co. Carlow brings together a remarkable band of well-known authors and thinkers to share their thoughts, ideas and flights of fancy via conversations and lectures. This year, that includes writers Elizabeth Strout, Colm Toibin, Max Porter, Patrick Radden Keefe and Mary Gaitskill, as well as other luminaries from culture, politics and activism such as Mary Robinson, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Fiona Shaw and David O’Doherty.
7. Hinterland (June 25th - 28th)
Kells is famous for more than that one book, y’know. The Hinterland Festival in the County Meath town celebrates the arts with a programme that includes everything from workshops and historical talks, to music, film, family-friendly events and a free LitCrawl around the town. Highlights on their 2026 slate include appearances from Kirsty Wark, Tom Dunne, Larry Lamb, Liz Nugent, Sarah Breen & Emer McLysaght and more.
8. Boyle Arts Festival - July 16th - 25th
There’s a healthy range of music, comedy and spoken word on the programme for this year’s Boyle Arts Festival. Those heading to the Roscommon town include writer Michael Harding reading from his latest book, Midwinter; journalist Carole Coleman in conversation with John Creedon; comedy from Jason Byrne; Phelim Drew remembering his father Ronnie in a special show, and music from Mary Coughlan and the finest Smiths tribute band on the planet, These Charming Men.
9. Bloomsday Festival (June 11th - 16th)
Dust off the straw boaters, get the jackets and long skirts out of storage and get your bicycle out of the garage. This annual celebration of Ulysses takes place across six days in Dublin, culminating on June 16th - the day that James Joyce’s emblematic novel is set. From walking tours to performances at the James Joyce Tower in Sandycove, lunchtime theatre to Joycean cabaret, poetry to lectures, there’s a jam-packed programme in store. Highlights include actor Lesley Conroy’s play Epiphany, which reimagines the story of The Dead from Gretta Conroy’s point-of-view, and a Joyce-inspired dance-theatre work by Danse Lumiere.
10. Carlow Arts Festival (May 28th - June 1st)
Comedy, music, theatre… it’s all happening in Carlow on the June Bank Holiday weekend. There’s numerous free events, to boot - including multi-sensory immersive sound and light installation Our Space, The Caf Sessions music strand, a 'Dinky Dancers’ baby rave and the closing parade with Macnas on Monday. There’s also music by the likes of Camille O’Sullivan, Carlow native SexyTadhg and musician and storyteller Aindrias de Staic, and a comedy gala featuring Sharon Mannion, Andrew Maxwell and more.
Read Lauren Murphy's 10 must-see summer gigs (that aren't sold out yet) here
