Festivals & Events

Looking forward to Big Top summer nights

Wed, Dec 31, 2025

Every July, something remarkable happens in Galway — already a city steeped in music, storytelling and artistic rebellion, it transforms into a living, breathing celebration of creativity. Streets hum with anticipation, conversations spill late into the night, and for a few precious weeks the ordinary rules of time seem suspended. At the heart of this annual transformation sits the Heineken Big Top at Galway International Arts Festival – a venue that has become synonymous with unforgettable nights, world-class performances and moments of collective exhilaration that linger long after the lights go down.

Theatre

Stepping Up: A radio play and community conversation on anti-racism in Galway

Thu, Jan 22, 2026

Stepping Up is a powerful radio drama examining Irish attitudes to racism, immigration, and mental health. Directed by French director Olivier Bonnardot, the adaptation is based on the original stage play by Galway playwright Joan Lally and draws on her experiences as a therapist and anti-racism activist. The story reflects the social and political climate surrounding the 2019 immigration protests in Co Galway and will be presented to a live audience for the first time.

Music

McTell’s Irish farewell to end in Galway

Thu, Jan 15, 2026

Legendary British singer-songwriter Ralph McTell has announced that tickets for his last-ever tour of Ireland go on sale next week.

Cinema

Housing activists to screen Brazilian film

Thu, Jan 22, 2026

The night centres on the history and organisation of Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement (the MST).

Comedy

Comics seek Funny money in 2026

Thu, Jan 15, 2026

Ireland’s longest running comedy competition, Show Me The Funny, will return to the King’s Head Bar later this month to help banish those post-Christmas, January blues.