Outreach project with secondary school students.
As part of the Arts programme at Scoil Phobail Bhéara, students will visit the art exhibition West of the Healy Pass: Beara Peninsula Artists.
Private event
Exhibition Opening / Oileán
Location: The Community Centre
Free event / No booking required
Oileán is a captivating photography exhibition showcasing the unique beauty of the seven inhabited West Cork Islands. Captured through the lenses of island residents’ phones, the images reflect the everyday magic of island life — from dramatic landscapes to quiet moments in favourite places.
Workshop / Discovering the art and process of green rope making / William Bock
Location: The Forge
Admission is free but ticketed – reserve yours today!
Slow down and reconnect with the land in this unique, immersive workshop led by artist William Boch. The experience begins with a gentle foraging walk to gather wild grasses — an invitation to observe, reflect, and share stories along the way. Back at the Forge, the conversation continues over a warm cup of tea. Participants will then be guided through the communal craft of green rope making — not as a goal-driven task, but as a creative ritual.
Amhráin na Mara / Songs of the Sea
Location: Scoil Mhícil Naofa
Free event / No booking required
A singalong voyage “across the waves”, Éamonn, Wike & Ivy will sing a range of songs that have been around for many moons and a number of new compositions. They will host a singing Workshop “Ag Canadh ar Scoil” (singing at school) with the pupils of Scoil Mhíchil Naofa (School Event). An enjoyable afternoon of singing maritime songs in Irish & English, you will enjoy singing along with us. Éamonn is currently collaborating with Meitheal Mara, Community Boatyard Cork to sing Amhráin na Mara/Songs of the Sea with the people of Cork. Lyrics will be provided and ALL WELCOME, singers and listeners.
Exhibition Opening / Rachel Parry
Location: Naval Yard Shed
Free event / No booking required
Renowned Beara artist Rachel Parry brings her evocative Kelp Cailleach to this year's festival. In this reinterpretation of Paula Rego’s iconic avenging Angel (1998) Parry has made a dress from kelp washed up on the shores of Beara. Rego’s sword and sponge have been replaced with black-backed gull wings. The materials used in this piece bring us into a timely ecological conversation. They are worn and held by the Cailleach— a pre-Christian mythological figure associated with Beara, where in Kilcatherine she leaped across the bay and turned herself into rock to outwit the control of the patriarchal church. Often depicted as an old woman, the Cailleach is a powerful symbol of endurance and transformation.
Exhibition Opening / The Green Rope project
Location: The Forge
Free event / no booking required
The Green Rope project is a social sculpture by the artist William Bock. The sugán rope, an ancient tool, is in this project reappropriated as a means for human and ecological connection. It offers a tacit space for conversation, creativity and empathy.
Official Opening of the Festival
Location: The Drill Hall
Free event / No booking required
The festival will be opened by Karl Wallace, Head of Festivals, Arts Council Ireland. The Arts Council is the national government agency for funding, developing and promoting the arts in Ireland. Its role is to advocate, advise, invest and work in partnership with others, to cultivate a vibrant arts environment at the heart of Irish society.
There are late night foot passenger ferries at 9pm and 12:30am from Rerrin Village to The Pontoon.
Exhibition Opening / West of Healy Pass: Beara Peninsula Artists
Location: The Drill Hall
Free event / No booking required
Image: Frieda Meaney, Walk Series Spain
The Beara Peninsula has long inspired artists with its raw beauty, rugged edges, and deep sense of place. This large group show features work from more than a dozen artists and is a sample of those working on the Beara Peninsula today. Since the 1960s, the Beara has been known as a haven for artists, and this show demonstrates the range of creativity of artists who now live and work here. Some are born locally, some “blew-in” decades ago, and some are recent arrivals. Some are known internationally, some are local treasures.
Curated by gallerist Catherine Hammond, the exhibition features a wide choice of styles, media, and subject matter – something for everyone!
There are late night foot passenger ferries at 9pm and 12:30am from Rerrin Village to The Pontoon.
Theatre / The Crow’s Old Gold
Location: The Lecture Theatre
€18 including booking fee
A play by Carina McNally in collaboration with dramaturg Éadaoin O Donoghue.
On a windswept rock near Dursey Island, where legend claims the great blacksmithing god Goibhniú once forged his enchanted weapons, past and present collide in a story of myth, superstition, and personal reckoning. The Crows Old Gold delves into the folklore of the Gaibhleann Gabha, the Hag of Beara, and the ancient spirits said to inhabit the rugged coast of West Cork and Kerry.
There are late night foot passenger ferries at 9pm and 12:30am from Rerrin Village to The Pontoon.
Live Music / Pat Higgins & friends
Location: O’Sullivan’s Bar (Dessie’s)
Free event / No booking required
There are late night foot passenger ferries at 9pm and 12:30am from Rerrin Village to The Pontoon.