Bealtaine Festival Launches This Weekend with Month-Long Celebration of Ageing & Creativity

Bealtaine Festival, an initiative of Age & Opportunity and Ireland’s national celebration of the arts and ageing, returns this May with a dynamic nationwide programme. The festival officially opens on Sunday, 3rd May at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) with its most anticipated event – The Big Bealtaine Tea Party. 

The Tea Party is an intergenerational gathering blending music, storytelling, live performance and delicious food and refreshments. Curated by Bealtaine’s Citizen Curators Joe Maguire, Madge O’Callaghan, and Peter Clarke, this year’s event celebrates creativity at every age, shining a light on late-life debuts, artistic reinvention and practices sustained across decades. 

Audiences can expect an afternoon of performances, with contributions from debut writer Tom Dredge, storyteller Ruth Marshall and acclaimed actor Bríd Ní Neachtain. The event also features powerful choral performances from the Bealtaine Dawn Chorus Flagship Choir, Hands in Harmony (Limerick) alongside guest choir Terenure College Community Choir, creating a shared musical experience that reflects the festival’s spirit of participation and connection. 

Following this opening, Bealtaine Festival continues throughout May with a diverse schedule of visual art, film, and community engagement across Ireland.  

The celebration culminates in an ambitious flagship weekend (28th–30th May) centred at Project Arts Centre as the festival’s HQ. From this hub, the celebration extends across Temple Bar’s cultural venues, including Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, the Irish Film Institute, the National Photographic Archive, and Photo Museum Ireland. 

Flagship Finale Weekend Highlights: 

Friday, 28th May  

• Sax, (No) Drugs & Rock ’n’ Roll! (28th May): This much anticipated event with three icons of Irish music: Mary Coughlan, Barry Devlin (Horslips), and Keith Donald (Moving Hearts). Expect tales of professional success, life "on the road," and personal reflections on addiction and recovery. 

• Miriam O’Callaghan in Conversation with Susan McKay (28th May): In a reversal of her usual role, one of Ireland’s best-loved broadcasters discusses her exceptionally honest memoir, Miriam: Life, Work, Everything. She joins award-winning journalist Susan McKay to share her philosophy on balancing a high-octane career with family life. 

• Retired? You Must Be Joking! (28th May): An afternoon of lively conversation on art, ageing, visibility and the ideas that matter now, hosted by Bealtaine Ambassadors, writer and former politician Liz McManus and musician Mike Hanrahan, joined by Fiction Laureate Éilís Ní Dhuibhne and broadcaster and musician Kieran Hanrahan. 

• Éireann and I present: ‘This Land Bears Our Name’ (28th – 30th May): A major visual arts commission by Beulah Ezeugo and Joselle Ntumba. This immersive project explores older migrants’ relationships with Dublin through sound-walk imagery and personal archives. 

Saturday, 29th May  

• Johnny Got a Bus Pass - Little John Nee (29th May): Iconic entertainer Little John Nee proves that ageing doesn’t mean opting out - it means showing up and playing louder where it matters. A funny, heartfelt musical memoir and a masterclass in the joys of being an "elder punk." 

• Paul Cleary: Up Close & Personal (29th May): The legendary frontman of The Blades, Paul Cleary, joins broadcaster and musician Tom Dunne for an evening of music and conversation. A deep dive into a rich songbook that remains as dynamic and relevant as ever. 

Sunday, 30th May  

• Not Dead Yet: Love, Intimacy and Dating in Later Life (30th May): Chaired by Barbara Scully, this candid discussion explores the emotional and social dimensions of romance in later life. Featuring writer/performer Rory O’Neill (Panti Bliss), singer-songwriter Leslie Dowdall, and neuroscientist Dr. Sabina Brennan. 

• Bealtaine Mix and Mingle with DJ Dandelion (30th May): A relaxed social space to meet friends old and new. With atmospheric tunes from DJ Dandelion and host Muireann Ryan, it’s the perfect spot to have the craic before the festival finale. 

• 6 O’Clock Rock with Sing Along Social (30th May - Closing Event): The festival’s grand finale! We return to the dance floor for a massive intergenerational boogie celebrating our "Lust for Life." All welcome! 

Looking forward to the kick-off of Bealtaine Festival 2026, Dr Tara Byrne, Arts Programme Manager and Artistic Director of Bealtaine Festival at Age & Opportunity, said: 

“As we begin this year’s festival, we’re excited to welcome audiences to a month of creativity, connection and celebration across Ireland. The Big Bealtaine Tea Party is a joyful way to open the programme, bringing people together through music, storytelling and shared experience and we look forward to the energy building across the month towards our flagship finale weekend in Dublin. Bealtaine Festival continues to celebrate the richness and diversity of ageing, and the vital contribution of older artists and communities to our cultural life.” 

Bealtaine Festival is an initiative of Age & Opportunity, funded by the Arts Council and the HSE. Age & Opportunity is the national organisation working to enable the best quality of life for us all as we age. 

To find out more about the 2026 Bealtaine Festival and to book your tickets, visit www.bealtaine.ie.