Culture Night: What's on in the west and northwest

Tonight is Culture Night and right around the country events have been organised to showcase local talent and provide entertainment for the general public free of charge. Our correspondents, Teresa Mannion and Shane Ó Curraighín have been taking a look at what we can expect across the west and northwest.

Sligo Culture Night

The theme for Culture Night in Sligo is "Hidden Treasures" so everyone can explore the town and discover some of its culture and creativity.

Sligo is rolling out the cultural carpet for travellers arriving to Sligo by bus or train with Pop-up performances around the bus and train station.

LED jugglers will also light up arrivals into the town with a glowing, twirling colour of lights. Welcome Ambassadors will be on hand to share details of the culture night activities in Sligo so no one will miss a thing.

There are over 30 events taking place across Sligo on Friday night, one of which will be a unique interactive event entitled Sligo Hidden Treasure Hunt.

Families and friends will be encouraged to take part in a Sligo-wide treasure hunt, where clues will be hidden at chosen Culture Night events happening around the town.

There are some really exciting late-night events, including Opera After Dark at Sligo's iconic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

More than 500 people have already signed up to witness Opera After Dark, which will be livestreamed for national and international audiences.

Paradiso Gypsy Jazz Quartet perform a series of pop-up mini-concerts in several participating Sligo restaurants and bars from 8.00-10.30pm. A final, intimate busking pop up performance will take place in an area of Queen Maeve Square at 10pm.

Sligo’s cultural celebration will extend into the late hours this Culture Night, thanks to the support of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media, and their Night-Time Economy pilot initiative. Sligo will feature an exciting lineup of events under the Culture Night Late banner.

Donegal Culture Night

Donegal County Council Culture Division will be presenting its 16th annual programme of events for Culture Night. The Council’s Arts Officer Traolach Ó Fionnáin said this year’s programme has a great selection of in-person events as well as a host of events in the county’s Gaeltacht areas too.

In Letterkenny Town Park, Inishowen Carnival will present Critters - A Sculpture and Performance Trail. This captivating event will showcase giant insect-like humanoid characters, illuminated sculptures, and live performances by Fusion Dance Company. The evening’s performances, set for 8.00pm and 9.00pm, will enchant visitors with music, fire, and creativity, as performers explore what life might be like if evolution had taken a different path.

The World Culture Open Air Performances will celebrate Donegal’s multicultural community adjacent to Letterkenny Town Park’s skateboard area. Audiences will be treated to dance and music from a range of cultural groups, including African, Ukrainian, Indian, and more, showcasing the rich diversity of people who now call Donegal home.

Turas Úr Artists Collective will present an illuminated sculpture trail, featuring works by both local and internationally acclaimed artists at The Workhouse Garden next to Donegal County Museum. Inside the museum, the Peace Heroines of Northern Ireland exhibition will celebrate the contributions of women to the Northern Irish peace process. This inspiring exhibition honours figures like Bernadette Devlin-McAliskey and Dr. Mo Mowlam, shedding light on their pivotal roles in bridging divides during a time of conflict.

The Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny will launch several exhibitions on Culture Night. Cara Donaghey, a visual artist from Buncrana, presents The Evening has An Underneath, a reflective exploration of digital archives and internet nostalgia, while Paul Murray’s Disruption offers striking geometric abstract patterns. Sculptor Sarah Lewtas’ The Undertow delves into forgotten landscapes, evoking memories through installation and sculpture.

The Regional Cultural Centre's Evening of Choral Music in Letterkenny will bring together four choirs, offering an unforgettable night of powerful voices in harmony.

In St. Eunan’s Cathedral, The Conwal Singers and guest choirs will fill the air with reflective choral music from the likes of Mozart and Rutter. Meanwhile, Letterkenny’s Conwal Parish Church will welcome the Donegal Chamber Orchestra for a classical concert, featuring works by Purcell, Vivaldi, and Fauré.

An Grianán Theatre will host a Ukulele Workshop for beginners of all ages, followed by the Culture Connects International Cabaret, a vibrant evening of theatre, music, and dance, featuring performances by Donegal-based artists from across the globe.

Letterkenny’s Main Street will offer an interactive and fun activity for families with the Main Street Bears project. Twenty unique ceramic bears, each designed by a Donegal artist, will be hidden in shop windows along the street, with visitors invited to spot them all.

The Central Library will host the Ukrainian ensemble Sunflowers, whose musical performance will be accompanied by poetry readings, while the ZoNa Dance Company will celebrate its 10th Culture Night with a showcase of innovative choreography at their studio on Canal Road.

Donegal Town will also join the celebration, with the Donegal Railway Museum offering extended hours for visitors to explore its exhibits, including interactive displays and the famous Donegal Steam Engine, Drumboe.

In Inishowen, The Exchange Buncrana will hold a poignant evening of writing, music, and poetry in response to the suffering in Gaza, while Artlink at Fort Dunree will open The Whispering Sea, an exhibition by Indian artist Arijit Bhattacharyya, exploring themes of community, resistance, and cultural dialogue.

Other events in this year’s programme include music at The Loft Gig Night, an evening of storytelling and music at "An Chluas Éisteachta" withLíonra Leitir Ceanainn, Love Cats in The Cottage Bar, and a talk on traditional shop fronts and signage at Ernest Speer’s Store, while Balor Rep will present The Wife, Her Cat and All The Other Stuff at Dillon’s Hotel, Letterkenny.

Culture Night in Co Leitrim

Leitrim will come alive once more with a host of free events across the county, showcasing Leitrim’s culture and creativity for Culture Night 2024. Events will be taking place across the county from Ballinamore to Manorhamilton.

Six young groups young musicians, singers, and songwriters from Leitrim and Roscommon will perform an eclectic mix of Rock/Pop/Indie covers alongside original material at the Market Yard in Carrick-on-Shannon from 7-9.30pm.

Culture Night at St. George’s in Carrick-on-Shannon will feature a celebration of the 170th Anniversary of Percy French who was born on the 1 May 1854 in Cloonequinn, Co Roscommon. The show will be performed by nine members of the County Leitrim Percy French Society in period costume. It is a delightful journey through the whimsical landscapes of Irish folklore and the tender moments of everyday life, all expertly woven together by the society's skilled actors and performers. The event will serve as a celebration of the 170th anniversary of Percy French's birth.

A new display at Jury Room Café will feature animations crafted during a workshop at Staisiún Óige, Ballinamore. Guided by artist Fergal Brennan, a group of 10–14-year-olds from the local community came together to bring their stories to life. Their hard work, creativity, and collaboration have resulted in a collection of animations that are as captivating as they are unique.

How Can One Not Love You 2.0 is a selection of iconic short films about Kyiv. It includes the renowned Kyiv Frescoes by Serghiy Paradzhanov, the stunning road movie It's a Date by Nadia Parfan, the touching love story Teatralna Station by Alina Panasenko, the atmospheric Dovecotes of Kyiv by Mykhailo Volkov, the existential animation Come Outside, Masha by Yuliia Shalimova, and the impressionistic work Dedicated to the Youth of the World II by Roman Khimei and Yarema Malaschuk. The total running is 59 minutes with English subtitles. It will be shown at The Dock, Leitrim’s flagship arts centre in Carrick-on-Shannon at 7pm.

The Leitrim Design House is delighted to showcase a new exhibition Elaine Quinlan between 4-7.30pm. Quinlan is an Irish artist living and working in rural Galway. Quinlan paints in her studio in an area known for its marshy lowlands, rocky limestone fields and turloughs. These turloughs or vanishing lakes are the inspiration for her work, which lies somewhere between abstraction and representation.

Rose Minnema, a puppet builder will make several medium size scarf puppets during this drop-in workshop at the Leitrim Design House. Participants will assemble the puppets. Participants will be given an opportunity to see something of the process of making puppets and get a sense of manipulating them. All ages are welcome to join this exciting interactive workshop between 4-7pm.

Leitrim Volunteer Centre & Comhlámh will be hosting an afternoon workshop exploring Global Citizenship Education as part of Culture Night 2024 between 4-6pm.

Entertainer, songwriter and musician Charlie McGettigan will be joined by some special friends for what will undoubtedly be a very special and intimate evening at Drumshanbo Library. Joining Charlie is Eamonn and Orla Daly, whom Charlie has known for more than fifty years; Longford multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer Paul Gurney; and storyteller Phillip Nolan from Knockcroghery who played 'Jamesy’ in Pat Collins recent film "That they may face the rising sun’ which is based on John McGahern’s great novel of the same name. Event runs from 7.30-9.30pm.

Mohill Library will host the music and words of Brian Leyden and Dave Lawless at 7pm. Brian Leyden is a novelist, short story writer, memoirist, essayist, playwright, and editor. He co-writer the feature film, Black Ice, currently on Netflix. Dave Lawless is a Sligo based musician playing Gaelic harp, which has a resonant, clear, bell-like sound. His set for Culture Night will include music by Turlough O' Carolan, Cornelius Lyons, The Connellan Brothers, and others.

A host of musicians will gather an Ballinamore Library as they launch "Rakes of Music" - an online archive of Leitrim’s traditional music, song, dance, cultural and social history which has been curated by traditional singer, Fionnuala Maxwell and supported by Leitrim County Council and Creative Ireland. Event runs from 7.00 - 8.30pm.

An eight ‘till late event will take place at the new Island Theatre in Ballinamore presented by the Ballinamore Writers Group. The evening will begin with Ballinamore Writer’s introducing extracts from their work on local piseoga and sayings and inviting conversations around these in Ireland and other cultures. There will be lots of tea, coffee and cake. Following this there will be a screening of ‘That they may face the Rising Sun’ a film based on a story by local author, John McGahern and set locally.

A Glens Centre/Adaptation Film Festival will show Kneecap - the film that won the Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award. It is loosely adapted from the real-life experience of the Belfast Gaeilgeoirí Rap sensations of the same name. Event runs from 8pm - 9.45pm.

Leitrim Sculpture Centre will bring together exhibitions, technical demo’s, open studios; the Chluinin co-op shop and local food in an evening that celebrates some of the diverse art forms practised across the County and the North West. Exhibition: Artist in Residence Katheryn Maguire will present To the Mountain in the gallery on New Line from 5 – 9pm.To the Mountain is Maguire's first solo show, which explores how the mapping of Mountains was developed in Ireland to ascertain the 'underground potential' of geological material value and to facilitate taxation. Event runs from 5-9pm.

The Organic Centre in Rossinver will host an evening of culturally themed events based on the significance of our natural world beginning with self-guided wanderings throughout the gardens and tunnels whilst the light remains, followed by local singer and guitarist Mike McAlister whose music will be inspired by his surrounds and the natural world has to offer. This is a walk-in programme between 6-9pm with food and materials available on a first come basis.

In Galway, the cultural landscape is awash with creative and vibrant activities taking place across the city and county.

There are dozens of events featuring live music, dance, theatre, art, poetry, puppetry, storytelling, film screenings, crafting and more. All of the events are free of charge.

The Spanish Arch will become a giant Open-Air Art Gallery with a collage of Irish and international cartoonists.

Members of the public who want to try their hand at drawing will be able to use their mobile phones to create sketches and doodles. The images will then be projected in giant scale on surrounding walls.

Richard Chapman is the Artistic Director: "Our mission is to offer a creative playground for everyone to join. We want to turn the audience into active participants of a collective artwork."

The Galway Cartoon Festival will also host a teatime workshop in Charlie Byrne's Bookshop.

Festival manager, Margaret Nolan advises early arrival as numbers and space will be strictly limited: "We will teach techniques and games to help participants enjoy cartooning as a fun way to be creative. Materials will be provided but the public can bring their own favourite drawing tools."

The Galway Archaeological and Historical Society is hosting a visual art installation in the Mick Lally Theatre in Druid Lane. 'To the Letter' is an exhibition by Artist Dolores Lyne featuring a treasure trove of letters written by her grand-uncle, Liam Lynch, Chief of Staff of the IRA during the Civil War.

Tonight at 8.30pm, Dolores will tell the story of a young man in combat and on the run, featuring close shaves and dramatic escapes, incidents and narratives from the War of Independence, the Civil War and its aftermath.

Dolores Lyne is an award-winning artist and theatre designer and she depicts the letters through her artworks on large canvases. Also included in the exhibit is an original dispatch bicycle used in action at the time.

"The letters are brought to life recreating the remote safe houses where they were written, emphasising the landscapes and memories of the hill communities and the story of rural resistance."

'Breaking Barriers' is a documentary being launched in the Eye Cinema on Culture Night and features young people living with a disability and the challenges they face. The project aims to combat ableism and highlight the lack of accessible spaces in Galway city. Admission is free

Emma Ward is a Traveller and disability activist: "The documentary is crafted by young people, taking the audience on a journey with its participants, who share honest testimonies of living with a disability. Their personal stories highlight the barriers they encounter and the impact these obstacles have on their social interactions, raising awareness and advocating for more accessible environments."

This year, Galway County Council’s programme highlight is Lumina, a series of artistic outdoor projections onto Tuam Cathedral. Culture Works will stage the spectacle at 9.30pm as the facade of the Tuam Cathedral is transformed into a canvas of light and sound through projections and live choral performances.

Monsters and Things in Ballinasloe Library is a blend of pantomime farce, puppetry and storytelling, pitched to engage children’s imagination. An old-fashioned Punch and Judy-style puppet box and a beautiful mix of old-fashioned rod puppetry is grafted onto a modern story about 'X Factor' fame and fortune.

The Ballinasloe based artist collective Group 8, will hold their UISCE exhibition in the Town Band Hall. It will feature paintings, textiles, photography, ceramics and mixed media works. The opening this evening will be by special guest, artist John Igoe.

UISCE is inspired by the waterways of Ballinasloe - the River Suck, the callow floods, the marina - and beyond. The artists considered the symbolism and meaning of water and its importance to Ballinasloe today and in the past; each artist or writer was free to interpret the watery theme in their own way.

Culture Night really is ‘One Night For All," says Sharon O’Grady, Galway County Arts Officer: "The programme showcases our community’s vibrant and creative spirit with a wide range of cultural experiences for all ages and interests."

And in Mayo, Culture Night in Claremorris is a vibrant celebration of diverse cultures including Ukrainian jazz, Afro-Irish funk and Brazilian and Irish trad and world dance music. There's also a potluck of traditional food with people bringing ethnic foods to share with one another.

Organiser John Farragher said: "We've a great variety of homemade food and local live music to reflect our vibrant multicultural community."

In Castlebar, the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life features Mayo-based artist and musician Breda Mayock who presents an ‘in conversation’ style event with one of Ireland’s most respected and influential contemporary artists - Alice Maher.

They will discuss Alice’s life and art and the mesmerising ‘Bee Dress’ (1994) which is on loan from the Ulster Museum, in association with the exhibition The Murmur of Bees.

Culture Night in Ballina will feature an electrifying night with Ethio Grooves, a Dublin based Ethiopian Dj, at the Ballina Arts Centre. She will play her unique blend of Ethiopian modern and traditional music from the 60s and 70s, alongside an array of African grooves. This event is suitable for all ages, is wheelchair accessible, and no booking is required.

Reporting: Teresa Mannion and Shane Ó Curraighín