Mayo celebrates Cultúr 2026 with an array of events

From the Atlantic musical traditions of Ireland, Brittany, Galicia and Asturias to street art in Ballyhaunis and Irish, Breton and Basque music in Foxford, Mayo hosts an autumn of cultural exchange marking Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

As Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union until December 2026, Cultúr 2026: Sharing Ireland’s Culture, the official cultural programme of Ireland’s Presidency, is bringing Ireland’s artists, creativity and heritage to stages and communities across Europe and at home.

Supported by a €5 million investment from Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, and presented by Culture Ireland, Cultúr 2026 is bringing the work of Irish artists to audiences across all 27 EU Member States and beyond, while ensuring communities throughout Ireland can take part in the Presidency at home.

Minister Patrick O’Donovan T.D said: “Cultúr 2026 – Sharing Ireland’s Culture is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the breadth of Irish culture, not only on stages across Europe, but in communities throughout Ireland.

“It was important to me that Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union should also be celebrated here at home, and that communities in every county have an opportunity to take part. Our culture is rooted in people and place, in our artists, our language, our heritage and our communities. Through Cultúr 2026, we are creating opportunities for people to come together, experience the arts and celebrate the culture we share.”

Working in partnership with Local Authorities across the country, Cultúr 2026 is bringing the Presidency directly into communities, with each Local Authority shaping a programme that reflects the artists, heritage and creative life of its area. The programme also creates opportunities for cultural exchange across Europe, strengthening long-standing relationships and forging new connections through arts and culture.

Spanning theatre, literature, music, visual art, architecture, dance, film and more, these local, national and international collaborations reflect a living Irish culture, rooted in tradition and place, shaped by contemporary creativity, and open to exchange and connection across Europe.

Here in Mayo, that celebration draws on the county’s deep connections with language, landscape, music, stories and traditions, while exploring the cultural threads that connect communities along Europe’s Atlantic edge.

From Castlebar and Ballyhaunis to Foxford, Ballintubber and Louisburgh, local artists and communities will connect with European traditions through music, visual art, performance, literature and public art.

The county’s autumn programme gets underway at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar on Wednesday, September 16 at 7.30 p.m. with Inter-Weave, a European cultural exchange bringing together the musical traditions of Ireland, Brittany, Galicia and Asturias.

Renowned traditional artists Diarmaid Moynihan, Laoise Kelly, Tóla Custy and Emer Mayock will trace a musical map of Europe’s Atlantic fringe, exploring distinctive regional traditions alongside the shared musical threads that connect them. The repertoire ranges from ancient melodies and traditional forms to contemporary compositions, demonstrating how these interconnected musical cultures continue to evolve.

The performance runs in tandem with the multimedia exhibition Song of the Lost Field / Amhrán na Páirce Caillte, exploring Irish heritage and memory. Poet, translator and scholar Dr Lorna Shaughnessy will also explore the deep Atlantic connections linking Ireland, Galicia, Brittany and Asturias and how cultural traditions can travel across borders while retaining their distinctive identities.

On September 26 and October 3, contemporary street art comes to Ballyhaunis Community School as Mayo takes part in Waterford Walls: The EU Walls Project, a nationwide programme of street art and graffiti workshops marking Ireland’s EU Presidency.

Led by experienced mural artists and facilitators, the workshops will introduce young people to the creative process behind graffiti and mural art, including spray-paint techniques, sketch development, colour layering and large-scale composition, encouraging creativity, confidence and self-expression. The wider project will also invite communities across Ireland to nominate a permanent wall for a landmark mural celebrating Ireland’s EU Presidency, creating a lasting public-art legacy reflecting cultural exchange, connection and shared creativity.

On Saturday, October 17 at 8 p.m., the Moy Hotel in Foxford will host A Celebration of Irish, Breton and Basque Music, bringing together the closely connected traditional music cultures of Ireland, Brittany in France and the Basque region of Spain.

Featuring Irish musical collective CUAS alongside leading European artists, the concert will explore the instruments, rhythms and storytelling traditions shared across the regions and demonstrate how traditional music continues to evolve through collaboration and cultural exchange.

The programme continues on Sunday with an interactive workshop and discussion led by internationally recognised traditional musician Niamh Ní Charra, joined by Breton, Basque and Irish musicians to explore their musical connections through live demonstrations and performance.

On Sunday, November 22 at 4.45p.m., two Mayo-based community choirs will come together in the historic surroundings of Ballintubber Abbey for the Fauré and Stanford Concert, celebrating the connections between Irish and European classical music.

Cór Mhaigh Eo, directed by Kathy Quinn, and Louisburgh Voices, directed by Dr. Pauline Graham, will perform Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem and Jules Massenet’s Méditation alongside instrumental music by Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford. They will be joined by soprano Pauline Graham, baritone Owen Gilhooly-Miles, organist Michael Quinn and the internationally acclaimed ConTempo Quartet.

Leading Irish musicologist Professor Harry White will open the event, exploring the relationship between Irish and European classical traditions and considering how Ireland’s musical identity developed within a broader European cultural framework.

Mayo’s programme concludes in Louisburgh from December 1 to 6 with Listening to the Land: Poetry and Music from Europe’s Edges, a new site-responsive music and poetry project conceived and led by Irish musician-composer Bianca Gannon.

Taking place at Books at One and along the Bunowen River, the project explores the relationship between language, landscape, memory and identity through sound installations, poetry, a soundwalk and live performance. At its heart is a dialogue between Irish-language poetry and contemporary poetry from across Europe, with a particular focus on minority languages.

The sound installations will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., culminating in a special live event on Friday, December 4 at 7.30 p.m., when Bianca Gannon will be joined by poet, singer and Irish-language advocate Amano De Londra Miura (Amano Anseo) for an evening of music, readings and discussion.

Anna Livia Cullinan, Creative Communities Engagement Officer with Mayo County Council said: "Mayo County Council is delighted to lead the development and coordination of Cultúr 2026 here in Mayo. This programme brings together artists, communities and cultural partners from across the county and beyond, celebrating both our local identity and our place within a wider European cultural landscape."

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