It's Earagail Arts time! So why not make the most of the wonderful programme with our Top 10 guide to family events this July.
This year’s Earagail Arts Festival, 10th July to 28th July, will feature a number of exciting free events for the whole family to enjoy all along the most northern part of the Wild Atlantic Way.
In a special preview ahead of the festival, which kicks off on Wednesday 10th July, Donegal Woman has picked out ten events, including lots of FREE entertainment, that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and therefore make the perfect family events.
For full details on all of this year’s Earagail Arts Festival events visit www.eaf.ie where you can also book tickets. Enquiries can also be made from the festival box office on Tel +353 (0) 74 91 20777 or in person at An Grianán Theatre, Letterkenny.
Here are our Top 10 events to enjoy this month:
Music at The Castle
Music at the Castle
Date: Thursday 11th July
Time: 1pm – 5pm
Location: Glenveagh
Venue: Glenveagh Castle
Admission: Free
Earagail Arts Festival invites you to an afternoon of free seisiúns in the stunning surroundings of Glenveagh Castle. Renowned local artists such as Diane Ní Chanainn (Diane Cannon) & Manus Lunny are joined by Greek Irish bouzouki duo Duo Zouk, the bluegrass and old timey Americana of the Morgan O Kane Band and the young trad supergroup Coirm in hosting a series of open to all, traditional music performances celebrating Donegal’s international folk connections.
Twinkles
Twinkles
Date: Thursday 11th July & Friday 12th July
Time: 3pm
Duration: 40 minutes
Date/Location/Venue:Thursday 11th July – Letterkenny, An Grianán Theatre; Friday 12th July – Dunfanaghy, Holy Trinity Hall
Admission: €5
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are, up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky – says the song. An interactive dance performance for children of 0–2 years, presented by Dansema Dance Theater in association with Earagail Arts Festival, Cairde & Clonmel Junction Festival, Twinkles is full of various shining objects which motivates young audiences together with dancers to explore light on stage. So the performance becomes a laboratory for babies to enjoy sources of light and movement.
Drop-In, Hands-On, Art-Room
Drop-In, Hands-On, Art-Room
Date: Saturday 13th July – Saturday 31st August
Time: 11am-5pm
Location: Letterkenny
Venue: Regional Cultural Centre
Admission: Free
The RCC will once again create a large-scale, hands-on, art room curated by local artists Laura Buchanan and Laura Ferguson where visitors can find out more about the exhibitions on display and make their own artworks. People of all ages will have the opportunity to experiment with a range of ideas and materials to produce their own masterpieces.
Eclipse – Citadels of The Sun Pt 2
LUXE – Citadels of The Sun Pt 2
Date: Saturday 13th July
Time: 10.30pm
Location: Letterkenny
Venue: Port Road / Main Street
Admission: Free
For the second instalment of Citadels of The Sun, this year’s flagship festival collaboration presented by Earagail Arts Festival and Jodphur RIFF, landscape theatre company LUXE celebrate connecting Donegal and Rajasthan – a world apart, yet bound by symbolic significance – with an illuminated musical adventure in Letterkenny’s town. The project is a new creative sharing common themes and stories that unite Irish and Indian culture through music, dance and spectacle.
Folk Donegal International Folk & Roots BBQ
Date: Sunday 14th July
Time: 4pm
Location: Letterkenny
Venue: Castle Grove Country House Hotel
Admission: €5
Following last year’s inaugural Folk Donegal International Folk & Roots BBQ, Earagail Arts Festival is delighted to return to the historic 17th century surroundings of Castle Grove with Virginia-born virtuoso banjoist and songwriter Morgan O Kane, joined by one of Donegal’s finest duos, Without Willow.
Shaking The Tale: The Winter’s Tale
Dates: 19th, 20th, 23rd & 24th July
Venues/Times: Letterkenny, Ballymacool Park (Friday 19th & Saturday 20th July at 6pm); Inishowen, Magilligan & Greencastle (Tuesday 23rd & Wednesday 24th July at 12.30pm).
Prices: €15 and €12 for Letterkenny, €20 and €16 for Greencastle (Will include food and ferry crossing).
A play, music, a garden party, a feast, and a ferry crossing (for the Inishowen shows)! An Grianán Theatre and Parrabbola (UK) present Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale as an exciting, large scale, immersive production in both Donegal and Derry, crossing the borders, the traditions and the waters of the north west. Ultimately it explores conflict, reconciliation and borders. Two Kingdoms, Sicilia and Bohemia divided by an ocean; two kings, raised together, but at odds without reason, a wronged queen; a lost princess, prison sentences, tragic deaths, bears and ocean voyages.
Mór Music & Arts Trail
Date: Saturday 20th July & Sunday 21st July
Time: 2pm – late
Location: Arranmore Island
Admission: €11 – day ticket / €21 – weekend ticket
Earagail Arts Festival is delighted to announce a new music and arts trail on Arranmore on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st July, with a series of live music performances, comedy and spoken word, day and night across five venues on one of Ireland’s most stunning islands. There will be lots of free entertainment during the day and this beautiful island is always worth a day trip.
Treasure Island
Date: Wednesday 24th July
Time: 3pm
Duration: 2.5 hours with interval
Location: Rathmullan
Venue: Rathmullan House
Admission: Adult €17 / Child €10 / Family (2 Adults & 2 Children) €52
Join Chapterhouse Theatre Company for this brand new adaption of everyone’s favourite swashbuckling pirate adventure: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. When he stumbles across a coveted treasure map, young Jim Hawkins finds himself on an epic adventure in the hope of finding Treasure Island.
No Borders No Nations: Inch Landings
Date: Thursday 25th July
Time: 1 to 5pm
Location: Burt
Venue: Inch Wildfowl Reserve
Admission: Free
In an era of increasing isolationism and restrictions on individual and artistic liberty, Earagail Arts Festival in partnership with An Anchor Ensemble has commissioned eight artists, writers and broadcasters from Ireland and the UK to perform short readings examining the theme of migration and freedom of movement in each of the four bird hides along the path of the long-gone tracks of the Derry to Letterkenny railway line. Each of the hides will host two readings from artists from Ireland and the UK examining the theme of migration and freedom of movement.
Sheerbuzz plus Atticus & Happy Out
Date: Friday 26th July
Time: 7pm
Location: Letterkenny
Venue: Regional Cultural Centre
Admission: €5
In conjunction with Earagail Arts Festival, why. gigs are proud to present the (post-Leaving Cert) return of young rock band Sheerbuzz for an all ages gig in the RCC.
The group, all aged between 15-18, have seen rising success after gaining a strong cult following having performed to sold out crowds in Derry, Letterkenny and Sligo, along with receiving high praise for their self-released debut EP, All Our Time And Money, a release full of energy and passion that can be reminiscent of other popular indie acts like Arctic Monkeys and The Academic to name a few.
Special guests on the night are Dublin rockers Atticus and Letterkenny noise jucks Happy Out.
Wild Atlantic Weekend
Wild Atlantic Weekend
Date: Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th July
Time: 1pm – 5pm each day
Location: Malin
Venue: The Village Green
Admission: €5 per show
Earagail Arts Festival in association with Malin Development Committee presents:
The annual Wild Atlantic Weekend featuring brand new shows by last year’s sold out Tumblecircus, Cikadia and Nakupelle’s Circus Bardo, alongside a hugely entertaining live version of Countdown and the interactive Carnival Dress Up Box, the Wild Atlantic Weekend celebrates the finest in contemporary Irish and international streets arts and circus.
Earagail Arts Festival is funded by Arts Council Ireland, Donegal County Council, Wild Atlantic Way and Fáilte Ireland.
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