Bealtaine Festival Marks 30th Birthday with Exciting 2025 Nationwide Programme

Monday, 31st March 2025: Bealtaine Festival, Ireland’s national celebration of the arts and creativity as we age, officially launches its highly anticipated 30th-anniversary programme for 2025. This milestone edition will unfold across Ireland throughout May, offering an expansive lineup of performances and activities that both look back and look forward in a celebration of the diversity of ageing. Bealtaine Festival, an initiative of Age & Opportunity, is proudly funded by the Arts Council and the HSE, with the support of communities nationwide and a vast network of accomplished local and national bodies.

 

To kick off the anniversary celebrations, Bealtaine Festival will host an action-packed opening weekend at the Project Arts Centre in Temple Bar, Dublin. From morning to night, visitors can enjoy three days of vibrant and fun arts activities, showcasing a variety of artforms and events. In addition to the opening weekend at Project Arts Centre, events will take place throughout Temple Bar and across the country. For those unable to attend in person, a range of online activities will ensure that everyone can participate in the spirit of Bealtaine.

 

Following the opening celebrations, the festival will continue throughout May, with creative events held in libraries, arts centres, care homes, and outdoor community spaces nationwide. This year’s programme promises to be a dynamic and engaging celebration of arts and creativity, embodying the Bealtaine Festival theme, Lust for Life, inspired by the iconic Iggy Pop classic.

 

Bealtaine 2025 Programme highlights include: 

• Songs & Stories from Silver Stars: Seán Millar and guests return to Bealtaine for a special 30^th anniversary recital featuring stories and songs from ‘Silver Stars’ – a series of one-to-one interviews with older Irish gay men, examining maleness, freedom and burden, the truths of prejudice, the truths of family, the truths of love.

 

• The Big Bealtaine Tea Party: Communities and groups all around Ireland are invited to host their own Bealtaine Tea Party on Sunday 4^th May, to celebrate the festival’s milestone 30^th anniversary. There will also be a flagship Tea Party event taking place in the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) on Sunday 4^th May, with a gathering of musical guests, poets and more as well as the highly anticipated premiere of two new commissions on the theme of Lust for Life.

 

• Rebellious Hope: Rebellious Hope is a short dance film by choreographer Philip Connaughton, filmmaker Luca Truffarelli, and composer Mel Mercier. Featuring acclaimed performers from Ireland and France (ages 46–85), it explores the enduring artistic drive, focusing not on age but on constant growth, learning, and the relentless pursuit of creative evolution.

 

• Voices Unite: Join us for the last night of Bealtaine HQ on this evening of music, storytelling and conversation featuring Eleanor Shanley, Justine Nantale, Segun Akano, Mike Hanrahan and historian Liz Gillis. Supported by Temple Bar Company.

 

• An Evening with Mary Coughlan: Join us for an evening of music and conversation with the legend that is Ireland’s greatest jazz and blues singer Mary Coughlan in conversation with activist Ailbhe Smyth. Discussing 41 years in music, resilience, activism, and the changing roles of women in society, two of Ireland’s greatest female trail blazers offer insights into our ever-changing world, nationally and globally.

 

• Bealtaine Festival X Dublin International Film Festival: Bealtaine Festival is delighted to partner with DIFF again this year to present an array of short films curated by their Silver Screen Critics. These short films have been selected from the official DIFF shorts collection 2025 inspired the ‘Lust for Life’ theme. The screenings will be followed by a panel discussion.

 

• Bealtaine Festival & Poetry Ireland – Poet in Residence and Bealtaine Poem: Bealtaine Festival and Poetry Ireland collaborate in this very special year where Poetry Ireland’s poet-in-residence, Anne Tannam, joins the Bealtaine ranks for a very special weekend at Project Arts Centre.

 

• DIY Ireland: The Innovators who shaped Ireland’s Music Scene: A collection of musicians and music industry experts will gather to discuss the thriving and energetic Irish music industry from the 1970s to the present day. Guests include Michael Mary Murphy, Elvera Butler, Edwina Forkin, Jim Lockhart and Tom Dunne.

 

• A New Form of Beauty: A photo exhibition charting the evolution of Dublin’s youth culture through the ever-changing face of its street styles and subcultures, from the nineteen sixties through to the nineteen nineties. The images are taken from Garry O’Neill’s extensive archive of material sourced from the public, photographers and archives, for his continued book project Where Were You? Curated by Garry O’Neill.

 

The 2025 programme comprises a variety of events and workshops across film, literature, music, performing arts, visual arts, and civil society and politics. Standout events include The Human Library, Invisibility: New Superpower, Prom Night Portraits, and much more. 

 

Dr. Tara Byrne, Arts Programme Manager and Bealtaine Festival Artistic Director, Age & Opportunity, said: 

“We couldn’t be more excited to launch the Bealtaine Festival 2025 programme, especially as we celebrate 30 incredible years! The enthusiasm from organisations and artists has been truly inspiring, and we’re delighted to build on past successes to bring even more people together across Ireland this May. With our theme ‘Lust for Life,’ this special anniversary edition will be a joyful tribute to passion, resilience, and creativity at every age. Come celebrate with us and make this 30th birthday one to remember”.

 

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.

Tickets and further information on Bealtaine Festival events are now available via https://bealtaine.ie/