Autumn events
Crisp day, cosy fireside nights and plenty to pack in during the festive season…
-
I fancy a bit of a laugh
Good news – the Bulmers International Comedy Festival will be right up your street then. Now one of the top five largest comedy festivals in the world, the festival features up-and-coming acts in hip venues around Dublin as well as some of the world’s most renowned and respected comedians.
I hear there’s plenty going on for lovers of the arts during the Autumn
There certainly is. Waterford City gets all arty with not one but two big arts festivals. The Imagine Waterford Arts Festival is critically acclaimed for its creativity and includes a broad range of arts including theatre, music, film, comedy, dance and literature as well as children’s puppet shows. The Waterford Fringe Festival, meanwhile, is a riotous celebration of all things arty with street performances, drama, music, exhibitions, comedy and fun days for kids.
Anything for film fans?
Absolutely. Film buffs should hotfoot it to the Foyle Film Festival, a renowned international film festival in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with contemporary film, shorts films and animation, European and foreign language film, documentaries, classic and theme screenings and seminars. Not to be missed, of course, is the Cork Film Festival with a cracking atmosphere, and a wide-ranging programme that includes everything from big budget pictures to independent short films.
And what about literature and theatre?
Where better for the poet-lover or budding bard than the Samhain Poetry Festival in Donegal. As well as poetry readings and recitals, the programme includes musical performances, poetry workshops, discussions and guest speakers. Dublin is immersed in culture during the autumn with two of the biggest events on the city’s arts calendar – the acclaimed Dublin Theatre Festival and the quirky, provocative and progressive Dublin Fringe Festival, which sees the fabulous Spiegeltent come to town.
What else is on in Northern Ireland?
Thousands head to Belfast for Ireland’s largest international arts festival, the Belfast Festival at Queen’s. Now in its 45th year, the festival is a dynamic, hip and progressive cultural event with everything you could possibly ask for from moody cabaret to thought-provoking theatre. Expect a rich programme that spans classical music, theatre, dance, music, visual arts and comedy. And if you’re in Northern Ireland make sure to pay a visit to the Ulster American Folk Park, an intriguing open-air “living history” museum in County Tyrone detailing the story of emigration from Ulster to America in the 18th and 19th centuries.
