- Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival (continuing into early August, Birr): One of Ireland’s longest-running community festivals with a vintage parade, street theatre, live music, antique fairs, workshops, exhibitions, fireworks, and family activities across the town.
- Tullamore Show & FBD National Livestock Show (9 August, Butterfield Estate, Blueball): Ireland’s premier one-day agricultural event showcasing livestock competitions, farming displays, trade stands, family entertainment, and rural heritage.
- National Heritage Week in Offaly (15–23 August) features numerous walks, talks, exhibitions, and activities across Offaly, highlighting local history, bogs, and built heritage. Smaller markets and community events also occur. Check visitoffaly.ie or offaly.ie for updates.
Annual & recurring festivals
County Offaly, known as the “Faithful County,” hosts several unique festivals centered on its monastic history, the River Shannon, and its vast peatlands.
- St. Patrick’s Day Festival (March): Major community parades and family-focused events held in Tullamore, Birr, and Edenderry.
- Offaly Drama Festival (March): A competitive amateur drama festival held at the Tuar Ard Arts Centre in Moate/Clarane featuring top national theatre groups.
- Birr Festival of Music (May): A classical music festival featuring concerts, masterclasses, and the “Lions Club Schools’ Music Competition” in the historic town of Birr.
- Hullabaloo! Offaly Children’s Arts Festival (May/October): A dedicated multi-disciplinary arts week for children featuring workshops, theatre, and storytelling across the county.
- Scripts Ireland’s Playwriting Festival (July): An innovative festival in Birr where new plays are developed, performed, and judged in a public forum.
- Tullamore Show & FBD National Livestock Show (August): Ireland’s premier one-day agricultural event, attracting over 60,000 visitors for livestock competitions, fashion, and food.
- Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival (August): One of Ireland’s longest-running community festivals, featuring a massive vintage parade, arts exhibitions, and traditional markets.
- Shannonbridge Mid-Summer Festival (August): A riverside celebration featuring boat rallies, live music, and family activities at the historic bridge crossing.
- National Heritage Week in Offaly (third week in August) features walks, talks, exhibitions, and events across the county focused on Clonmacnoise, Charleville Castle, and the Grand Canal.
- Offaly Walking Festival (September): A series of guided hikes through the Slieve Bloom Mountains, ranging from gentle forest walks to challenging ridge treks.
- Shorelines Arts Festival (September): An intimate arts festival in Portumna and the surrounding lake region featuring literature, film, and visual arts.
- OFFline Film Festival (October): A unique filmmaking festival in Birr where participants are challenged to make a short film in just a few days.
- Tullamore TradFest (November): A celebration of traditional Irish music and dance featuring sessions, workshops, and concerts in the town’s pubs and venues.
- Christmas at Birr Castle (December): A festive experience within the castle demesne featuring light trails, a Santa grotto, and seasonal workshops.
Festivals
Antrim – Armagh – Carlow – Cavan – Clare – Cork – Derry – Donegal – Down – Dublin – Fermanagh – Galway – Kerry – Kildare – Kilkenny – Laois – Leitrim – Limerick – Longford – Louth – Mayo – Meath – Monaghan – Offaly – Roscommon – Sligo – Tipperary – Tyrone – Waterford – Westmeath – Wexford – Wicklow
Offaly:
Introduction – 1837 – Adventure – Anthem – Archaeology – Attractions – Awards – Birdwatching – Castles – Churches – Contact list – Cycling – Dining – Equestrian – Festivals – Fishing – Folklore – Golf – Graveyards – Happening – Haunted – Highest – Hiking – History – Holy Wells –Hotels – Hotels8 – Instagrammable – Itineraries – Largest town – Luxury – MICE – Movies – Musicians – Name – Novelists – Off the beaten track – Poets – Pubs – Quotes – Random Facts – Restaurant Awards – Saints – Spas – Sports – Sunsets – Sustainable – Things to do – Towns – Video – Villages – Walking – Wanderlist – Weddings – Wild swimming – Writers
