Friday 31 October – Sunday 2 November | Newport, Mulranny & Ballycroy
The Mayo Dark Sky Festival returns this autumn with a packed programme of talks, workshops, walks, stargazing, music, and family-friendly events. Set against the dramatic backdrop of Mayo’s Wild Atlantic Way and Wild Nephin National Park, the festival celebrates the wonder of Mayo’s pristine dark skies.
Friday 31 October
Opening Night Reception
- Time: 7pm
- Venue: Ballycroy Visitor Centre
- Price: €5 (pre-booking essential)
Drinks reception, live performance, refreshments, and a guided dark sky walk with stargazing (weather permitting).
*This event is now sold out please do not attend if you don’t have a ticket as the venue has a strict capacity limit*
Stargazing at Burrishoole Abbey
- Time: 8pm
- Venue: Burrishoole Abbey
- Price: Free, no booking required
Join Newport Astronomy Club for a guided tour of the skies and telescope views of Saturn and Albireo.
Anne Marie Deacy – Resonance of Place (Soundscape)
- Time: 7:30pm – 9pm
- Venue: Ballycroy Visitor Centre
- Price: Free
Immersive sound installation exploring the resonance of Wild Nephin National Park.
Saturday 1 November
Anne Marie Deacy Soundscape
- Time: 10am–1pm & 2pm–5pm
- Venue: Ballycroy Visitor Centre
- Price: Free
Stephen Kershaw Telescope Trade Stand
- Time: All day
- Venue: Hotel Newport
Advice on telescopes and astronomy accessories.
*Unfortunately the trade stand will not be in the hotel due to illness*
Clodagh Doyle Talk – Language & Folklore of the Night Sky
- Time: 11am
- Venue: Mulranny Arts Centre
- Price: €10
Planetarium Shows
- Times: 11am, 11:30am, 12pm, 12:30pm, 3pm, 3:30pm
- Venue: Newport National School
- Price: Free
Family-friendly cosmic journeys inside the Pale Blue Dot dome.
Guided Walk with Michael Chambers
- Time: 11am
- Venue: Ballycroy Visitor Centre
- Price: Free
John Barentine Talk – Commercial Space & the Night Sky
- Time: 11:30am
- Venue: Hotel Newport
- Price: €10
Mixies Brixies Lego Workshop – *Sold Out*
- Time: 12pm
- Venue: Mulranny Arts Centre
- Price: €5 (children 5+)
David Smith Talk – Don’t Neglect the Night
- Time: 2pm
- Venue: Mulranny Arts Centre
- Price: €10
Gretta Byrne Talk – Beneath the Bogs of North Mayo
- Time: 2pm
- Venue: Ballycroy Visitor Centre
- Price: Free
Dr Patrick Kavanagh Talk – James Webb Space Telescope
- Time: 2:30pm
- Venue: Hotel Newport
- Price: €10
Seán Ronayne Talk – Sounds of the Night Sky
- Time: 3:30pm
- Venue: Mulranny Arts Centre
- Price: €10
The Rambling House – Music & Craic
- Time: 4pm
- Venue: Ballycroy Community Centre
- Price: Free
Prof Sera Markoff Talk – Black Hole Movies
- Time: 4pm
- Venue: Hotel Newport
- Price: €10
Gala Dinner
- Time: 7:30pm
- Venue: Mulranny Park Hotel
- Price: €40
Drinks reception, three-course dinner, jazz trio performance, and after-dinner address by Ruskin Hartley, CEO of DarkSky International.
Stargazing at Burrishoole Abbey
- Time: 8pm
- Venue: Burrishoole Abbey
- Price: Free
Sunday 2 November
Conor Ryan Seashore Safari
- Time: 10am
- Venue: Mulranny Beach
- Price: €2 (kids free)
Planetarium Shows
- Times: 11am, 11:30am, 12pm, 12:30pm, 3pm, 3:30pm
- Venue: Newport National School
- Price: Free
Colin Guilfoyle Talk – Ecological Restoration
- Time: 11am
- Venue: Mulranny Arts Centre
- Price: €10
Guided Walk with Michael Chambers
- Time: 11am
- Venue: Ballycroy Visitor Centre
- Price: Free
Dr Christian Ginski Talk – Discovering a New World in Formation
- Time: 11:30am
- Venue: Hotel Newport
- Price: €10
Klaus Laitenberger Talk – Grow Your Own Healthy Food
- Time: 12:30pm
- Venue: Mulranny Arts Centre
- Price: €10
Declan Holmes Interactive Talk – Solar System Adventure
- Time: 2pm
- Venue: Mulranny Arts Centre
- Price: €5 (children free)
Rae Jordan – Live Festival Illustration
- Time: Various events
- Venue: Newport, Mulranny & Ballycroy
Seán Lysaght Reading – Writing the Park
- Time: 2pm
- Venue: Ballycroy Visitor Centre
- Price: Free
Michael Burton Talk – UNESCO & Irish Observatories
- Time: 2:30pm
- Venue: Hotel Newport
- Price: €10
Martin Connor Workshop – Native Trees
- Time: 4pm
- Venue: Ballycroy Visitor Centre
- Price: Free
Brendan Owens Talk – Planet Hopping: Where Next?
- Time: 4pm
- Venue: Hotel Newport
- Price: €10
Closing Event: Lantern Walk & Kíla Concert
- Time: 6pm (Lantern Walk), 7pm (Concert)
- Venue: From Newport Playground to St Patrick’s Church
- Price: Free for ticket holders & under-16s | €20 others
A magical lantern procession followed by a high-energy concert with Kíla.
For booking, ticket details and the latest updates, visit the Mayo Dark Sky Festival website HERE.
