@Thoor Ballylee from the Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society

2023

After a hiatus of in person events for the worldwide pandemic Thoor Ballylee is open to all throughout spring summer and autumn 2023.

We have lots of events planned and more in the pipeline – check back here and in our NEWS features for more. Don’t forget our ongoing poetry prize – submit your work for expert appraisal!

Yeats Thoor Ballylee International Poetry Prize

In honour of the 100th anniversary of W.B. Yeats being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society is launching the Yeats Thoor Ballylee International Poetry Prize. The closing date for submissions is midnight, 18th August 2023.

Events 2023

Down by the Salley Gardens, 12 May

We welcome The Marine Singers Choir, from Renville, Oranmore, for their first performance in Thoor Ballylee.

Conducted by Helen Hancock, the repertoire will include works by Yeats, marking the Centenary year of Yeats receiving the Nobel Prize.

Friday 12 May, 8pm. Tickets €15

Poets Picnic, 11 June

Join us for picnic and poetry in Georgie’s walled garden at Thoor Ballylee. Poetry readings by renowned poet and dramatist Terry McDonagh, and musical interludes by Coole Music orchestra.

Sunday 11 June, 2 pm. Free

W.B. Yeats’s 158th Birthday, 13 June

We will unveil two specially designed stone seats to mark the centenary of W.B. Yeats receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.

The day will also feature the launch of our Inaugural International Poetry Competition to honour the work of W.B. Yeats. Keep an eye on our website as further details of this will soon be added.

Tuesday 13 June, 3pm. Free

Patrick Ball Celtic Harp & Story, 15 July

Patrick Ball rekindles the fire and wonder of an evening of Irish storytelling. For in telling the marvellous old tales of wit and enchantment, and in playing the ancient, brass-strung harp of Ireland, he not only carries on two of the richest traditions of Celtic culture, but blends them in concert to create “a warm and magical performance.”

Saturday 15 July, 8pm. Tickets €15

Artist in Residence: Ellen Frances

We have been excited to welcome our first artist in residence to the Studio.

Ellen Frances is a multidisciplinary artist based in New York City. Her work has appeared in The Brooklyn Rail, the New York Times and she was recently a featured artist at the VOLTA International Art Fair.

Inspired by Yeats’s poetry, his contributions to the theatre, and his love of dance, Ellen performed ‘Poetry of Gesture’, a performance of ballet pantomime and movement monologues at Thoor Ballylee on 5th August.

EllenFrances.com

Heritage Week 12-20 August

Join us for a series of special events at Thoor Ballylee between 12-20 August. Heritage Week celebrates Ireland’s cultural, built and natural heritage.

Traditional Hand Spinning

Join the Midwest Spinners for a live demonstration of this traditional hand craft. You will have the chance to try spinning and weaving on drop spindles and sample looms.

Saturday 12th August 11am to 4pm, Free

Find out more

Hidden Ireland Photo Exhibition

Photo exhibition by Ekaterina Ivanova revealing the secrets of Hidden Ireland including a selection of unique sites in County Galway, many connected with the history of Thoor Ballylee.

18th and 20th August, 11am-5pm. Free

Hidden Ireland Talk: Mills and Traditions

A talk about mills, milling and handing on the tradition, by Marie Finnerty.

Friday 18th August, 2pm. Free

Find out more

Spraoi sa Choill – gníomhaíochaí trí Ghaeilge

Fun in the Woods – activities through Irish, with Áine Ní Fhlatharta

Parents and children – come and spend some time in the woods and enjoy Forest School nature activities through Irish. Connect with Ireland’s amazing woodland ecology, its heritage, beauty and our native language.

19th August, 10am-4pm, Free

Booking Essential: Limited spaces per session please book by email: aine@greenguide.ie or phone: 087 1626760

Find out more

Nobel Words, A One-Act Play

Written by Yeats Thoor Ballylee Board member, Peggy Monahan, Nobel Words celebrates W.B. Yeats being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. As he brings the birth of Ireland’s National Theatre, The Abbey, to life, Yeats invokes the memories of those who helped him in those momentous days: Augusta Gregory and John Synge.

Produced by the Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society and performed by the Wild Swan Theatre Company, the play will have its first performance at Thoor Ballylee, followed by venues in Gort and Sligo.

Thursday, 21st September, 8pm. For ticket information and reservations, contact 087 6360895.

Music on Culture Night

As every year for Ireland’s nationwide Culture Night, exciting events are happening at the tower. Previously we’ve had music installations, talks, art. This year celebrate Culture Night at Thoor Ballylee, and enjoy music from Eileen Fleming and Frank Hall.

Friday 22 September, 5-7pm. Free

Yeats-Gregory Autumn Gathering Friday 29 September – Sunday 1 October

A full programme of speakers and events featuring particular attention on the years 1922 and 1923, when the Civil War finished and Yeats picked up the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Last year’s programme here 

Closing the Tower: Martin Shaw Medicine House

Award-winning storyteller Martin Shaw to perform Medicine House at Thoor Ballylee 

Medicine House is the name of a new show from award winning storyteller Martin Shaw. Stories are a kind of medicine, and each night Shaw decides which remedy to administer. Over an evening, Shaw meanders through electrifying renditions of fairy tales, Irish myths, and accounts of his own life, including four years living in a tent exploring the last outposts of the Celtic landscape. Hilarious, moving and improvisational, no night is quite the same as the last, leading the poet Robert Bly to describe him as “a true Master. Martin Shaw is one of the very greatest storytellers we have”, and The Irish Times as “a Seanchaí, an interloper from the Medieval.”

Saturday 14th October, 7.30pm. Tickets on Eventbrite (link below).

Book here

Support Thoor Ballylee

We need your help to stay open and ensure the tower and associated buildings are permanently restored for future generations. All donations, large or small, are gratefully received. You can also give an amount each month to become a Friend.

Visit our donations page here.

2020-2022

In these years due to the worldwide pandemic Thoor ran a limited set of in-person events, and also an online programme. For more details see the NEWS page or the appropriate month on the right side bar.

2019

Our 2019 Summer Programme between April and October featured music, movies, artwork, educational events, workshops, Yeats’s birthday party, local and national history, poetry readings, the launch of our new studio space, and more.

In 2019 Thoor Ballylee opened Saturday 20 April and remained open for the summer (see Visit for our opening hours). The big launch of our new studio space, The Studio @ Thoor Ballylee takes place 3pm Sunday 28th April, and features arts and crafts of all kinds.

Our outline programme of events is below, with updates as we go through the summer. Individual events and further details are also announced on our rolling blog – see News above. Sign up to follow us to receive information straight to your inbox!

Summer Calendar 2019

Mon 8 April – Sun 14 April Cuirt Literary Festival in Galway

Sat 20 April Thoor Ballylee opens

Tues 23-Wed 24 April Macbeth & Poetry lectures

Sun 28 April The Studio @ Thoor Ballylee launch

Fri 17- Sun 19 May Festival

Sun 9 June Coole Music

Thur 13 June W.B. Yeats’s Birthday Picnic

Sun 23 June Early/medieval music at Thoor

Sat 13 July Maud Gonne’s Men – lecture

Sat 17 -Tues 27 August Heritage Week events

Folk & Farm   with Christy Cuniffe

Fri 20 September Culture Night

Sun 29 Sept Yeats & Gregory Autumn Gathering at Thoor

October Yeats’s tower closes for the winter

Last year in 2018  events included acclaimed site-specific performances of Yeats’s The Only Jealousy of Emer, concert performances by Coole Music, a programme of films from the IFI Irish Film Archive, celebrating the life and legacy of WB Yeats’s and Lady Augusta Gregory, called ‘Local Films for Local People’, presented at Thoor Ballylee, at 3pm Thursday 12th July. For more details or updates on specific events look at our news pages for the latest.

2018

Summer Calendar 2018

19-26 August Heritage Week
featuring events including
25 August (Saturday) Storytelling Event

21 September (Friday) Culture Night
Sound Installation at Thoor Ballylee by Francis Heery

28-30 September Lady Gregory-Yeats Autumn Gathering
28 September (Friday) Launch of Lady Gregory, Early Irish Writings 1883-1893 ed. James Pethica (at NUI Galway & Lady Gregory Hotel)

30 September (Sunday) Film screenings & Curlew Theatre Company in live performance of ‘The Loves of Lady Gregory’

6 October (Saturday) Music at Thoor Ballylee by The Songbirds

7 October (Sunday) Thoor Ballylee closes for winter

2017

Our 2017 Summer Programme featured a wealth of events, talks, plays, readings, music, tours, and exhibitions. For details of these events view our running blog.

2016

2016 Summer Programme

We are delighted to announce that Thoor Ballylee is open. After being affected by winter flooding, the tower remains sound, and work has finished and refitting the tower ready for the summer. Thank you for your support so far! We’ve a way to go, so here’s how you can help.

A full programme of events for 2016 follows. You might expect some fun for Yeats’s birthday weekend around 13th June, and continued opening throughout the summer.

3 June                       Thoor Ballylee opens

13 June                    Yeats’s Birthday Celebration

18 June                     Thoor Ballylee Yeats Exhibitions launch 

8 July                          Yeats’s Women: performance in story & song

Fri 26 August           Wild Swan Theatre presents Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya (ttickets now on sale at Thoor Ballylee, Kiltartan Museum & Gort Credit Union).

Fri 16 September   Culture Night  presents Words Upon  the Window Pane – Yeats’s one act play on film. Music by Gaillimh Theas  Comhaltas, renowned fiddle player Claire Egan, & musician Eoin Neill. Free admission, refreshments.

Sun 2 October         Lady Gregory Autumn Gathering hosted at Thoor Ballylee

Sat 15 October        Thoor Ballylee Poetry Slam with Sarah Clancy & Poetry Ireland

If you want to know more have a look around our website. To receive regular updates just press the sidebar button to follow this blog. You can get directly in touch at yeatsthoorballyleesociety@gmail.com . You can even  like us on facebook!

A list of last year’s events in our first year of re-opening follows below.

2015

 Events 2015

6 February                            Launch of Thoor Ballylee Restoration Project

10 April                                 Family Storytelling

21 April                                 Cúirt International Festival of Literature @Thoor

28 April                                 Launch of Yeats2015 Yeats day celebrations

7 May                                    Poetry day. Yeats Poetry Workshops for Schools

7 May (evening)                  At Home with Yeats: an evening of poetry, song and story telling @Thoor

31 May                                   Yeats auction @Thoor

13 June                                   Yeats Birthday Bash

June – December                Yeats & the West exhibition NUI Galway

19 July – 1 September         Yeats exhibition @ Thoor

1 August                                Sligo Yeats Summer School Visit

9 August                               In The Deep Heart’s Core – Benefit concert

18 September                  Culture Night: Romantic & Revolutionary Yeats

25-27 September            Lady Gregory Autumn Gathering – talks, dramas, readings – with John Banville

18 October                          Inaugural International Yeats Society visit

21 October                         Lady Gregory: A Galway Life, from London Irish Theatre

27 October                           Harp Festival of Moons – with special guest Caitriona Yeats