@Thoor Ballylee from the Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society

Our 2019 Summer Programme between April and October features 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 opens Saturday 20 April and remains 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.

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

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 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 follows below.

 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