Bealtaine 2026
A month-long celebration of creativity in older age in West Cork

Uillinn Celebrates Bealtaine
A month-long celebration of creativity in older age in West Cork
1 to 31 May 2026

Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre is delighted to present an inspiring programme for Bealtaine 2026, Ireland’s national festival celebrating the arts and creativity as we age. Throughout May, Uillinn will host exhibitions, film screenings and open studio events, with free activities taking place both at the Centre and across West Cork. Coordinated nationally by Age & Opportunity, Bealtaine invites older people throughout Ireland to engage creatively and share their artistic voices.

The Bealtaine Exhibition at Uillinn, running from 1 to 31 May in the Stairwell and Corridor Galleries, features new work from Arts for an Active Mind, created through small-canvas, music and movement sessions exploring shared creative expression. The exhibition also highlights a wide range of artworks developed through the Arts for Health Partnership Programme over the past year.

Projects include Dance Hall Days by artist Anne Harrington Rees with Dunmanway Day Care Centre, a nostalgic exploration of local dance-hall culture brought to life through sculptural shoes and stop-motion animation with music by Kate Liddell. Landscapes of the Imagination, created at Skibbereen Community Hospital by Sharon dipity, Helga Deasy and Justin Grounds, combines movement, live music and natural-material brushes to produce expressive paintings and film. At Silverwood, Clonakilty Community Hospital, residents worked with Sharon dipity on Leaves of Gold, a series of autumn-inspired prints, and with Emma Scully on Ceramic Village exploring clay, colour and pattern to create an imaginative collaborative sculpture, as well as Stitch by Stitch, a unique celebratory bunting inspired by favourite painters. Castletownbere Community Hospital residents present Ned the Donkey, a playful, full size sculpted donkey and cart created with Catherine Weld, while Michael Greenlaw contributes  Granma’s Apron with Skibbereen Day Care Centre. Artist Sarah Ruttle worked with participants in Schull Community Hospital and St Joseph’s Unit, Bantry General Hospital to create A Little Bit of Magic which explores changing seasons of the land using cyanotype printing, appliqué and heat‑transfer techniques on recycled and new fabrics.

In partnership with Cork County Council, Uillinn presents this year’s Bealtaine Artist in Residence 2026, Julie Merriman, who will host open studios every Monday and Tuesday throughout May, with an artist talk on 23 May at 1pm. Julie will focus on Book Art, exploring how folded structures and mimeograph printing can disrupt conventional arrangements of image and text. Visitors are invited to observe or participate in the process. A film screening of The Town that has Nurtured My Dreams, created with residents of Skibbereen Community Hospital and live music from composer Justin Grounds, takes place on 6 May, 6:30pm. 

Uillinn will also host, Dance of the Hawthorn Hedge, a Bealtaine gathering created by artist Toma McCullim with the Salt & Pepper Collective, taking place on 29 May at 7pm. The event  features guest artists Andrew Coombs, Liz Clark with Grá Choir, and Ballads of Belonging. This participatory LGBTQ+ performance‑walk responds to a cut hawthorn hedgerow, inviting dancers and audience‑participants to move together along the Goleen Marsh Road to the Aughadown churchyard. Rooted in queer memory, the work asks how healing and memorial‑making can be created together in the long aftermath of the criminal period. 

All welcome! 

For further information, please contact: Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre info@westcorkartscentre.com +353 (0)28 22090 and see artsforhelathwestcork.com

Bealtaine 2026 at Uillinn, Celebrating the arts and creativity as we age

 Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre is delighted to present a rich and varied programme for Bealtaine 2026, Ireland’s national festival celebrating the arts and creativity as we age. Throughout May, Uillinn will host exhibitions, film screenings and open‑studio events, with free activities taking place both at the Centre and across West Cork. Coordinated nationally by Age & Opportunity, Bealtaine invites older people throughout Ireland to engage creatively and share their artistic voices.

Bealtaine at Uillinn reflects the relationships we have built with artists, older people and our health and education partners across West Cork. The work shared is the result of time, trust and creative conversation. At Uillinn, we believe creativity should be accessible to everyone, and Bealtaine is a powerful reminder of what happens when people are given the space, support and encouragement to make art. The projects in this year’s exhibition highlights the imagination and skill of older artists in our community.

We are delighted to open our doors for a month of free events, screenings and open studios, no booking required.