The Misleór 2026 Programme is here!
All events are free unless otherwise stated
Welcome to the 8th Misleór Festival of Nomadic Cultures.
This year’s theme, Weaving the Threads Between Us, celebrates the connections that hold us together across cultures, communities, borders and generations. At a time when division is too often encouraged and difference used to push people apart, Misleór is about doing the opposite: making space to meet, listen, challenge, celebrate and stand together.
The beady pocket in this year’s festival image carries that idea. Made slowly, bead by bead and thread by thread, it speaks to culture as something living: passed on, added to, adapted and carried with us. It also reflects the many threads woven through Misleór over the past seven years: the artists, activists, filmmakers, storytellers, audiences and communities who have shaped the festival and made it what it is today.
As we begin our eighth year, Weaving the Threads Between Us is both a celebration and a call to action: to protect our cultures, strengthen our connections and refuse the forces that seek to divide us.
Here’s to the threads already woven — and all those still to come.
Culture Night at Hymany Park - Celebrating Traveller Traditions
Join us in Hymany Park for a free Culture Night celebration of Traveller heritage, creativity and community.
Come along for an evening of live music, traditional food, games and family fun, with a Traveller wagon and handmade wattle tent at the heart of the gathering. Meet local Traveller families, hear stories and enjoy a celebration of culture that brings the whole community together.
A welcoming evening for Traveller and settled communities to come together, share traditions and celebrate Traveller culture and heritage in Ballinasloe
Presented by Misleór Festival, Ballinasloe Traveller Women’s Group and Galway Rural Development.
Seven Years on the Road: The Misleór Poster Archive
Take a journey through seven years of Misleór Festival posters, from our first festival in 2019 to 2026. Designed by Rico Zimmer, the first seven posters have become part of Misleór’s visual identity with the 2023 design becoming our festival logo.
For 2026, Chloe McDonagh and the Misleór Committee bring the journey together in a new beady pocket, with the seven previous poster images/wagons gathered as its treasures.
A celebration of where we’ve been, where we are, and the threads that connect us
If the Wattle Could Talk: Traveller Stories from Beneath the Canvas
This year’s Misleór Festival invites audiences into an evocative new exhibit that weaves together Traveller history, memory, and tradition. If the Wattle Could Talk: Traveller Stories from Beneath the Canvas is a collaborative project between visual artist Debbie Reilly, cultural custodians Annie McDonagh, Paddy Sweeney, Caroline Mongan, Annmarie Mongan, and the wider Galway Traveller Community.
The exhibition features sculpture created from hazel and willow, wood-burned art pieces, and a hand-crafted wattle shelter tent. The body of work is both a remembrance and a reimagining. It is a space where past and present meet, and where the voices of Traveller heritage continue to speak with strength and beauty. Step inside and listen: if the wattle could talk, what stories would it tell?
Funded by a CREATE Artist in the Community Scheme Project Award
Interactive Sessions:
Sun 27 Sept, 2pm
Exhibition Opening Times:
Thu 24 Sept & Fri 25: 10:00 am – 4:30 pm Sat 26 Sept - Sun 27 Sept 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Stories of the Wind
Artist Francesca Hutchinson presents a body of work created in connection with her grandmother, Mary Hutchinson. Through textiles, painting and visual storytelling, Stories of the Wind traces the relationship between family, memory and place, bringing together two generations and the stories carried between them.
The exhibition reflects on the ways knowledge and connection are passed down through making, remembering, landscape and the everyday materials of family life. At its heart is an intergenerational conversation: threads of memory, place and family woven between generations
Misleór Travelling Beady Pocket
Misleór Travelling Beady Pocket
This year, the Misleór Beady Pocket is travelling with us and we want you to add to it..
We’re inviting festival guests, artists and friends from near and far to stitch a button, bead, ornament, word or small treasure onto the pocket. Add your thread to ours and help make the Misleór Beady Pocket a collective work of art.
Misleór in Conversation: Contentious Spaces Rosaleen McDonagh in conversation with Maureen Kennelly
What happens when home is no longer secure? Rosaleen McDonagh’s debut novel, Contentious Spaces, follows a Traveller family facing eviction and the uncertainty of what comes next. Through the lives of its characters, the novel explores family, belonging, grief, resilience and the complicated relationship between people and place.
Rosaleen joins Maureen Kennelly for a wide-ranging conversation about the novel, her writing practice and the experiences and questions that sit behind the work. Expect an intimate discussion about home, identity, community and the stories we carry with us.
In collaboration with Skein Press and the Mick Lally Theatre, Druid.
Festival Opening
Come and raise the curtain on Misleór 2026!
Join us at the Black Box Theatre for the launch of this year’s festival. Meet artists, festival guests and friends of Misleór, and soak up the atmosphere as we open four days of film, music, performance, conversation and celebration.
Walk the Misleór red carpet, come dressed for the occasion, and celebrate with us as the festival gets underway.
Opening Night continues inside the Black Box Theatre with H.O.M.E. Ticketed performance — €20 / €15.
H.O.M.E
An Aerial Hip H’Opera
7.30pm | Black Box Theatre | €20/15 | Age 12+
Fidget Feet and Tobi Omoteso bring together aerial dance, hip hop, krumping, contemporary dance, rap, spoken word, turntabling and opera in a spectacular new production exploring identity, connection, belonging and the places we call home.
Featuring Traveller rapper Willzee alongside a thrilling cast, H.O.M.E. is a powerful collision of movement, music and storytelling.
Content warning: Contains references to suicide, mental health struggles and other themes that some audience members may find upsetting. Includes strobe and laser lighting.
Please arrive by 7.15pm.
Funded by the Arts Council | An Chomhairle Ealaíon, ReThink Ireland, and Irish Aerial Creation Centre H.O.M.E was Co-Commissioned by Cairde Sligo Arts Festival, Carlow Arts Festival, and Earagail Arts Festival
Sorcán & Circus Mentorship Showcase
Four local Traveller creatives, Lizzy C, T.O.H, PJ Mongan and Annie McDonagh, take the stage alongside their mentor, award-winning Traveller rapper Willzee.
Part of the Irish Aerial Creation Centre’s Rethink Ireland-funded Sorcán & Circus programme, this new mentorship strand supports Traveller artists to develop their creative practice. For Misleór, the four mentees come together for an original showcase of music and storytelling, bringing their individual talents to the stage.
Different voices. One stage. Stories in the making.
Included with HOME ticket. Please arrive by 7.15pm
Misleór Whidden: Nomad-only Dialogue Space
Join Nora Corcoran and Thomas McCann for the Misleór Whidden, a Nomad-only gathering for Travellers and Nomadic Peoples.
Building on previous years’ conversations, this is a space for Travellers and Nomadic Peoples to share perspectives, experiences and ideas
This year, we will explore Truth and Reconciliation processes and an Irish State apology drawing from the experience of other ethnic minorities, such as the Sami People. At the Misleór Whidden, we will explore the human impact of Ireland’s assimilationist policies and the continuing struggles of those fighting to preserve Traveller culture, identity and traditions in a modern world.
Our history is ours to tell. Our future is ours to shape
Roadmap Towards a Truth and Reconciliation Commission
What does meaningful reconciliation and reparation look like beyond words?
Join Traveller activists Nora Corcoran, Thomas McCann and activists from nomadic backgrounds for a participatory World Cafe session exploring how we can build a road map towards recognition, accountability and meaningful State redress. Together, we’ll consider what needs to happen, who needs to be involved, and how we can turn a shared call for justice into collective political action.
Traveller and nomadic voices will be at the heart of the conversation, and allies are warmly invited to join, listen, learn and help build support for the road ahead.
Cherra Session
For nomadic communities the ‘cherra’ (Cant word for ‘fire’) has always been an important place for sharing and connecting; a melting pot of memory, imagination and creativity. Join this special meeting of creative minds, as poets and storytellers gather around the cherra to share work inspired by their nomadic heritage.
Nomadic Shorts
In this special programme of shorts, filmmakers with nomadic backgrounds look to their own communities to tell stories of struggle, resilience, identity and diversity. Screening followed by wine reception at the bar. Programme supported by Ardán & National Talent Academies
Tickets €15/10. Ages 16+
Films
The Angry Bird. Dir. Jack Lilleywhite
After a devastating crash, Romany racer Georgie, 'The Angry Bird,' questions her future in a male-dominated sport and must confront her identity to return as the only woman on track. Directed by Jack Lilleywhite and produced by Lisa Smith and Masha Thorpe.
Deneege Leł Ghu Kk’ots’eedeneeyh Te Heł Hoozoonh Ts’e Denots’edeneey. Dir. Brittany Woods-Orrison
The tradition of tanning hides with brains was once practiced by every Dené person in Alaska.
An art that was nearly lost by assimilation, Kathleen Hildebrand works with a group of Dené women at her urban backyard hide camp in the heart of Chen’o (Fairbanks) to revive this Tradition. One of the few films out there narrated in Denaakk’e, we learn alongside the women how the hides have healing.
My Daily Task. Dir. Damian Le Bas
A poetic reflection on the everyday realities of Romany and Traveller life, My Daily Task brings together voices, faces and places from the Realities Checked film series. Through Damian Le Bas’s evocative poem and a collage of images from the six preceding films, it explores the weight of prejudice, violence and exclusion alongside the resilience, humanity and hope of those who live with them.
Tangki (Donkeys). Dir. Tjanpi Desert Weavers
Three Anangu women of different generations tell the story of how donkeys came to be malpa wiru, valuable friends and helpers, to families in the desert community of Pukatja (Ernabella) in the APY Lands of northern South Australia
Sukkaillutit Uqaruk - Say It Slowly.Dir. Ashley Qilavaq-Savard
An intimate reflection on reclaiming Inuktitut, where language loss and climate change become intertwined. As a new generation reconnects with language and land, the film asks what it means to protect both
Fading Candle. Dir. Ismail Ait Lahcen
A young Amazigh woman's touch of a wedding scarf triggers a flashback to an underage bride that ends in a desperate escape.
The Earth Beneath Margaret's Feet. Dir. Lisa Smith & Jason Smith
A personal documentary following 76-year-old Romani grandmother Margaret Smith, a former nomadic potato picker, as her granddaughter Lisa uncovers the stories, seasonal journeys and stopping places that connect generations of their family.
Spread The Wings. Dir. Benjamin Menekshe
Forced off the road in the 1980s, sisters Maggie and Nora return to Connemara each summer to reconnect with the land and a way of life they remember. As they reflect on lost loved ones, community and the travelling life, their culture endures through nature, ritual and the wings of their grand-nephew Connie.
Misleór Festival Party
Friday night belongs to the dancefloor.
We’re taking over Galway Rowing Club for a night of live music, DJs and serious party energy. Headlining are Rootless (Ando Glaso), joined by Irish-based Bhangra dancers for a high-octane collision of Roma and Indian rhythms. With Willzee on the mic and PJ Mongan keeping things moving from the decks, expect big sounds, live music and plenty of dancing.
A night where people from across the many threads of Misleór come together to celebrate, connect and let loose.
Come for the music. Stay for the party.
Traveller Traditions and Crafts
Drop in anytime to explore Traveller traditions and creativity throughout the day. Step inside the barrel-top wagon, try your hand at horseshoe painting, and enjoy a range of family-friendly arts and crafts that celebrate the skills and heritage of Traveller culture. A welcoming space to discover, create, and connect.
Misleór Youth: Exhibition
This exhibition showcases the creativity and vision of young Travellers from Galway city and county, developed through a series of workshops with Traveller artists Chloe McDonagh, Martin McDonagh, Josh Donoghue, and Elaine Ward. Blending visual art with activism, the works reflect how young people see themselves, their communities, and their futures. By participating in the Local Creative Youth Partnership programmes, these emerging artists claim space for their voices and highlight the power of art as a tool for identity, justice, and change.
Why the Moon Travels - Performance & Workshop
Why the Moon Travels brings Oein DeBhairduin’s collection of Traveller folktales to life for children aged 5–8 and their families.
Enjoy stories of bees, giants, hedgehogs and horses through live performance and hands-on storytelling activities. Children will make their own storytelling props and explore the idea of passing the story on, with professional artists from the Traveller community.
A special opportunity for young children and families to enjoy Traveller stories, culture and creativity together.
Supported by the Traveller Wellbeing Through Creativity Programme, led by the HSE and the Arts Council.
Free event — registration required
Please register children attending only. Children must be accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult. Adults do not need to register or book a place.
Roma Music Workshop with Janos Lang
Get ready to make some noise! Roma musician and educator Janos Lang, founding member of Glasgow-based Roma cultural organisation Ando Glaso, leads a lively workshop exploring traditional Roma music and contemporary sounds.
Come learn, play, experiment and make music together in a space celebrating Roma culture, creativity and identity.
Misleór Youth Talent Show
The Misleór Youth Talent Show is your chance to shine! After a summer of creativity, young people from across Galway are invited to take the stage and share their talents - from music, dance and spoken word to comedy and everything in between.
Come celebrate the creativity, confidence and voices of the next generation of nomadic artists and storytellers.
Special guest: Johnny Joyce and Tik Tok sensation, Mikey McCarthy a.k.a. Konyaqueen
Please register children attending only. Children must be accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult. Adults do not need to register or book a place.
Exploring Traditional Traveller Herbalism: Roots, Roads & Rest
Nora Corcoran and Oein DeBhairduin return to Misleór this year to weave storytelling and ancient wisdom into an interactive talk and workshop on traditional Traveller herbalism and healing.
Learn about foraging, gathering and healthy custodianship of the land, and get creative with creating personalised dream bundles using traditional plants, colour, scrollwork, intention and shared cultural reflection - all materials provided!
Limited spaces · €20/€18 · Booking essential
Wild Things! Zoology at the University of Galway
How brave are you? Come face-to-face with some of the fascinating creatures cared for by the University of Galway’s Zoology team. Get up close to a python, tarantula, scorpion, turtles and geckos as the Zoology team share amazing facts and answer your questions.
A fun, interactive experience for curious kids and their families — and a chance to discover some of the wild and wonderful creatures that share our planet.
Sponsored by the University of Galway Access Office.
Please register children attending only. Children must be accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult. Adults do not need to register or book a place.
Kyrgyz Dance Workshop
Kara Jorgo Dance Workshop with Dee Tentí
Kara Jorgo is a traditional dance depicting a black stallion galloping through the vast steppes of Central Asia. Join this workshop with Kyrgyz dancer Dee Tentí to learn how it transformed from a shamanic healing ritual to a cultural contest to a beloved pop song! She will then teach a beginner-friendly class to anyone who wants to learn the dance and shake their body to the upbeat tune of Kara Jorgo!
Limited Spaces. Tickets €10
Misleór in Song
A festival favourite, Misleór in Song is an evening of music and voices from nomadic artists. This year’s line-up features Mongolian band Khuur, Roma-Indian Fusion band Rootless with Bhangra dancers, TikToker and singer Mikey McCarthy, Kyrgyz dancer Dee Tentí, Irish Romani singer-songwriter Abby Butler, Culture Band featuring Stanka Shelly and Willzee. With song, dance and stories from international guests, the concert celebrates living traditions and carries them forward to new generations.
Tickets €20 / €18
Misleór at Ballinasloe Fair
We’re on the road again! Misleór brings an installation of wooden horses made from recycled materials to Ballinasloe Fair, alongside a wattle tent from the If Hazel Could Talk project, featuring songs, artworks, and displays inspired by roadside and camp life. Visitors of all ages can get hands-on with traditional crafts such as paper flower-making, beady pockets, and horseshoe painting, exploring creativity while connecting with cultural heritage.
Catch nomadic singers and musicians on the Misleór Stage, with young and established talent sharing song, story, and tradition.