The major theme for our 2026 Festival will be Boundaries: setting them and crossing them. The Festival will take place over the weekend of 7-9 August 2026 at Inish Beg, with walking tours and field trips in various locations around West Cork on 7 and 8 August. We are delighted to announce that the Festival will be opened by the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin. Find out more about our amazing line up of speakers here.
Tickets for individual days, for the weekend, the Film Night and the field trips are on sale here. Please note, tickets for the Field Trips are limited. Availability of tickets for the talks and discussions at the Festival at Inish Beg is still good.
On Friday and Sunday we have one Festival venue called the Octagon, while on Saturday the programme runs in two venues in parallel, the Octagon and the Boathouse which is close by.
Friday 7 August - 15:00-20:30
Octagon only
15:00-16:30
Writer and political commentator Iain Dale has recently edited a collection of profiles of the Taoisigh and will interview a panel of three of the contributors to that book. They are Gary Murphy (who wrote on Charles Haughey), Deirdre Foley (who wrote on Liam Cosgrave), and Stephen Collins (on Jack Lynch).
17:00
The Festival will be opened by the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin.
19:00-20:30
The Changing Boundaries of Warfare, Security, and Sovereignty - Paddy McGuinness and Professor Ben Tonra will be discussing Irish defence and security policy in context, both historical and contemporary, with Professor Gail McElroy as chair. The task of setting and defending the boundaries of sovereignty has a new salience for many European countries, what does this mean for Ireland and the UK respectively and as neighbours?
Saturday 8 August daytime - 10:00-19:00
Octagon and Boathouse
10:00-11:00
Octagon: Cormac Moore on the Irish Boundary Commission, subject of his latest book
Boathouse: Oscar Kelly on the founding of Castletownshend in West Cork and Glenbarrahane, a forgotten settlement which predated Castletownshend
11:15-12:15
Octagon: Lewis Baston on his book Borderlines: A History of Europe in 29 Borders
Boathouse: Rachel Barrett on Irish Paupers in London in the 19th century
12:30-13:30
Octagon: Zoe Reid, Keeper of Manuscripts at the National Archives, speaking about the publication of 1926 census, the first in the Irish Free State
Boathouse: Alexander Morrison on 'Beyond the 'Great Game' - boundaries and border-making in the Russian conquest of Central Asia'
13:30-14:30 Lunch
14:30-15:30
Octagon: Éimear O'Connor - Well, I Never! Biography, Bravado, and Meeting Seán Keating - this links to Éimear's work on the installation SIT STAND SMOKE which will be available to experience at the Festival. Find out more about SIT STAND SMOKE here.
Boathouse: Beatrice Penati on 'Divide and Rule? How the Soviet stans got their borders'
15:40-16:40
Octagon: Mark Mellett - Blue Heart: War, Climate and the Battle for the Ocean That Keeps Us Alive
Boathouse: Gabriel Cooney speaking about Crossing the boundaries between life and death in prehistory drawing on aspects of his book Death in Irish prehistory
16:50-17:50
Octagon: Myles Dungan on his forthcoming book The Waterboys: triumph, tragedy and the two Irishmen who created California
Boathouse: Flor MacCarthy - 'Sailing into History - two historic West Cork boats sail together after 100 years !'
18:00-19:00
Octagon: Sam McBride and Mark Hennessy: Could Nigel Farage succeed where Pádraig Pearse failed?
Saturday 8 August evening - 19:30-21:30 (approx)
Octagon only
From 7.30pm, we will have screenings of three fascinating films on aspects of West Cork's history, all productions of local studio Wombat Media.
We are delighted to host the launch and first screening of Seamus Murphy, Sculptor, in West Cork with Murphy's daughter Orla Murphy and Finola Finlay. Also on the bill will be Placenames and their Amazing Stories with Conor Ó Buachalla whose company Gormú will also be running specially developed e-bike tours for the Festival and Echoes of Faith: The Holy Wells of West Cork with Amanda Clarke. Find out more in this blog post.
Please note entry to these films will be included for all with weekend and Saturday tickets, but you can also purchase a ticket for the film screenings only via our ticket page.
Sunday 9 August daytime - 10:00-18:30
Octagon only
10:00-11:00 Sonja Tiernan, speaking about Eva Gore-Booth to mark the anniversary edition of Sonja's biography of the activist, writer and poet
11:15-12:15 Leanne Calvert - 'Runaway husbands, Unhappy wives and Cheating Spouses: Tales of Marital Disorder in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Ulster'
12:30-13:30 Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick - Bad Bridget: Crime, Mayhem and the Lives of Irish Emigrant Women
13:30-14:30 Lunch
To mark the 300th anniversary of the publication of Gulliver's Travels in 1726, our Sunday afternoon programme will be devoted to Jonathan Swift.
14:30-15:30 Hester Grant: The Twitnam Summer: Friendship, Satire and the Writing of Gulliver's Travels
15:45-16:45 Adam Tomkins on Jonathan Swift and the Constitution, a lecture in honour of James Kingston.
16:45-18:15 To close the Festival, Hester and Adam will be interviewed on the subject of Swift by Myles Dungan, for a piece to be broadcast on Myles' RTE History Show in the autumn.
Our popular Field Trips and Walking Tours return this year, on 7 and 8 August - the walking tours and visit to Reen Farm should be booked via the Festival website, while links are provided through to the Gormú and Atlantic Sea Kayaking (ASK) tours to book tickets from them directly. ASK will donate 10% per participant to the History Festival. For the Gormú experiences use the discount code WCHF26 for a 10% discount.
Friday 7 August at 9am - Crossing the Line - E-Bike tour with Gormú
The premier West Cork heritage experience company and long term Festival partners, has developed a special e-bike tour to address this year’s Boundary theme. The tour will start and end at Inish Beg and will take place along quiet and safe country roads, with stops for talks and stories.
Book via the Gormú website and use code WCHF26 to get a 10% discount. (maximum 12 guests)
Friday 7 August at 10am - Walking Tour of Ballydehob
Ballydehob, now known as Ireland’s coolest village, has a fascinating history. Local historian Eugene MacSweeney, is your expert guide on this walk around the village, which will encompass medieval clans, Land League activities, the coming and going of the Railway, the arrival of the hippies in the 1960s and much more.
Tickets via Festival ticket page (maximum 20 guests)
Friday 7 August at 10am - Visit to Reen Farm
Reen Farm is the private home of artists John Kelly and Christina Todesco-Kelly. They have developed the land as a sculpture garden and a unique and memorable Famine Memorial. The tour will conclude with tea or coffee and cake in the garden and a chance to chat to your hosts in a relaxed setting.
With huge thanks to John Kelly and Christina Todesco-Kelly for hosting this, for their ongoing support to the Festival and donating all proceeds to the West Cork History Festival.
Tickets via Festival ticket page (maximum 15 guests).
Friday 7 August 10am - Atlantic Sea Kayaking Kayak and History Trip in Castlehaven Bay
Castlehaven Bay is a sheltered and secluded bay, which has a rich history of trade, piracy and battles. You may encounter a variety of marine wildlife and birds as you kayak the West Cork coastline. You will be introduced to the astonishing world of seaweed. Your guide will regale you with some of the stories of the past in this bay, and unveil the hidden pirate steps carved out in the 1600’s.
Tickets via ASK website (maximum 16 guests)
Friday 7 August at 12 noon - Crossing the Line - E-Bike tour with Gormú [this is now sold out, but tickets still available for the 9am E-Bike tour]
The premier West Cork heritage experience company and long term Festival partners, has developed a special e-bike tour to address this year’s Boundary theme. The tour will start and end at Inish Beg and will take place along quiet and safe country roads, with stops for talks and stories.
Book via the Gormú website and use code WCHF26 to get a 10% discount. (maximum 12 guests)
Saturday 8 August at 6.30pm - Walking tour of Skibbereen
William Casey is a renowned local historian and frequent Festival contributor who has written several books about the history of Skibbereen and particularly its Fenian past. Skibbereen was the epicentre of the Great Famine and the walking tour will include accounts of that terrible time in our history.
Tickets via Festival ticket page (maximum 15 guests).
Saturday 8 August at 8pm Atlantic Sea Kayaking night time trip in Castlehaven Bay
Atlantic Sea Kayaking are long time Festival partners. This trip provides a unique experience of being on the water from dusk into darkness. There is always something to make you gasp on this trip, the sparkle of bioluminescence, the sounds of seabirds coming in to roost, the sunset, the rising moon, the aromas of honeysuckle and gorse on the breeze, the panoply of stars overhead, and the deep, dark peace and serenity of night. It is a trip which feeds body and soul. Castlehaven Bay is an exceptional location for our night kayaking tour.
Tickets via the ASK website (maximum 16 guests).
