Boyle Arts Festival committee would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to everybody who helped us make our 2026 Festival so memorable.
The ten days of stunning art exhibitions, music, drama, film, literary gems, spoken word, comedy, workshops, outdoor events, music trails and children’s activities were a massive success, both from a critical point of view and judging by the large numbers that attended every event.
The impact of Boyle Arts Festival goes beyond entertainment because it fosters a sense of community engagement by bringing people together through shared experiences and appreciation for the arts. The positive atmosphere created by this gathering undoubtedly leaves a lasting impression on both attendees and participants alike.
We would like to thank all those who have supported us in so many ways and without whom; there would be no Arts Festival. We received tremendous support as always from the people and businesses of Boyle – in terms of sponsorship, attendance of events, provision of premises for exhibition space, voluntary help and of course that wonderful hospitality that welcomed the considerable numbers of visitors to the town from all over the country and further afield.
We must extend a very special word of thanks to Mary Coughlan, for officially opening our Festival, and doing so in such a memorable way.
We are also indebted to The Arts Council, Roscommon Co. Council, the Dept. of Culture, Communications and Sport, Rural & Community Development, the Creative Ireland Programme and Fáilte Ireland, for their financial support and belief in us.
Publicity is vital to any Festival and we would like to thank www.Boyletoday.com and the Roscommon Herald along with all the regional and national newspapers, radio stations and social media pages for the publicity afforded to us, in the run up to and during the Festival.
There are a number of others we must acknowledge for their invaluable assistance, including Roscommon Arts Officer Rhona McGrath and Roscommon Co. Council for the use of King House as our main exhibition and performance space.
We are very grateful to Michael Sweeney Funeral Director for the use of his premises as our information office, and as a venue for our Open Art exhibition.
We also thank the Committee of St. Joseph’s Hall, Rev. Edward Yendall and Clive Roe for the use of the Church of Ireland and Fr. Gerry Hanly for the use of St. Joseph’s Church, along with the Resource Centre and Sports complex. A big thank you to all in The Patrick’s Well, Dodd’s Crescent bar, The Moylurg Inn, Creighton’s bar, Kate Lavin’s, Wynne’s bar, Frybrook House, Studio11, Abbey College and the Ardcarne Garden Café for allowing us to use their premises as venues. Special thanks also to Marian Ahern, for her assistance with the annual Fergus Ahern Award and to the Feely family for sponsoring the Barry Feely Sculptor Award.
As a voluntary committee of nine, we are very fortunate to have a group of local volunteers who are always available to help. Special thanks to Laura Tighe, Bernie Lyons, Elaine Bennett, Perpetua McGee and Eileen Fitzhenry for processing tickets during events, Marian Brogan and Jessica McCauley for running our information office, Christine Kelly and Concepta McDonagh for visual art co-ordination and Anna Robertson for visual arts accounts co-ordination. Thanks to Stephen Tighe for hanging the Main Exhibition artwork along with curator Paul McKenna and to all the sitters at the exhibitions. We are very grateful to Gerry Golden and Gerry O’Hara for managing our roadsigns, and also to Shane Caslin, Padraig Daly, Stephen and Jacob Tighe who co-ordinated seating at the venues.
We must commend the Boyle Tidy Towns committee for having the town looking so well in the run-up to the Festival, and also the Gardaí for assisting with our parade and traffic management. Thanks to Dennis & Majella Dodd for providing a meeting space for us over the last year, O’Dowd Solicitors for all their help with licencing and Devine & Co. for auditing accounts. Special thanks also to Vivienne Moran for the fabulous Corlann ‘Ross & Roll Arts Fusion’ outdoor performance, to Niamh O’Connor for co-ordinating the Art Trail, and to Breege Duffy, Bernie Lyons and Eamon McLoughlin for providing music in all the local nursing homes.
We are indebted to Ardcarne Garden Centre and Catriona Feely and her team for dressing the foyer of the Hall. Thanks also to Chantelle Kennedy at Pure Flowers for her floral display. To all those who assisted with our opening night parade and indeed everybody else who helped with hospitality, the music trail, selling programmes and directing traffic during events, a very special thank you.
We wish to thank Boyle Musical Society for the use of their lighting, Benny Morgan for volunteering to photograph all of our events, and Barry Lynch for parking facilities at the Church of Ireland.
And finally, we would like to thank all the visual artists, performers and contributors who took part in BAF 2026 and especially all the local artists and musicians, who once again made this year’s Festival so special. Without them, Boyle Arts Festival would be incomplete.
We are constantly working to build on previous years, as it is our mission to offer a Festival that is constantly evolving. Plans are already underway for next year’s Boyle Arts Festival, which will take place from July 15th to 24th 2027, so make a note of those dates now because we are hoping to make it another fantastic and memorable experience.
For more information please visit www.boylearts.com or follow us of Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.
The Boyle Arts Festival Committee.
