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arts · Thursday 16 July 2026 · Various 
Art Trail 2026
At Multiple venues in town · Various locations, Boyle town centre, Co. Roscommon
At Multiple venues in town · Various locations, Boyle town centre, Co. Roscommon
Every July, Boyle town turns itself into an open-air gallery without a ticket desk in sight. The Boyle Arts Festival Art Trail runs from 16 to 25 July 2026, scattering original artwork through shop windows, vacant premises and pop-up spaces across the town centre - all free to walk around at your own pace. It suits curious visitors who fancy more than a glance through a gallery door, families with children in tow, and anyone who wants to spend a morning or afternoon at street level, watching how a small Irish town wears its creative side on its sleeve.
The trail works by connecting local and visiting artists directly with business owners and empty premises across Boyle. Each participant sources their own window or space, so the result feels genuinely spread through the town rather than corralled into one building. Works range from painting and photography to mixed-media pieces, and because artists hang and manage their own displays, every location has its own atmosphere.
The festival publishes a printed and online map before the trail opens, so you can plan a loose route or simply wander and see what turns up around the next corner. Some spaces may have their own opening hours set by the exhibiting artist, so it is worth checking the map on the day. Past trails have filled everything from busy retail frontages to quieter side-street units, with the variety of venues as much a draw as the art itself. The whole thing sits within the wider Boyle Arts Festival, which brings music, theatre and film to the town across the same ten days, so there is plenty to fill a full day or a weekend visit.
Boyle is on the main N4 Dublin-to-Sligo road, roughly two hours from Dublin and about 45 minutes from Sligo. Bus Eireann runs services on the Dublin-Sligo route, with Boyle a scheduled stop; travel time from Dublin is around two and a half hours. The town is compact and walkable once you arrive, so parking at the main car park off Patrick Street or along the quay area gets you within easy reach of most trail locations.
King House, the Georgian mansion on Main Street, is open through the summer and has both a permanent collection and a local art gallery of its own - a good complement to the trail. Boyle Abbey, a substantial Cistercian ruin from 1161, is five minutes on foot and free to visit outside of opening hours. Lough Key Forest and Activity Park is just a couple of kilometres out of town and well worth the detour if you have children with you. There is more to see in Boyle and across Co. Roscommon.
Heading to Multiple venues in town in Boyle? Roscommon has plenty more to see. Read the Boyle area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.