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theatre · Friday 3 July 2026 · 11:00am 
Clonmel Junction Arts Festival Opening
At Various venues in Clonmel · Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
At Various venues in Clonmel · Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
The Clonmel Junction Arts Festival has been running since 2001, and over more than two decades it has grown from a small theatre showcase into one of the south of Ireland’s most distinctive multi-disciplinary arts events. The 2026 edition opens on Friday 3 July with the Festival Opening and the launch of the Clonmel Exchanges Podcast Project - a fitting start to a ten-day programme built around the theme of EXCHANGES, which explores cultural exchange, blended communities and the conversations that happen when different worlds meet. If you enjoy arts events that feel genuinely rooted in a place rather than parachuted in, this is worth the trip.
The opening kicks off at 11am and sets the tone for everything that follows until 12 July. The 2026 programme is notably wide in scope: theatre, dance, music, circus, literary events and visual arts all feature across multiple venues spread through Clonmel town. Highlights announced for the full festival include Muireann Bradley, the Edinburgh Fringe hit The Horse of Jenin, Distillation by Luke Casserly, FeliSpeaks, David Geraghty, and Paul Howard with Alan Clarke - alongside new work from emerging and international artists.
Beyond ticketed performances, the festival has a long tradition of animating the town itself. Artists take over disused shops and offices as temporary studios and workshop spaces, and there is usually a strong free-entry strand running alongside the paid programme. A night-time procession of lights, Luxe, is one of the visual set-pieces for 2026. The Clonmel Exchanges Podcast Project launching on opening day adds a documentary thread - conversations captured across the festival’s run - to the mix.
The Box Office is at The Platform, Unit 12A, Showgrounds Shopping Centre, open 11am to 4pm Monday to Saturday from early June through to 11 July.
Clonmel is in south Tipperary, roughly 160 km from Dublin and 80 km from Cork. By car, the M8 motorway (Dublin-Cork) has an exit at Cahir, from which Clonmel is about 20 minutes on the N24. From Limerick, follow the N24 east. There is paid parking in the town centre and along the quays beside the River Suir. Bus Eireann operates services on the Limerick - Waterford and Dublin - Cork routes, with stops in Clonmel; check buseireann.ie for current timetables. The town is compact and walkable once you arrive, which suits a festival where events are spread across multiple sites.
Clonmel is Tipperary’s largest town and sits beside the River Suir, with the Comeragh Mountains visible to the south - it makes for a pleasant base for a day or two. There is more to see in Clonmel and across Co. Tipperary.
Heading to Various venues in Clonmel in Clonmel? Tipperary has plenty more to see. Read the Clonmel area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.