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festivals · Saturday 22 August 2026 · Various 
Cootehill Arts Festival 2026
At Various venues, Cootehill · Town Centre, Cootehill, Co. Cavan
At Various venues, Cootehill · Town Centre, Cootehill, Co. Cavan
Each August, Cootehill turns itself into a town-wide stage for a few days. The Cootehill Arts Festival - running annually since it was first conceived in 1988 - brings professional and community arts together using pubs, churches, courtyards and streets as venues. It suits families with children who want circus skills and storytelling, adults after live theatre or poetry, and music lovers who want a good evening in a pub with a reason to be there.
The festival runs across three days in late August and draws on a wide spread of disciplines. Theatre is usually the centrepiece - past years have featured original productions in local venues alongside street performance, where musicians and clowns take over the town in the early evening. Participatory events round out the programme: guided music sessions open to any level, art and photography workshops, and storytelling or poetry evenings where local writers share a platform with musicians.
The Le Chéile Singers and the Cootehill Writers Group have both featured in recent editions, pairing song and spoken word at Cootehill Presbyterian Church. Local pubs carry their own music on festival nights, adding an informal layer to the schedule after the main events finish.
Some events are ticketed; many are free. The programme is published on the festival’s Facebook page in the weeks beforehand - that is the best place to check what requires booking and what you can simply turn up for.
Cootehill sits on the R188, roughly 25km northeast of Cavan Town and about 15km south of Monaghan Town. From Dublin, take the N3 northwest to Cavan and then follow signs northeast - the drive is around 90 minutes. Bus Eireann connects Cootehill to Cavan Town and Monaghan, though frequency is limited, so check times in advance. Town-centre parking is straightforward.
Cootehill is a market town with a history in the Irish linen trade going back to the 1720s, and the streetscape rewards wandering - wide streets, solid stone buildings, a pace that suits a few extra hours. There is more to see in Cootehill and across Co. Cavan.
Heading to Various venues, Cootehill in Cootehill? Cavan has plenty more to see. Read the Cootehill area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.