Lisdoon Nirvana

Lisdoon Nirvana is a one-man show built around one of the more unlikely pilgrimages in modern Irish memory - the trek across the country to Lisdoonvarna’s final music festival in the summer of 1983. Written and performed by Frankie McCafferty, a Donegal native, and directed by Charlie Bonner, it travels the road from recession-era Donegal to Clare with a young man named Macker clinging to the pillion of a two-stroke motorbike, wearing a converted Garda riot-control helmet stuffed with bin bags and a pair of swimming goggles. If that image makes you laugh, you are already in the right frame of mind for it.

What to expect

This is a dramatic monologue with live music accompaniment - one performer, one stage, the full weight of 1980s Ireland carried on a single set of shoulders. McCafferty takes Macker through a country in transition: emigration notices on every parish gate, religious pressure bearing down, a generation squeezing the last of a summer out before the ferry or the plane. The Lisdoonvarna festival was a folk and rock institution, and the 1983 edition was its last - which gives the whole journey a quietly elegiac edge beneath the comedy. Critics have called it “funny, entertaining and educational,” and the production has toured extensively across Ireland since its premiere.

The show is part of the Earagail Arts Festival 2026, running 11 to 25 July, and plays at An Grianan Theatre in Letterkenny. This is Donegal’s flagship producing theatre, a 383-seat venue that opened in 1999 and has built a strong reputation for staging new Irish writing. It is named after Grianán of Aileach, the ancient ring fort on the hill above Burt - which gives you a sense of how the county relates to its own history. The theatre is a main festival partner and an ideal fit for a show this rooted in a particular Irish time and place. Seating is unreserved. The show is suitable for ages 16 and over.

Getting there

Letterkenny is the largest town in Co. Donegal and sits on the N13/N14 road network. From Dublin, it is roughly a three-hour drive via the M1 and N2, or via the N3/N15 through Sligo and Ballyshannon. From Derry / Londonderry it is about 30 minutes by road. Bus Éireann and Feda O’Donnell coaches serve Letterkenny from Dublin, Derry, and Galway. The theatre is on Port Road in the town centre and has parking nearby.

While you’re in Donegal

Letterkenny itself has good places to eat and drink before or after the show, and Donegal town, Glenveagh National Park, and the Fanad Peninsula are all within easy striking distance for a longer visit. There is more to see in Donegal and across Co. Donegal.

Good to know

• Dates: 10 - 25 July 2026 (check website for individual performance dates and times)
• Venue: An Grianan Theatre, Port Road, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
• Price: See website for current ticket prices (previous runs priced at €15 - €18)
• Booking: angrianan.com or the Earagail Arts Festival website eaf.ie
• Seating: Unreserved
• Age: Suitable for 16 and over