← All events
arts · Tuesday 14 July 2026 · 10:00am 
Dungeons & Dragons Themed Summer Camp
At The Linenhall Arts Centre · Linenhall Street, Castlebar, Co. Mayo
At The Linenhall Arts Centre · Linenhall Street, Castlebar, Co. Mayo
Three mornings of dragons, dungeon maps and character sheets - but also pencils, paint and the kind of world-building that young imaginations take to immediately. This Dungeons & Dragons Themed Summer Camp at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar brings tabletop gaming together with visual art, led by Wayne O’Connor, a visual artist and gamer who uses the fantasy genre as a springboard for creative work. It suits children who love drawing, inventing stories, gaming or all three - and no prior experience with tabletop games is needed at all.
Wayne O’Connor runs the sessions alongside members of the Linenhall Arts Team, Alex and Justyna, so the group is well supported throughout. The three mornings cover character development - giving each participant their own hero, villain or creature to design - alongside storytelling, world-building and art-making with actual materials. Think sketchbooks, colour and the satisfying problem of deciding whether your character is a rogue or a wizard and what they look like. Sessions run from 10:00am to 1:15pm each day, giving enough time to get deep into the work without it becoming a full day. Children should bring a packed lunch and wear clothes they don’t mind getting paint on.
The Linenhall Arts Centre is one of Mayo’s main cultural venues - a 144-seat theatre, gallery spaces, artists’ studios and a community arts room, all under one roof in the centre of Castlebar. It runs RoolaBoola, one of the most respected children’s arts festivals in the country, so creative workshops for young people are very much part of what the Linenhall does well.
Castlebar is the county town of Mayo, roughly midway along the N5 between Westport and Ballaghaderreen. From Dublin it is about two and a half hours by road via the N5; from Galway about an hour on the N84. Bus Eireann serves Castlebar from Dublin, Galway and Westport, with the bus stop a short walk from the town centre. The Linenhall is on Linenhall Street, close to the main square. Town-centre parking is available nearby on the square and in off-street car parks within a few minutes’ walk.
The town has a good market square, cafes worth sitting in and easy access west to Westport or north towards Ballina if you want to make a day of the Mayo countryside. There is more to see in Castlebar and across Co. Mayo.
Heading to The Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar? Mayo has plenty more to see. Read the Castlebar area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.