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festivals · Monday 20 July 2026 · Various 
Westend Theatre & Arts Festival 2026
At Various venues (Westend) · Galway City (Westend), Co. Galway
At Various venues (Westend) · Galway City (Westend), Co. Galway
Galway has always done things a little differently, and the Westend Theatre & Arts Festival - known to locals as WTAF - is proof of that. Running for ten days across the city’s Westend district, it is a proper alternative arts festival: no grand theatres, no polished programme booklets, just raw creative work from emerging and genre-defying artists who, in the words of the organisers, were “tired of waiting for permission.” If you want to see what is actually happening in Irish theatre, drag, circus, and experimental performance right now, this is where you come.
Hysteria Theatre Company created WTAF in partnership with the Westend community to give a platform to artists who don’t fit neatly into the established circuit. The result is a ten-day festival that turns rooftops, back rooms, basements, bars, and yards into performance spaces. Past editions have included aerial circus acts, a kayaking choir on the canal, drag storytelling nights, and at least one show staged inside a campervan at Silkes Yard.
The programme spans theatre, music, visual art, drag, comedy, and circus - often in the same evening. Shows are deliberately kept accessible: most tickets are under €20, and many events offer pay-what-you-can pricing. It runs from 20 to 29 July 2026, with events across multiple venues each day, so you can pick and choose based on what appeals rather than committing to a single show.
Galway city is well served by Bus Eireann and regular intercity coaches from Dublin, Limerick, and Cork; the journey from Dublin takes roughly two and a half hours. The train from Dublin Heuston runs several times daily and drops you at Galway Ceannt Station, a short walk from the Westend. If you are driving, the M6 motorway connects to the city, though parking in the Westend itself is limited - the Jurys Inn car park on Headford Road is a reasonable walking distance, or use park-and-ride options on the outskirts.
The Westend is the quieter, more local-feeling side of Galway city - the Roisin Dubh venue, The Crane Bar for trad sessions, and a cluster of independent restaurants and bars are all within a few minutes’ walk of the festival venues. There is more to see in Galway and across Co. Galway.
Heading to Various venues (Westend) in Galway? Galway has plenty more to see. Read the Galway area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.