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theatre · Monday 20 July 2026 · Various 
Westend Theatre & Arts Festival
At Various venues in Galway's Westend · Westend, Galway City, Co. Galway
At Various venues in Galway's Westend · Westend, Galway City, Co. Galway
The Westend Theatre & Arts Festival - known affectionately as WTAF!? - is ten days of deliberately unpolished, genuinely exciting arts in Galway’s most creatively restless neighbourhood. Running from 20 to 29 July 2026, it brings together punk poets, DIY dramatists, drag performers, visual artists and rogue musicians in the kind of spaces you would never expect to find a show: back rooms, basements, rooftops, courtyards and streets. If you have ever found mainstream festivals a little safe, this is the festival that is designed for you.
WTAF!? was founded by co-artistic directors Jess Harkin and Emily Aherne, both rooted in the University of Galway theatre scene. They built it to solve a real problem - the gap between finishing amateur theatre and finding a foothold as a professional artist in Ireland. The result is a festival that sits firmly on the emerging-artist end of the spectrum, with a programme that combines theatre, drag, visual art, live music, circus, spoken word and comedy.
Because it takes over non-traditional spaces across the Westend, the atmosphere is intimate and often surprising. A performance might happen in a pub snug, a gallery back room or on a rooftop above Dominick Street. Programme details and individual show listings appear on the Ticket Tailor booking page closer to the festival dates, with ticket prices varying by event. Some events are free; others require a ticket. Worth checking back regularly once the programme goes live.
Galway city is well served by Bus Eireann and Irish Rail from Dublin, Cork and Limerick. The train journey from Dublin Heuston takes around two hours and fifteen minutes; the bus takes roughly three hours. From the station and Ceannt bus station on Station Road, the Westend is a ten-minute walk west along Eglinton Street and on to Dominick Street. Driving from Dublin is roughly two and a quarter hours via the M6. Parking in the city centre is metered; there are car parks off Fairgreen Road and near the Docks that are a short walk from the Westend.
The Westend runs along Dominick Street and the streets off it, full of independent cafes, vintage shops and long-standing pubs where traditional music happens most nights. It sits alongside the medieval Latin Quarter, the canal and the long walk out to Salthill. There is more to see in Galway and across Co. Galway.
Heading to Various venues in Galway's 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.