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seasonal · Saturday 22 August 2026 · 10:00am 
Ballybunion Bean Festival
At Ballybunion · Ballybunion, Co. Kerry
At Ballybunion · Ballybunion, Co. Kerry
The Ballybunion Bean Festival is not your average food fair. It is a community climate-action gathering built around the humble bean - grown locally, cooked communally, and celebrated through theatre, music, art and conversation. Organised by Brilliant Ballybunion, a Creative Ireland-supported initiative, the festival is rooted in the idea that food growing and community creativity can be a genuine response to climate change. It suits families, curious adults, anyone interested in sustainable food, and people who simply want a different kind of day out on the north Kerry coast.
The festival centres on The Barna Way, an organic farm and woodland just outside Ballybunion run by Rena Blake. Visitors can expect farm walks, theatrical performance - previous years featured “The Bean Chronicles”, an original play developed with local participants - live music, film screenings, and art displays. The centrepiece is a communal meal using locally grown, organically sourced produce; the 2025 edition fed around 70 to 80 people with almost no waste. Panels on soil health, seed preservation and sustainable food systems run alongside the performances, so there is real substance if you want to dig into it. Bean seeds are distributed to local schools and residents in the lead-up, so the festival reflects months of community growing rather than a single weekend event.
The project is co-created with local people across all ages - schoolchildren, farmers, chefs, artists and scientists have all been involved - which gives it a different texture to a commercial food festival.
Ballybunion sits on the north Kerry coast, about 30 km north of Tralee on the N67. By car from Tralee, follow the N21 and then the R553 and N67 through Listowel; the drive takes around 35 to 40 minutes. From Limerick, allow roughly an hour and 20 minutes via Abbeyfeale and the N21. Public transport to Ballybunion is limited - Bus Eireann serves Listowel and Tralee, but the final leg to Ballybunion typically requires a car or taxi. The festival itself encourages low-carbon travel; previous years ran a shuttle bus and cycling options between the village and The Barna Way farm.
Ballybunion is worth the trip on its own terms - cliff-top walks, two Blue Flag beaches, and the remains of the old castle above the sea. There is more to see in Ballybunion and across Co. Kerry.
Heading to Ballybunion in Ballybunion? Kerry has plenty more to see. Read the Ballybunion area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.