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family · Wednesday 5 August 2026 · Various 
Féile Chill Damhnait - Achill Island Festival
At Achill Island · Achill Island, Co. Mayo
At Achill Island · Achill Island, Co. Mayo
Féile Chill Damhnait - the Kildownet Festival - is a 13-day community celebration rooted in the upper end of Achill Island, centred on the historic Kildownet area. 2026 marks the 10th anniversary, and this one promises to be bigger than usual. The festival draws families, locals, and visitors together for a fortnight of music, sport, arts and the kind of easy community craic that bigger festivals cannot replicate. If you are visiting Achill in August and want to see the island at its most alive, this is the week to be here.
The programme runs the full width of community life. Past editions have opened with a formal ceremony in the marquee beside Patten’s Bar in Dereens - local GAA or sporting figures have done the honours in previous years. From there the days fill out with Irish traditional music (the trad band Ruaile Buaile has headlined), drama performances from Achill Musical and Dramatic Society, a family fun day on the weekend with inflatables, face painting, alpacas and animal shows for younger children, a whist drive, bingo, a 5k and 10k road race, cycling with Achill Wheelers, and a five-a-side soccer competition.
Two events stand out as genuinely special. The Achill Camino is a roughly 20km pilgrimage walk from the lower end of the island to Kildownet Old Cemetery in Cloughmore - a moving, quiet contrast to the marquee nights. Achill Beg Day, which has been part of the festival since 2016, involves a ferry trip out to the now-uninhabited island of Achill Beg, honouring the community that once lived there. Both are the sort of thing you would not stumble across outside festival week.
Individual events within the programme vary in price. Some are free; ticketed evenings are typically modest. The full 2026 line-up will be confirmed closer to August - check the Féile Cill Damhnait Facebook page or contact Achill Tourism for updates.
Achill Island is reached by road across the Michael Davitt Bridge near Mulrany. From Westport it is around 45 minutes on the N59 and R319; from Castlebar allow about an hour. There is no rail link to Achill itself - the nearest train station is Westport, from where Bus Éireann service 440 runs to Achill Sound, though connections are limited and a car is the practical choice for most visitors. Parking across the island is informal and generally plentiful outside peak summer weekends.
The festival is a reason to linger rather than just day-trip. Achill has some of the finest beaches in Ireland - Keem Bay, Dugort and Dooagh among them - along with the dramatic Minaun cliffs and the deserted village on Slievemore. There is more to see in Achill and across Co. Mayo.
Heading to Achill Island? Mayo has plenty more to see. Browse the area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.