← All events
festivals · Saturday 1 August 2026 · Various 
Ballymote Summer Festival
At Ballymote Village Centre · Ballymote, Co. Sligo
At Ballymote Village Centre · Ballymote, Co. Sligo
Ballymote Summer Festival is a free, three-day community celebration that takes over the village centre on the August bank holiday weekend. It brings together street performance, traditional music sessions, local food stalls, and family activities - the kind of event that a small Irish town does well when it decides to put its best foot forward. If you want to spend a summer weekend somewhere with genuine character rather than a packaged tourist experience, Ballymote is worth the detour.
The festival runs across Ballymote Village Centre from Friday 1 to Sunday 3 August, with something happening throughout the day and into the evenings. Street entertainers work the main thoroughfare during daytime hours, while traditional Irish music sessions take hold in the village pubs as the evening comes in. Ballymote has a long association with traditional music - the Paddy Killoran Traditional Music Festival, named after the Sligo fiddle master, is held in the town annually - so the trad element of the summer festival has real roots behind it.
Food and craft vendors set up along the street, with local and artisan producers from south Sligo well represented. Local restaurants and cafes typically run special weekend menus to coincide with the festival. Family activities run throughout the day across the three days, making it a decent option if you are travelling with children who would not last a full evening session.
The festival carries a heritage thread too. Ballymote has an unusually rich past for a town of its size - the Book of Ballymote, a major medieval Irish manuscript, was likely compiled at Ballymote Castle around 1391 - and the summer festival reflects that sense of local identity.
Ballymote sits in south-central County Sligo, roughly 30 km south of Sligo Town on the N17. By car from Dublin it is a two-hour drive via the N4 and N17. From Sligo Town, follow the N17 south and you will reach Ballymote in around 25 minutes.
Bus services connect Ballymote with Sligo Town; check Bus Eireann for current timetables. The village is compact and easy to walk once you arrive. Parking is available throughout the village centre and surrounding streets.
Ballymote Castle, the 14th-century keepless castle that anchors the town’s history, is worth a short walk from the village centre. The old Franciscan Friary ruin and the Corn Mill built in 1795 are also on the Ballymote Heritage Trail, which links the key sites on foot. There is more to see in Ballymote and across Co. Sligo.
Heading to Ballymote Village Centre in Ballymote? Sligo has plenty more to see. Read the Ballymote area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.