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film · Monday 24 August 2026 · See website for times 
Monk Outdoor Film Screenings
At Multiple locations · Various locations, County Sligo
At Multiple locations · Various locations, County Sligo
On a warm August evening in County Sligo, a 23-minute film is enough to make you think about monks, islands, and the thousand-year stretch between then and now. Monk is a short documentary that explores the life of early Christian monks who lived on Inismurray Island in the 6th century, brought to life through site-responsive sculptures. The film tours multiple outdoor locations across the county for a week in late August 2026 as part of the Tread Softly festival - Sligo’s free arts celebration rooted in landscape, heritage and Irish culture. It suits anyone curious about early Irish history, those who appreciate art that sits quietly in landscape, and families looking for something genuinely unusual on a summer evening.
The film runs for 23 minutes and travels to several outdoor locations across County Sligo between 24 and 31 August 2026. One confirmed venue is The Factory on Lower Quay Street in Sligo town. The subject is Inismurray Island, a small uninhabited island off the Sligo coast that holds one of the best-preserved early Christian monastic settlements in Ireland. The monastery was founded around 520 AD by Saint Molaise and the monks lived there until around the 12th century, when they moved to the mainland. The enclosure wall still stands up to 4.5 metres high in places, and the site holds stone oratories, churches, a beehive cell and a remarkable collection of early Irish engraved slabs.
The film uses site-responsive sculptures to tell that story - so rather than talking heads or archive footage, you are watching art in dialogue with place. Screenings are outdoors, so dress for the evening air. The filmmaker behind the project is Bettina Seize. All screenings are free.
Tread Softly itself runs 22 to 30 August 2026 across Sligo, with all events free to attend. The festival draws on Irish mythology, coastal landscape and contemplative artistic experience - Monk fits naturally in that programme.
Sligo town is roughly two hours from Dublin by road on the N4, and around 90 minutes from Galway via the N17. Bus Éireann runs regular services to Sligo from Dublin Busáras, and there are connections from Galway and Donegal. Sligo train station sits close to the town centre with daily services from Dublin Connolly, typically taking about three hours.
For The Factory venue on Lower Quay Street, parking is available on the quays nearby and in the town centre car parks a short walk away. Check times for each screening on the website before you travel, as locations and times vary across the week.
Sligo town is compact and worth a day - the Niland Collection at The Model, the 13th-century Sligo Abbey, and the surrounding Yeats country make it a place to slow down rather than rush through. There is more to see in Sligo and across Co. Sligo.
Heading to Multiple locations in Sligo? Sligo has plenty more to see. Read the Sligo area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.