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festivals · Sunday 19 July 2026 · 12:00pm 
Summer Festival of Opera at Killruddery
At The Orangery, Killruddery House and Gardens · Southern Cross, Bray, Co. Wicklow
At The Orangery, Killruddery House and Gardens · Southern Cross, Bray, Co. Wicklow
Killruddery House and Gardens hosts its annual Summer Festival of Opera on Sunday, 19 July 2026, a day-long event at The Orangery starting at 12 noon. The festival is organised with the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition and is pitched as family-friendly rather than a formal recital, mixing opera performance with activities aimed at getting children interested in the art form rather than sitting still through it. It is billed as an interactive day out, set against the backdrop of Killruddery’s 17th-century gardens rather than a conventional concert hall.
The day runs from midday through the afternoon at The Orangery, one of Killruddery’s grander garden buildings, with singers connected to the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition performing across the programme. Organisers frame it explicitly as a family event, with interactive elements built in alongside the performances rather than a straight programme of arias. Exact acts and timings are confirmed closer to the date on Killruddery’s own event listings and social media. Because it falls on the same weekend as the Arklow Seabreeze Festival and Plein Air Festival on the other side of the county, and the third day of Bray’s own summer calendar, it is one of several options for a Sunday out in north Wicklow that weekend.
Killruddery is just south of Bray off the R761, about a five-minute drive or a longer walk from Bray town centre and Bray DART station. The estate has its own on-site car park for visitors and event-goers, sign-posted from the main road.
Killruddery sits at the edge of Bray, close to Bray Head and the seafront, so the festival pairs easily with a walk along the promenade before or after. There is more to see in Bray and across Co. Wicklow.
Heading to The Orangery, Killruddery House and Gardens in Bray? Wicklow has plenty more to see. Read the Bray area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.
In town for The Orangery, Killruddery House and Gardens? These Wicklow tours book out in summer.