Kilrush.ie

Traditional Skills Demonstrations at Kilrush Farmer's Market
2025-08-21 10:00 - 14:00 (Europe/Dublin) | The Square, Kilrush, The Square, Kilrush, Co. Clare
There’s something special happening at the Farmer’s Market in Kilrush this week! Our stallholders will be demonstrating all kinds of traditional skills from textile crafts like spinning and felting to food producing skills like butter making and plant propogation. Plus, there will be a display on the foundations of the market in our historic market town.

Kilrush Farmer's Market
2025-08-21 09:00 - 14:00, 2025-08-14 09:00 - 14:00 | The Square, Kilrush, The Square, Kilrush, Co. Clare
Support local businesses by shopping the Kilrush Farmer’s Market. Held every Thursday from 9am-2pm.

Mapping the Ground We Stand On
2025-08-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Banner Books, 1a, Hector Street Mills, Kilrush, V15 PW83
An Education for Reconciliation Workshop
Established in 1959, Alongside Hope is the development and relief agency of the Anglican Church of Canada. Working mainly with partners overseas, since 1969 it has also worked in partnership with Indigenous communities in Canada on community development and cultural recovery projects. This “education for reconciliation” workshop explores Indigenous presence and Settler arrival on the map of Turtle Island/Canada. It also examines the “Doctrine of Discovery,” the concept of terra nullius (empty land) and Indigenous knowledge.
Using video and PowerPoint resources, Mapping the Ground We Stand On at Kilrush Heritage Week, will offer participants an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Canada’s history and present, based on what we place on and leave off of the Canadian map. It will also provide opportunity to explore what a “mapping exercise” might look like for Ireland, and specifically for West Clare. For this, we will use an Indigenous Talking Circle method, allowing all who wish to speak, an opportunity, and we will explore questions such as: “What is your family’s history of presence on the Irish map? How and where do you understand yourself to be present on the map today? How do we tell the part of the Canadian story that includes Irish immigration to Canada (mentioned briefly in the Mapping Exercise)? What and who needs to appear on the Irish map to enable a deeper understanding of Ireland’s history and present?”
Admission is free. All are welcome.

Talk - Scattery Island Restoration Works
2025-08-20 14:00 - 15:00 | Scattery Island Tours, Kilrush Marina, V15 AD62
SIHG in collaboration with the OPW presents an information talk on Scattery Island’s Restoration works for Heritage week 2025. This will be delivered by Ronan Maguire Architect Office of Public Works on Scattery Island on Wednesday 20 August at 2pm. This is a free event hosted by SIHG and the OPW for Heritage week.
For transportation to Scattery check ferry times at Scattery Island Ferry Tours, Kilrush Marina to view the ferry’s scheduled sailings on that date.

Clay Pot Making with AMS (Archaeological Management Solutions)
2025-08-20 11:00 - 16:30 | Millennium Park, Frances Street, Kilrush, Clare, Ireland
Pottery production in the Bronze Age involved techniques remarkably similar to those used by modern hand-building potters. From clay preparation to vessel construction, firing and decoration, the prehistoric pottery’s methods were both intricate and effective, ensuring the creation of durable and functional ceramics.
Join the AMS Post-Excavation Team in pot making! Using the coil building method, you will be able to build and decorate your own clay pot. And the fun doesn’t have to end there! You will be able to take home your beautiful creation and continue the decoration method with paints.
You can find the clay pot making booth in the Marina Park across from the Merchant’s Quay Building from 11am to 4:30pm.*
*One pot per person. While supplies last.

Open Days at the Shannon Dolphin Centre
2025-08-20 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-08-19 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-08-18 11:00 - 16:00 | Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Centre, Merchants Quay, Leadmore West, Kilrush, Clare, V15 E762, Ireland
Free guided tours and interactive activities for all ages, offering an opportunity to explore the Shannon Dolphin Centre and learn about our resident bottlenose dolphins.

Currachs, Canoes and Neamhóga of the Shannon Estuary
2025-08-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Kilrush Library, O'Gorman Street, Kilrush, V15 W577
Scattery Island Heritage Group presents Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh delivering a talk titled: Currachs, Canoes and Neamhóga of the Shannon Estuary in Kilrush Library Tuesday August 19 at 7pm. Limited seating so come early to this free event for Heritage Week,themed Exploring our Foundations.
Críostóir is an Author and Archivist for the National Folklore Collection at University College Dublin. His research interests are vernacular architecture, traditional boats and fishing, the cultural landscape (especially those of Atlantic island communities), as well as folk drama and oral literature.

Knitting and Craft Club at Kilrush Library
2025-08-19 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-08-12 18:00 - 20:00 | Kilrush Library, O'Gorman Street, Kilrush, V15 W577
The knitting & craft group meet in the library every Tuesday evening and share their crafty tips and patterns. Free event, all welcome.

The Art of Coffee Roasting
2025-08-19 17:00 - 18:00 | Jellyfish Marketplace, Merchant's Quay, Frances Street, Kilrush, V15 XW83
Coffee has been popular in Ireland since the late 1600’s, when ‘The Devil’s Drink’ would have been the preserve of the coffee houses and gentleman’s clubs of Dublin, Wexford and Waterford. Back then, coffee would have been a very strong and bitter brew.
These days, we treat our precious coffee beans with a little more care, and Ireland boasts at least 20 artisan coffee roasteries, all around the country.
Based in Birdhill, The Old Barracks is one of the finest. Join them at Jellyfish Marketplace to learn about how the Irish coffee trade has grown, and how expert roasters get the best out of their beans – and, of course, there will be lots of samples to try, so you can taste the difference for yourself!

Roots of Wisdom - Trees, Ogham and the Celtic Year
2025-08-19 15:00 - 16:30 | Kilrush Urban Orchard, The Terret, Feagarroge, Kilrush, Clare, Ireland
Join Mariia Marchenko of Moon and Sage for a tour of Kilrush Urban Orchard, where native Irish Apple and Hazel trees thrive, on the fringes of Vandeleur Wood.
Explore the deep roots of Celtic tradition through trees, ogham, and the turning of the year.
This will be an afternoon of myth, wisdom, and connection to the land.
* If the weather is bad, we will retreat to the neighbouring Turret Lodge.

Joe and Joe - Memories of Rural Life
2025-08-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Museum of Irish Rural Life, Cooraclare Road, Drimna, Kilrush
Join two well-known and well-loved Joes for a tour around the Museum of Irish Rural Life – and a good few tales to boot!
Joe Whelan is the founder and curator of the museum, and has recently overseen it’s expansion to include a new wing for tractors and agricultural machinery.
Joe Queally is a storyteller and oral historian, who collects precious stories from the old folks of County Clare, making sure that our old ways are not forgotten.
Together, they hold a treasury of knowledge of Irish country life in times gone by, which they share with such warmth and humour that the tales will stay with you forever.

Irish Language Singing Circle
2025-08-18 12:00 - 13:00 | Moon and Sage, Frances Street, Kilrush, Clare, V15 NY94, Ireland
Celebrate Heritage Week and have fun singing in circle.
We will sing simple songs ‘As Gaeilge’ – words and guidance will be available.
Déan Seachtain na hOidhreachta a cheiliúradh agus spraoi a bheith agat ag canadh i gciorcal.
Canfaimid amhráin shimplí as Gaeilge – beidh focail agus treoir ar fáil.

Weekly Woodland Walk with West Clare Mental Health Association
2025-08-18 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-08-11 11:00 - 12:00 | Vandeleur Gardens and Visitor Centre, Feagarroge, Kilrush, V15 E735
Join us for a group walk around Vandeleur Woods and Gardens.

Scattery Island Celebration 2025
2025-08-17 13:00 - 17:00 | Scattery Island Tours, Kilrush Marina, V15 AD62
The annual Scattery island graveyard mass will be celebrated by Bishop Fintan Monahan on Sunday 17th August @2.45pm.
There will be 2 ferry boat departures from Kilrush Marina at 1pm. and 2pm.
Please note that ferry boat charge applies and bookings can be made in person at the Scattery Island Tours office at Kilrush Marina

Choral Mass ~ Sr Kathleen Conway Diamond Jubilee
2025-08-17 12:00 - 13:00 | St Senan’s Catholic Church, Toler Street, Kilrush
As part of our Heritage Week celebrations, Kilrush Choir will be singing for Sr Kathleen Conway’s Diamond Jubilee Mass at 12 on Sunday 17th. The Mass will be celebrated by Bishop John Persaud and the Choir will be singing The Mass of St Cecelia and Mozarts ‘Ave Verum’.

Mermaids and Buoys, Cappagh
2025-08-17 09:00 - 10:30, 2025-08-10 09:00 - 10:30
Open water swimming, with a big meetup every Sunday and sea swims at other times throughout the week. Further details 086 8339347

Keith Donald: Music and Mayhem
2025-08-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Banner Books, 1a, Hector Street Mills, Kilrush, V15 PW83
Join legendary musician, Keith Donald, for a one-man show of readings and music as he launches his memoir, ‘Music and Mayhem’, at Banner Books Kilrush.
Keith Donald is a renowned saxophone and clarinet player who has played with some of the biggest names in Irish music, including Van Morrison, Ronnie Drew, Moving Hearts and Christy Moore. Music and Mayhem charts the immersive and explosive life of one of Ireland’s most important musicians, and the golden decade of Irish music he was at the very centre of.
Keith Donald’s story begins in Unionist East Belfast, hurtling through vivid memories of a childhood as a musical prodigy, first performing at the BBC aged ten. His story takes him to the classics department of Trinity College Dublin in the early 60s, a hotbed of new ideas, before he becomes enveloped in the beauty of tenor sax. Playing at jazz clubs by night and studying classics by day, Donald soon felt the early onset of alcohol addiction, fuelled by childhood PTSD.
The 70s saw Donald building a music career in Dublin and Europe, coping with addiction, a crumbling marriage, and forging a separate life as a qualified social worker. It was the 1980s however, when his greatest breakthrough came to pass with the formation of the Celtic rock supergroup Moving Hearts.
Video; Moving Hearts, ‘Titanic’
With the Moving Hearts Donald was tour manager, star performer and inspiration, alongside bandmates including Christy Moore and Donal Lunny. Their fusion of jazz, rock and traditional music created the soundtrack of an era and paved the way for a generation of Irish musicians.
“Not only is Keith’s book ‘Music & Mayhem’ a brilliant read about an amazing and important time in Ireland’s musical history, he also gives an electrifying, spellbinding short performance about his battles with his addictions that is compelling and ultimately triumphant. Highly recommended.” Vinny Browne, Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop
“A beautiful and engaging production, underpinned by a narrative bursting with honesty and a performance delivery of the highest quality.” The Arts Council of Northern Ireland

Exploring the Heritage of Johnnie Mack's Mud House in Tullaroe
2025-08-16 15:00 - 16:30 | Teach Ceoil, Grace St, Kilrush, Co. Clare, V15 PD89, Ireland
The home of the late Johnnie McNamara, a bachelor farmer, in Tullaroe, near Querrin, is a three-roomed, single-storey, mud, stone and concrete built house, which was thatched and has fallen into ruin since Johnnie’s death in 1981 at the age of 95. This is a vernacular house which was built by the residents at the time using local materials and traditional techniques, reflecting the specific cultural and environmental context of the area.
Historian Paddy Waldron explains that a house is shown on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of c.1840 at what has since become known as Johnnie Mack’s Cross, but was then Behan’s Cross, and previously Eyres’ Cross. Paddy has traced the inhabitants of the house and surrounding farm back to 1827, when the occupier was Thomas Eyres. The farm descended in the female line through these three surnames, while others born here emigrated to various parts of the USA, where many of their descendants live today. In 1901, eleven people lived in the three rooms, including: McNamara parents; seven children; and two of the wife’s siblings, John and Eliza Behan, who ran a shop across the road. Johnnie McNamara was the last occupant of the house and is remembered in the living history of the area today.
Paddy Waldron will give an overview of the family history of the people who lived in the house, followed by a general discussion about the neighbourhood, traditions and customs of the time.

Vandeleur Parkrun
2025-08-16 09:30 - 11:30, 2025-08-09 09:30 - 11:30 | Vandeleur Gardens and Visitor Centre, Feagarroge, Kilrush, V15 E735
A free, fun, and friendly weekly 5k community event. Walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate – it’s up to you!

Kilrush Art Group
2025-08-15 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-08-08 19:00 - 20:00 | West Clare Family Resource Centre / Kilrush Community Centre, O'Gorman Street, Kilrush, V15 VK31, Ireland
Monthly art classes with Pauline Dunleavy also available. For further details contact Pauline on 086 8339347

Thursday Tea Dance
2025-08-14 14:00 - 16:30 | West Clare Family Resource Centre / Kilrush Community Centre, O'Gorman Street, Kilrush, V15 VK31, Ireland
Bookings; 065 905 2173

Kilrush Library Uplifting Poetry Sessions
2025-08-12 18:00 - 19:30 | Kilrush Library, O'Gorman Street, Kilrush, V15 W577
Free sessions for poets and poetry lovers, on the first and second Tuesday of every month at Kilrush Library. Come to read your own poetry or to share a favourite poem by another writer.
