Kilrush.ie

Open Days at the Shannon Dolphin Centre
2025-08-19 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-08-18 11:00 - 16:00 (Europe/Dublin) | 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.

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, 2025-08-04 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, 2025-08-03 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, 2025-08-02 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, 2025-08-01 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 Farmer's Market
2025-08-14 09:00 - 14:00, 2025-08-07 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.

Knitting and Craft Club at Kilrush Library
2025-08-12 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-08-05 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.

Kilrush Library Uplifting Poetry Sessions
2025-08-12 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-08-05 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.

Monthly Birthday Party
2025-08-07 14:30 - 16:00 | West Clare Family Resource Centre / Kilrush Community Centre, O'Gorman Street, Kilrush, V15 VK31, Ireland
A celebration for everyone who has their birthday this month!

Wednesday Book Club for Children
2025-08-06 15:30 - 16:30 | Kilrush Library, O'Gorman Street, Kilrush, V15 W577
Our monthly book clubs are ideal for children who would like to read exciting new books and to discuss or listen to others’ opinions about the books. This book club is suitable for children aged 8 – 12 years.
Contact: Frances Pender (065) 905 1504 kilrush@clarelibrary.ie

Ceoil agus Tae
2025-08-01 11:00 - 12:00 | West Clare Family Resource Centre / Kilrush Community Centre, O'Gorman Street, Kilrush, V15 VK31, Ireland
