Galway's event calendar is absolutely bursting with events and festivals all year long! So, to help you make the most of what’s going on, we’ve put together a must-read guide featuring the top 20 events you won’t want to miss this month. From family-friendly events to live entertainment, there’s something for everyone - so dive in and start planning your next great Galway experience right here..
Below is just a snippet of everything Galway has to offer event-wise in the month ahead. If you would like a full list of all the wonderful events Galway has on, please check out our website at; https://thisisgalway.ie/events/.
Galway Theatre Festival
When: Running until May 9th
Where: Venues around Galway city
More information here
Across the first nine days of May, Galway Theatre Festival will give its audiences the chance to encounter work that draws on music, dance, circus, puppetry and spoken word, all grounded in live performance and storytelling. This year’s programme reflects the energy and originality of Galway’s artistic community, with over 60% of the line-up created by Galway-based performers and companies. It brings together a wide range of work across the city’s venues, offering festivalgoers the chance to engage with theatre that is intimate, physical, visual and richly layered.
Leon Stax Album Launch Tour
When: May 8th, at 8pm
Where: The Loft at Seven
More information here
Leon Stax are launching their new album in style on their home turf in Galway city. With support from Cherry Pickers and Entertainment Purposes on the stage of the Loft, Galway. A night of sweet music is sure to ensue! This is the 3rd studio album from LSE titled In View. Producing it was their first time working in other people's studios(Monique, Cork/Arthouse, Kildare) but is still entirely self produced and mixed by bandleader Leon Stax and Keys/guitarist Aidan Duffy. The album is a collection of all originally composed songs rather than any conceptual interplay between the songs and their themes. It is made up of soul songs with rock, blues and jazz flavours and an overall upbeat and punchy energy. The music was mostly recorded live with minimal overdubbing.
Headfest
When: May 29th - 31st
Where: Headford
More information here
Headfest, Headford’s community-run festival, returns for this May with a packed three night music line-up that brings some of Ireland’s best folk, rock, trad and dance acts to the Headfest stage. The music programme begins on Friday night with a double-bill featuring Derek Warfield & The Young Wolfe Tones [pictured below] and All Folk’d Up, along with support from local band, The JAB Band. Saturday night turns up the volume with a double-bill from Ireland’s premier Queen tribute act, Qween and Jenny Greene. Sunday night closes the weekend with an eclectic mix of trad, folk and contemporary sounds. Ruaile Buaile take the stage with their upbeat twisted-trad style, supported by Tradstone, a lively trad rock and folk group from Tipperary and Galway. The night finishes with The Tav Jam Band, a nine piece collective of musicians from Campbells Tavern who bring an energetic mix of rock, blues and reggae. Hit the link above for all tickets and for more information.
All Ages Show: Grace by Jeff Buckley
When: May 9th, at 6pm
Where: Róisín Dubh
More information here
Steven Sharpe, fresh from his Olympia Theatre debut with the Led Zeppelin tribute show Whole Lotta Zepp, has just unveiled a brand new live project. This month he will take to the road with a full band to perform a powerful tribute to Grace, the legendary 1994 debut album from Jeff Buckley, with a special all ages show taking place on May 9th. For Steven Sharpe, Jeff Buckley’s Grace is more than a masterpiece. It is an album that shaped him as a singer and performer, making this tribute both a creative challenge and a personal homage. This show will feature full live performances of celebrated tracks including “Hallelujah”, “Grace”, “So Real”, “Last Goodbye” and “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over”, along with other selections from Buckley’s repertoire. The tribute aims to transport audiences through the atmosphere and artistry that made Grace a defining work of the 1990s. With a top-tier band and a singer capable of delivering one of rock’s most revered vocal catalogues, this is set to be an unmissable celebration of a truly iconic album.
Doireann ní Ghríofa in conversation with Tómas Kenny
When: May 14th, at 6pm
Where: Kennys Bookshop
More information here
Award-winning Irish author Doireann ní Ghríofa will be at Kennys Bookshop on May 14th, joining Tomás Kenny in conversation about her new book ‘Said the Dead’. Tickets for this event are free but limited. A work of sublime intensity and tenderness, Said the Dead breaks the boundaries between worlds — past and present, imagined and real — to make something lasting and new: an experience full of danger, full of love and full of truth. About: In the city of Cork, a derelict Victorian mental hospital is being converted into modern apartments. One passerby has always flinched as she passes the place. Had her birth occurred in another decade, she too might have lived within those walls. Now, she notices a sign: FOR SALE. It is the first of many signs. Following them, she finds herself drawn into an irresistible river of forgotten voices, those of the women who knew this place best: insistent, vivid and true. They murmur from archives and old records; they whisper from stairwells and walls. Among them – and in one figure in particular — she may find meaning, solace, rage; her own salvation, perhaps, or her own vanishing?
Supper Club - Seasonal Dinner Evening
When: May 16th, at 7pm
Where: Brigit’s Garden
More information here
You are warmly invited to a special night of seasonal dining at the popular Supper Club in the Café at Brigit’s Garden. The evening will feature the best local ingredients cooked and presented with flair by chefs Aitor Escudero and Sarah McArdle. There will be a set menu (an amuse-bouche, starter, main, dessert & tea/coffee with petit fours), themed to showcase the best fresh produce of the season, complimented by seasonally decorated tables. Arrival is at 7pm for drinks and mingling (if you wish), with dinner to start at 7.30pm. These events have sold out quickly in the past so if you would like to attend get your tickets asap.
EDGE26 - Ireland’s Creative Economy Summit
When: May 21st, 9am - 4.30pm
Where: Dexcom Stadium
More information here
As Ireland’s Creative Economy Summit, EDGE26 will focus on building globally competitive digital creative industries through enterprise, innovation and IP-driven growth. Taking place in Dexcom Stadium this May, it positions the West and North-West of Ireland at the centre of the national and international creative economy conversation, with an emphasis on the digital creative industries including film and TV, animation, games, immersive technology, design, and music technology. The summit convenes creative entrepreneurs, founders, studio leads, technology innovators, investors, policymakers, researchers and enterprise development leaders for a day of insight, connection, and collaboration. The day’s programme will highlight thought leadership, commercial case studies, and policy perspectives shaping the future of the creative economy in Ireland and globally.
Little John Nee presents Johnny Gotta Bus Pass
When: May 11th - 21st, at 8.30pm
Where: Town Hall Studio
More information here
Little John Nee continues his celebration of 40 years in Galway with “Johnny Gotta Bus Pass”, a tale of endurance and a compulsion to create, a show about anarchy and personal responsibility, autobiographical in content and neurodivergent by nature. Little John Nee is a writer and theatre-maker whose original works have been a distinctive presence in Irish theatre for more than four decades, developing a prolific repertoire of solo shows and collaborations. His work defies genre and dances between worlds; blending clown, lyrical monologue, original song, and quiet anarchy into something unmistakably his own, rooted in tradition but wildly imaginative.
Galway Potters Market
When: May 30th + 31st, 10am - 6pm
Where: Eyre Square
More information here
Galway Potters Market is back in Eyre Square this May to celebrate 16 years of Irish ceramics. Potters and ceramic artists from all over Ireland will gather over the weekend to display and sell their work. Members of the public are also invited to try their hand at clay and create a masterpiece of their own.
Local Legends Food & Wine Pairing
When: May 21st, at 7pm
Where: Tom Sheridans Bar
More information here
As part of Blas na Bealtaine, you’re invited to celebrate the very best of local produce and producers at Tom Sheridans Bar. This will be an unforgettable evening celebrating Galway’s vibrant food scene, featuring a carefully curated four-course menu with wines. At this event you will indulge in a thoughtfully curated four-course menu showcasing some of Galway’s most notable suppliers, with a focus on seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. Each dish is expertly paired with a complementary wine, carefully selected to enhance and elevate every flavour. Come along on May 21st to sip, savour and celebrate the local legends who continue to shape Galway’s vibrant food story.
Turas Fíona: Wines of Central Europe with Cathal McBride & Zsolt Lukás
When: May 11th, at 7pm
Where: Daróg Wine Bar
More information here
Turas Fíona returns to Daróg Wine Bar as part of Blas na Bealtaine, A Taste of Galway, a month-long celebration of Galway’s vibrant food culture and culinary talent. On May 11th, Daróg invites guests to explore the Wines of Central Europe with Daróg owner and Michelin Sommelier of the Year 2025, Zsolt Lukács, joined by Galway-based food and wine writer Cathal McBride. This special evening will focus on the character, diversity and heritage of Central European wines, a region close to Zsolt’s own roots and one that continues to shape Daróg’s wine philosophy. Guests will enjoy a curated wine flight of five wines, paired with a cheese board, while Zsolt and Cathal share insights into the regions, grape varieties and winemaking approaches, alongside reflections on the relationship between wine and food.
Drag Brunch
When: May 23rd, 3-5.30pm
Where: Monroe’s Tavern
More information here
Looking for unforgettable things to do in Galway in May? Come along to the ultimate Galway Drag Brunch, where fierce queens, cheeky laughs, and killer tunes collide! Hosted at the iconic Monroe’s, this Drag Brunch Galway features outrageous Drag Queen Bingo, tasty bites, and a dazzling Cabaret Drag Show Galway that’ll have you singing along from start to finish. Whether you’re planning a birthday, craving the best brunch in Galway, or searching for fun, fab Galway hen party ideas, this is the daytime party Galway has been waiting for. Add some sparkle to your weekend with the Drag Show Monroe’s Galway, it’s one of the top events Galway has to offer.
Alan Stivell - 60 Years - Croí agus Ainm
When: May 26th, at 7.30pm
Where: St Nicholas Collegiate Church
More information here
In the unique setting of the St Nicholas Collegiate Church, Róisín Dubh presents Alan Stivell’s Heart & Soul/Croi Agus Ainm, celebrating sixty years. Accompanied by a magnificent keyboardist, Tangi Miossec, Alan will sing in Breton, but also in Irish, Welsh, English, and French. Because while Alan Stivell’s world revolves around a center Brittany (and, more broadly, Celtica) it’s a world without external boundaries. This show is a chance for him to once again reconnect with Irish audiences and is certain to be a performance that resonates with you long after the night ends.
above: photo by Isabelle D. & Jean-Michel Jarry | Couverture Photo
Over the Top Wrestling: Live in Galway
When: May 23rd, at 7pm
Where: Black Box Theatre
More information here
Over the Top Wrestling makes its long-awaited return to Galway for the first time in ten years, bringing a blockbuster night of world-class professional wrestling to the Black Box Theatre. Featuring a stacked roster of Irish and international talent, on the night expect high-stakes championship bouts, bitter rivalries, and jaw-dropping athleticism. Whether you’re a lifelong fan or brand new to the action, this is your chance to experience the intensity, drama and spectacle of live wrestling up close. This event is sponsored by Sally Longs Rock Bar.
AfroFusion: A Day-to-Night Afro Party
When: May 16th, from 3pm
Where: Electric
More information here
Rhythm & Roots (RnR) in collaboration with AfropopCity and Electric are bringing Galway a day to night party that you do not want to miss. A vibrant celebration of African music, culture, food, and entertainment, the party begins with relaxed daytime vibes and builds into an electrifying late-night party. From the latest hits from across Africa to live performances, delicious food, and interactive games, this is a full cultural experience. Whether you’re coming to enjoy the atmosphere during the day or to dance into the early hours of the morning, AfroFusion promises great music, amazing energy, and unforgettable moments.
National Theatre Live: The Playboy of the Western World
When: May 28th, at 7pm
Where: Eye Cinema
More information here
Coming to Eye Cinema Galway for one night only is John Millington Synge’s ‘The Playboy of the Western World’, as directed by Caitríona McLaughlin at the National Theatre. Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton) joins Éanna Hardwicke (The Sixth Commandment) and Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls) in Synge’s riveting play of youth and self-discovery. Pegeen Flaherty’s life is turned upside down when a young man walks into her pub claiming that he’s killed his father. Instead of being shunned, the killer becomes a local hero and begins to win hearts, that is until a second man unexpectedly arrives on the scene…
above: photo by Marc Brenner
Nineteen Eighty Something: A Memoir
When: May 12th, at 8pm
Where: Town Hall Theatre
More information here
‘In the middle of the night in 1981, a young Irish migrant is woken by a strange woman in a German underground station. She tells him to run, run quickly…. And so begins nine years of running and searching: for love, work, hope.’ Written and performed by Declan Gorman, Nineteen Eighty Something is a wildly entertaining autobiographical tale hurtling from the squats, factories and bars of Germany to the Moroccan deserts and home to a new life in fringe theatre and protest politics in Ireland. It’s a time of mass unemployment, migration, hunger strikes, miners’ strikes, Reagan and Thatcher, anti-apartheid and miscarriage of justice campaigns. With video montage, movement, pumping 80s sounds, moments of high comedy interlaced with times of anxiety and recovery, Gorman recreates a decade of global and Irish political upheaval in a visceral live performance.
Galway Early Music Festival
When: May 22nd - 24th
Where: St Nicholas Collegiate Church
More information here
Celebrating 30 years of early music in Galway, this year’s Galway Early Music Festival – the third festival presented by Resurgam in its dual role of festival producer and host ensemble – focuses on public engagement through performing platforms for local choirs and ensembles, collaborative partnerships, participatory workshops, opportunities for audience participation and performances by internationally-acclaimed artists. As part of an array of national and international artists for GEMF’s 30th festival, Resurgam is teaming up with the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble (ECSE) and Galway’s new baroque instrumental ensemble Vespera. Other performers include St Patrick’s Brass Band, St. Nicholas’ Schola Cantorum, Vox Orbis and the Galeon Ensemble. To see the full festival programme visit the link above.
Live Portrait Sketching: Sketch or Be Sketched
When: May 16th, 12-2pm
Where: Galway City Museum
More information here
Celebrate creativity this National Drawing Day, an initiative of the National Gallery of Ireland, with a relaxed and engaging portrait drawing session at Galway City Museum. At this event you can join artist Catherine Creaven for a live portrait sketching session exploring the possibilities of observational drawing from life. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist, this relaxed session offers a chance to practice, experiment, and enjoy the process of drawing from life in a supportive environment. For more information on how this day will unfold at the museum see the above link.
Main photo by Chaosheng Zhang.
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