Festivals & Events on Inis Mor Island

The nightlife on Inis Mór is a highlight of any trip to Ireland. With three pubs (The Bar, Tigh Joe Mac, Tigh Joe Watty) and the Aran Islands Hotel all hosting Traditional Irish and other music and with an excellent atmosphere where locals and holidaymakers mix, a night out is definitely recommended. Also, since the Campsite has a strict policy of “no noise after 10pm”, this is an excellent choice for people who wish to party late in the evening.

An irreverent celebration of the cult TV series “Father Ted”. Not for the faint hearted, this weekend festival held in February is a non-stop, off-the-wall carousel featuring such highlights as the Lovely Girl competition, the Virtual Confession Box and Nuns v Priests Beach Volleyball.

Described as being one of the “most Irish things you will ever see”, The Aran Islands St Patricks Day Parade is a date not to be missed. Here is an interesting Article on the Festival

1/2 Marathon in aid of Temple St

Walk in aid of Pieta House charity

Classic Cars drive around the Island

National Handball Competition

This spectacular event takes place at the cliffs on the southwestern face of the island. A breathtaking drop of over 27m to a natural rock pool lashed by hugh waves for most of the year is what is expected of the divers. Part of the world tour cliff diving series, the Red Bull weekend is truly when the circus comes to town.

Ireland’s national Maritime Festival

Pátrún is a three-day festival consisting of sports, currach and Galway Hooker boat racing, tug-of-war, art and sandcastle competitions, Triathlon, traditional Irish Music on the Pier with dancing. This is the big local festival of Inis Mór and has been celebrated for centuries.

Inis Mór has always held on to the idea of what Halloween really is, a night of scares and spirits.

There has always been a major emphasis on anonymity , because the island’s population is under eight hundred, it is the perfect opportunity to dress as scarily as possible and in as much of a disguise as possible. Staying in disguise is taken more seriously than attending Sunday mass, the locals will take drastic and dramatic measures to keep up the facade.

Islanders will order drinks they would never usually order, to ensure no hints are given away as to who they are, those who never consumed alcohol before will order vodka or whiskey to keep others guessing.

The pucaí will point at a drink or write it down to avoid someone recognizing their voices, straws will be used so no masks are lifted and no face makeup is ruined and even gloves are worn in case your neighbor recognizes your hands, this all means that the night is spent trying to figure out who the zombie fisherman with the pint of Guinness is or who the sean-chailleach dancing on the table is.

Because so many of the islands younger adult population goes on to third-level education, while the traditions remain, the crowd has been lacking in recent years.

This will be a weekend long celebration, kicking off on Friday evening.