Get ready for a feast of festivals

There's something for everyone in Catherine Foley's selective guide to the season of summer schools and festivals which kicks off this month

MAY

Bealtaine Festival, May 1-31
Celebrating creativity in older age, this festival takes place at venues across the country with a variety of groups, such as the US-based Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (which will be at Dunamaise Arts Centre, Portlaoise, and at Source Arts Centre, Thurles) and Magic Me, a UK-based company set up in 1989 to run intercultural, intergenerational projects, which will be in Co Sligo. Events include picnics, exhibitions, drama, song and storytelling. Tel: 01-8057704  www.bealtaine.com

International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, May 5-18
Now in its fifth year, this festival presents work from four continents, with 34 Irish, European and world premieres of drama, music, opera and cabaret. There are plays that deal with race, religion, the Iraq war and the Holocaust, and with historical figures such as Truman Capote and Countess Markiewicz. The cabaret element includes music at the Cobalt Cafe on North Great George's Street and a transsexual drag show from Adelaide. A free seminar will be held in Trinity College on Sunday, May 11, at noon. Tel: 01-6778511  www.gaytheatre.ie

The Trevor/Bowen Summer School 2008, May 23-25
Organised by the Mitchelstown Literary Society, this festival will have speakers including Irish Times columnist Fintan O'Toole, who will discuss William Trevor, and Martin Mansergh, who will talk about Elizabeth Bowen. Other guests include Prof Maurice Harmon, Louis Redmond and Irish Times literary editor Caroline Walsh, who will be speaking about her mother, the short-story writer, Mary Lavin.
Tel: 025-85972 or 086-2420411  www.mitchelstownliterarysummerschool.com

Féile na Tuaithe, May 24-25
Turlough Park is the setting for this National Museum of Ireland (Country Life) festival in Castlebar, Co Mayo, now in its fourth year. It offers craft demonstrations, storytelling events, traditional games, music and a craft and food market. More than 12,000 visitors attended last year. A free shuttle bus will run between Castlebar and Ballyvary. Tel: 094-9031773 www.museum.ie

Writers' Week, May 28-June 1
Listowel, Co Kerry, is now gearing up for its 38th year of literary exuberance. This "Kerry week" will be opened by Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney. It boasts 14 workshops (all fully booked before the end of April), a range of readings, signings, screenings, exhibitions, concerts, broadcasts, theatre, lectures and tours. Literary giants lined up to attend include Anne Enright, John Banville, Per Petterson, Hugo Hamilton, Pat Boran, John F Deane, Lloyd Jones and Diarmaid Ferriter. Tel: 068-21074  www.writersweek.ie

Smithwick's Cat Laughs Comedy Festival, May 28-June 2
Kilkenny will welcome 61 comedians to its streets for the 15th year of the Cat Laughs. Irish favourites Tommy Tiernan, Jason Byrne, Colin Murphy and Neil Delamere are all booked in, while Lee Mack and Arj Barker from the US, Shappi Khorsandi from Iran, Craig Hill from Scotland, Tom Stade from Canada and Andy Parsons from England are all returning to perform. Up to 25,000 visitors are expected at 13 venues. Tel: 056-7763837  www.smithwickscatlaughs.com

Docklands Maritime Festival, May 30-June 2
Last year, this open-air festival in the heart of Dublin attracted a record 70,000 visitors. One of the best features is likely to be the great fleet of Tall Ships, including the Lord Nelson, Kaskelot, Atlantis and Artemis, as well as two Irish vessels, the Jeanie Johnston and the Asgard, which will be open to the public. There will be an open market, street entertainment from Spraoi, a River Liffey taxi service and plenty of music. The weekend is the first in a programme of events under the Down at the Docklands banner (city residents can also look forward to the We Are Here 3.0 Festival from June 23 to July 5) and the Analog Festival from July 18 to 20.  www.dublindocklands.ie

JUNE

Éigse Carlow Festival, June 7-15
The 29th Éigse features a number of collaborations between groups and individuals from different disciplines, such as choreographer Liz Roche and composer Micheál Ó Súilleabháin, who have created a new dance piece, and Altan and the Carlow Young Artists Choir, who will stage a concert in Carlow Cathedral. Sean-nós singer Iarla Ó Lionaird and fiddle player Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh will also appear. Tel: 0818-205205  www.eigsecarlow.ie

Spréacha, June 9-15
Fingal's international arts festival for children in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, welcomes theatre companies from Denmark, Scotland, Canada, the Netherlands and the US. The fifth family-centred festival will also feature circus acts, visual art and storytelling. Tel: 01-8852622  www.draiocht.ie

Bloomsday Festival 2008, June 9-16
This will take place in Dublin city centre, Dún Laoghaire and Dundrum, and includes the Bloomsday breakfast and various outdoor readings across the city. Senator David Norris will perform his one-man show at the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire. The James Joyce Centre will host Bloomsday teas. The Mill Theatre in Dundrum is presenting a musical reading of Himself and Nora, a Broadway musical. Tel: 01-8788547  www.jamesjoyce.ie

Dublin Writers Festival, June 11-15
Forty writers are due to take part in what has become an established element of the city's cultural calendar under the guardianship of Dublin City Council's Jack Gilligan. This year's events include a debate on Irish values with Roy Foster, Ivana Bacik, Alan Gilsenan and David McWilliams, a conversation between crime writer Ian Rankin and novelist and screenwriter Colin Bateman, and Tony and Bafta award-winning playwright Tom Stoppard talking about his career. A special event, Laying the Troubles to Rest, will look beyond the politics in Northern Ireland with Susan McKay, Catherine McCartney, Carlo Gébler and Patrick Maguire. There will be a retrospective look at the career of JP Donleavy, author of The Ginger Man. Tel: 01-2227850 www.dublinwritersfestival.com

Cork Midsummer Festival, June 15-July 5
Cork City promises 21 days of "music and mayhem", as well as a new production from Corcadorca Theatre Company of the Eugene O'Neill play, The Hairy Ape, the Abbey's production of Conor McPherson's play, The Seafarer, and the theatrical carnival, Sensazione, which will also perform at the Earagail Arts and Clonmel Junction festivals this year. The German rock band, Faust, will make its first appearance in Ireland at the festival's Spiegeltent and Camille O'Sullivan plans to sing her way into festival-goers' hearts. Tel: 021-4215131  www.corkfestival.com

Pipeworks Festival, June 20-29
This international organ competition, running since 1980, will include masterclasses and recitals with Daniel Roth, David Higgs, Hans Fagius and Margareta Hurholz. Tel: 085-7868860 www.pipeworksfestival.com

Darklight Festival, June 26-29
Held at a number of Dublin venues, this event celebrates cutting-edge film, animation, art and technology, with screenings, seminars and workshops, including a special focus on award-winning British film-making outfit Warp Films, as well as a retrospective of the work of Irish artist and film-maker Paddy Jolley. Other features include Straylight, a visual art trail, the debut of the Irish Film Board's Virtual Cinema shorts and a series of events devoted to computer gaming past, present and future. Tel: 01-6709017  www.darklight.ie

Byrne Perry Summer School, June 27-29
Gorey, Co Wexford, is the venue for this school, now in its 13th year, and the theme this time is: From "Murder Machine" to Modern Education? The opening address will be delivered by Lord Paul Bew, professor of politics at Queen's University Belfast. Senator Joe O'Toole will give the Gordon Wilson Memorial Lecture. Other speakers include Danny O'Hare, former president of DCU; Prof John Coolahan; Ciaran Sugrue, of the University of Cambridge: and Caitríona Ruane MLA, Minister for Education in Northern Ireland. Tel: 053-9421248  www.byrneperry.ie

JULY

Cairde Summer Festival, July 2-12
Sligo town will welcome artists such as Indian slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya and Moroccan desert troupe Groupe Lakrab to Cairde this year, and will host a series of Polish theatre readings, New Frontiers. The 10-day festival includes theatre, art, children's and family events and street entertainment.
Tel: 071-9170431  www.cairdefestival.com

Clonmel Junction Festival, July 5-13
Now in its eighth year, the festival will include shows from the US, Belgium, Switzerland, the UK and Ireland. Malawian band Mind Body and Soul, winner of the east African-based 2007 Music Crossroads Festival, is coming to perform with Maslow, a young rock band from Clonmel. The line-up also includes the prize-winning theatrical carnival, Sensazione; a new show by choreographer David Bolger; and folk bands from Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Spain, Scotland and Norway. Tel: 052-29339
www.junctionfestival.com

Willie Clancy Summer School, July 5-13
Held annually in Miltown Malbay, Co Clare, in memory of local piper Willie Clancy, this school has become a mecca for traditional musicians and singers, attracting 1,500 students last year to its 150 workshops. Tel: 065-7084281 or 065-7084148

West Cork Literary Festival, July 6-12
Bantry, Co Cork, is the setting for this year's festival, which celebrates its tenth anniversary with readings, workshops and seminars. It has invited 10 visiting authors - Joseph O'Connor, Paul Durcan, Colum McCann, Dervla Murphy, Jennifer Johnston, Carlo Gébler, John Waters, Arthur Mathews, Deirdre Purcell and Michael Collins - to reveal who their favourite authors are and the best book they've read. Tel: 027-61157   www.westcorkliteraryfestival.ie

Dublin James Joyce Summer School, July 6-12
Under the directorship of Prof Anne Fogarty, and run by UCD in partnership with Boston College, the James Joyce Centre and the National Library of Ireland, this year's summer school will include lectures on Joyce and Roger Casement from Maria McGarrity, on Joyce and the Spectral from Luke Gibbons, and on Hollywood and Joyce from Morris Beja. Taking place in Newman House, it will be opened by Irish Timesliterary editor Caroline Walsh. Tel: 01-7168159  www.joycesummerschool.ie

Galway Film Fleadh, July 8-13
The 20th fleadh will feature a selection of documentaries and feature films from around the world. There will be masterclasses for directors, screenwriters and actors, and director Ted Braun will present his film, Darfur Now. Other features include Stanislow Mucha's Nadzieja and Andrei Wadja's Kathyn (both Polish). New Zealand films will include the Sundance Audience Award-winning No 2, directed by Toa Fraser, and Out of the Blue b, directed by Robert Sarkies. The recipient of the Irish tribute this year will be Peter O'Toole. Tel: 091-751655 or 085-7150673  www.galwayfilmfleadh.com

Dublin Circus Festival, July 10-13
This is an outdoor explosion of street theatre and circus performances, which takes place in Meeting House Square and other locations in Dublin's Temple Bar. Tel: 01-6772255  www.templebar.ie

Earagail Arts Festival, July 10-20
This takes place in venues throughout Co Donegal and celebrates its 20th year by premiering four new works: a specially commissioned piece of music from Dónal Lunny; a collaboration between local artists' group An Cosán Glas and Portuguese artist Victor Gama to create a new public interactive sound sculpture on Magheroarty Beach in Gortahork; a retrospective exhibition on the founder of Op Art, Victor Vasarely, at the Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny; and a new production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The festival will host more than 100 events in 15 different locations , including concerts by traditional musicians as well as post-punk performers The Fall and British singer/songwriter Richard Hawley. Tel: 074-9168800  www.eaf.ie

Kinsale Arts Week, July 12-20
Festivities in Kinsale will kick off with Ska Cubana and El Guayabero from Cuba, playing on the battlements of the impressive Charles Fort, while Elkie Brooks will give her only concert in Ireland. Also, the Scottish artist Anya Gallaccio is set to create a site-specific installation at Charles Fort. Tel: 021-4700010  www.kinsaleartsweek.com

MacGill Summer School, July 13-19
Playwright Brian Friel will be celebrated at Glenties, Co Donegal, in A Feast of Friel, which will include performances of some of his plays, as well as readings, lectures and workshops. Established by Joe Mulholland some 28 years ago to celebrate writer Patrick MacGill, the school can attract up to 800 visitors to one of its sessions. Tel: 074-9551103  www.macgillsummerschool.com

Galway Arts Festival, July 14-27
The City of the Tribes is about to embark on its 31st year as the location for one of the countrys biggest and most exciting festivals. There will be a big top on the banks of the Corrib, opening with a show from Australian company Circa, called By the Light of the Stars that are No Longer. There will be a new play from Enda Walsh, called The New Electric Ballroom, at Druid Theatre; music from Malawian group Tinariwen, who headlined at Glastonbury last year; the return of Dutch company Close-Act, with a new show called Rebels. The Macnas parade, with a cast of 500, will take place at night this year. Tel: 091-509700  www.galwayartsfestival.com

JFK Dunbrody Festival, July 18-20
Now in its eighth year, this is a weekend of live open-air music in New Ross, Co Wexford, with markets, street theatre, mime artists and circus acts. Sharon Shannon, Mundy, the Furey Brothers and Davey Arthur are among the musicians booked to play. Tel: 051-425239  www.jfkdunbrodyfestival.org

Éigse Eatharlaí, July 25-27
Now in its third year, the traditional music festival's focus shifts to sean-nós singing, sean-nós dancing and the Irish language. The proceedings will all be conducted in Irish, with concerts taking place at Tig Roy and workshops at Lisvernane in the Glen of Aherlow near Galbally, Co Tipperary. Participants include flautist Catherine McEvoy, harpist Cormac de Barra, fiddle player Máire Breathnach, singer Seosaimhín Ní Bheaglaoich and sean-nós dancer Máire Aine Ní Iarnáin. Tel: 062-37032 or 087-2572281  www.eatharlai.ie

Boyle Arts Festival, July 25-Aug 1
Works by more than 100 artists, including Basil Blackshaw, John Shinnors, Seán McSweeney, William Crozier and Felim Egan will feature in this year's visual arts programme. There will also be music, dance, comedy, drama and literature, with Phil Coulter, Regina Nathan, Sandra Oman, the Drawing Room Opera Company, writers John Banville and Bernard MacLaverty, and comedian Kevin McAleer. Tel: 071-9663085  www.boylearts.com

Yeats International Summer School, July 26-Aug 8
The 49th school to be held in Sligo has programmed 16 seminars, dealing with subjects such as the poet's modernity, his influence and his muses. Eighteen academic speakers from around the world, including the universities of Kentucky, Genoa and Victoria (in British Columbia), will take part. The poetry workshop over the first weekend will be led by Rita Ann Higgins, and Yeats's play, The Dreaming of the Bones, will feature at the drama workshop. Tel: 071-9142693  www.yeats-sligo.com

John Hewitt International Summer School, July 28-Aug 1
Let There be no Walls is the theme of this year's school, which is celebrating its 21st anniversary. Taking place at the Market Place Theatre in Armagh, the school is held in honour of the eponymous Northern Irish poet, born in 1907. Participants include Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney, Prof George Watson and Senator Maurice Hayes, as well as comedian Kevin McAleer and traditional musicians Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill. Conor O'Clery, formerly of The Irish Times, will give a talk called The Paradox of Walls, while the title of Prof Freddie Roken's address is The Violin Player at the Road Block. Tel: 048-90321462  www.johnhewittsociety.org

World Fleadh, July 31-August 4
Musicians including Mundy, Sharon Shannon, Shane MacGowan and Tommy Fleming will make their way year to Portlaoise this year for the third World Fleadh. As well as its session trail, with up to 15 stops along the route, and a nightly giant céilí in the specially constructed dome, there will also be a strong focus on family entertainment this year, with a world food and craft fair, theatre, a hot air balloon, puppets, a circus, a busking competition and art exhibitions. Tel: 057-8681155  www.theworldfleadh.com

AUGUST

Spraoi, Aug 1-3
Waterford's annual festival of street theatre brings carnival spectacle and colour to the Viking city. This year's line-up includes the UK-based Gandinis as well as the Flying Buttresses. Tel: 051-841808 www.spraoi.com

Kilkenny Arts Festival, Aug 8-17
Now entering its 35th year, the festival has John Williams, the American composer, conductor and pianist, as one of its headline acts. Williams composed the film scores for Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, Jurassic Park and Harry Potter, among many others, and is a five-time Oscar winner with 45 Academy Award nominations. Also at the festival will be John Anderson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and Jamie Atkins with his touring children's theatre, Circus Incognitus. Opening night will have its climax in the grounds of Kilkenny Castle. Tel 056-7763663  www.kilkennyarts.ie

Parnell Summer School, Aug 10-15
Education will be the subject of debate at Avondale House, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, this summer, under the academic direction of Prof Mike Cronin, of Boston College, Dublin, with speakers including Caitríona Ruane MLA, Northern Ireland's Minister for Education, Conor Lenihan TD, and Philip Watt, director of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism. Tel: 01-2852113  www.parnellsociety.com

Merriman Summer School, Aug 17-23
This will be the 41st gathering of the Merriman school. It will be held in Ennis, Co Clare this year, with a special focus on the heritage of Clare and Thomond. Contemporary social and cultural developments will also be addressed. The summer school is run mainly in English but includes an Irish-language strand and the option of "brush up your Irish" workshops. The school features music, set dancing, daily poetry readings and outings. Tel: 086-3820671 www.merriman.ie

Summer School of Early Irish Harp/ Scoil na gCláirseach, Aug 20-26
Now in its sixth year, the school's participating visitors will include Ann Heymann of the US, as well as historical harpist Andrew Lawrence-King of Guernsey, and Ireland's harp specialist (and the school's director), Siobhán Armstrong. Harpists come from all over the US, Europe and Japan to learn through intensive tuition, lectures, informal talks and concerts. There will also be visits to museums to view ancient instruments, and a chance to study playing techniques from medieval times to the 18th century. Tel: 051-646286 or 091-443042  www.irishharpschool.com

The Humbert Summer School, Aug 21-24
Delegates will convene at Ballina, Killala, Lacken and Kilcummin in Co Mayo for the school's 22nd year. Themes will include the challenges for Brian Cowen's Government, Bertie Ahern: Tried by Media?, Post-Lisbon Europe, and the Peace Process in the North 40 years after the Civil Rights Movement and 10 after the Good Friday Agreement. Speakers will include the school's hononary president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, John Hume, and Cardinal Seán Brady. Tel: 087-2418461

Festival of World Cultures, Aug 22-24
For the eighth time, Dún Laoghaire will become the mecca for a cross-section of exciting musicians from around the world. This year's line-up includes the headlining Sa Ding Ding, who has been described as the Chinese Björk. The 24-year-old singer fuses Chinese folk melodies with the influence of trip-hop. Hailing from a Mongolian and Chinese background, her original songs and scores feature traditional Chinese instruments, including bamboo flutes and the stringed zheng. Also due to play at the festival is the New York-based Balkan Beat Box collective, whose blend of world music rhythms comes from an array of musical influences: Mediterranean modern dance, Middle Eastern gnawa grooves, funky folk rhythms and the raucous rhymes of Brooklyn rap.  www.festivalofworldcultures.com

Desmond Greaves Summer School, Aug 29-31
To be held at the Pearse Centre in Dublin 2, the theme for the 20th school is the Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland. Tel: 087-2308330   www.greavesschool.com