The Festival Opening Event takes place at 7pm on Friday 1 November 2024 in Ballycroy Visitor Centre. This event will include a drinks reception, followed by a short performance by renowned fiddle player Julie Langan, with a special dance performance by Martin Hughes. We will conclude the evening with some stargazing and a guided dark sky walk (weather permitting). Due to limited capacity at the venue, entry will be by pre-booked ticket only, price €5

WEATHER PERMITTING (!), join Derek Dempsey and members of Newport Astronomy Club for some stargazing at one of Mayo's premier stargazing sites.

Come along for a laser-pointer tour of the early November sky. The sign-post stars in the Summer Triangle and the Big Dipper will be used to show you how to easily navigate around the night sky. At the same
time, you can view the beautiful double star Albireo, and the planet Saturn and its rings, through a 9.25" SCT telescope. Suitable for all ages and levels of expertise.

Stargazing sessions will take place from 8pm to 9pm on both Friday AND Saturday, 1 & 2 November.

Free event, no booking required

STS-41-D was the 12th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the first mission of Space Shuttle Discovery. It was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on August 30, 1984, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on September 5, 1984. Three commercial communications satellites were deployed into orbit during the six-day mission, and a number of scientific experiments were conducted, including a prototype extendable solar array that would eventually form the basis of the main solar arrays on the International Space Station (ISS).

The mission was delayed by more than two months from its original planned launch date, having experienced the Space Shuttle program's first launch abort at T-6 seconds on June 26, 1984

Derek's talk will take a look back at Nasa's space shuttle programme, which lasted 30 years, launched hundreds of astronauts into space, and built the International Space Station - but at what cost?

Author Anna Levin brings her new book 'Dark Skies' to Ireland for a talk and writing workshop on sharing our dark sky stories. 'Dark Skies' explores the importance of the night sky and the stars in an over-lit world. Anna invites you to share your own experiences of dark skies through gentle and accessible writing exercises. All materials will be provided but feel free to bring a notepad and favourite pen!

Talk details to follow

The StarDome, BCO's portable planetarium will be making an appearance once again at our Dark Sky Festival! Shows will run on Saturday and Sunday (11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 14:00 and 14:30 each day), and will give you and your family the chance to discover the wonders of the night sky.

​Each show lasts 20 minutes and is FREE. With a limited capacity of 25 people per session, we suggest getting there early. If you do miss a show or it is full, you can always come back for the next one!

There is plenty of free parking at Newport National School.
Unfortunately the Dome is not wheelchair accessible

Stephen will have an array of telescopes and accessories on display in Hotel Newport, at price points to suit all budgets. He is also happy to answer any of your questions or give advice on the right telescope for your needs
There is not a lot that Stephen doesn't know about telescopes, the best accessories, and camera attachments - so why not drop in and learn from the best!

A huge hit at our 2022 and 2023 festivals, Rae Jordan (nee Goddard) will be back in 2024, attending as many of the festival events as she possibly can, and making illustrations that try to capture the essence of Mayo Dark Sky Festival. You could meet her at any of our venues, so pop over and say hi!

In 2023, with the successful launch of EIRSAT-1, Ireland became an internationally recognised space-faring nation. However, the voyage from idea to reality was fraught. Hard work, diplomacy, resilience and dedication was needed over a 6 year period from a core student team of physicists, engineers, mathematicians and computer scientists; all supported by the European Space Agency’s ‘Fly Your Satellite’ programme and UCD staff. In this talk, Prof. Lorraine Hanlon recounts just what it took for Ireland to reach orbit, for the team to put a 2kg CubeSat into orbit, and, importantly, why it all matters!

The Festival's Gala Dinner takes place in the Mulranny Park Hotel on Saturday 2 November 2024. There will be a drinks reception at 7:30pm in the hotel, followed by a three course dinner 8pm, and entertainment by musical trio The Garibaldis.

On this Seashore Safari you will explore the marine habitats at Mulranny Beach and learn
about the creatures that live there (weather permitting).

Meet your guide Conor Ryan at Mulranny Beach (main beach) at 11am on Sunday 3 November

PLEASE NOTE - children must be accompanied by an adult for the Seashore Safari

WEATHER PERMITTING (!), join Derek Dempsey and members of Newport Astronomy Club for some stargazing at one of Mayo's premier stargazing sites.

Come along for a laser-pointer tour of the early November sky. The sign-post stars in the Summer Triangle and the Big Dipper will be used to show you how to easily navigate around the night sky. At the same
time, you can view the beautiful double star Albireo, and the planet Saturn and its rings, through a 9.25" SCT telescope. Suitable for all ages and levels of expertise.

Stargazing sessions will take place from 8pm to 9pm on both Friday AND Saturday, 1 & 2 November.

Free event, no booking required

The StarDome, BCO's portable planetarium will be making an appearance once again at our Dark Sky Festival! Shows will run on Saturday and Sunday (11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 14:00 and 14:30 each day), and will give you and your family the chance to discover the wonders of the night sky.

​Each show lasts 20 minutes and is FREE. With a limited capacity of 25 people per session, we suggest getting there early. If you do miss a show or it is full, you can always come back for the next one!

There is plenty of free parking at Newport National School.
Unfortunately the Dome is not wheelchair accessible

Stellarium is an amazing software package that puts an accurate, moment by moment image of the night sky on your screen - and it's free! The workshop will take you through the basics, showing you how to get the
most from the program, before discussing some intermediate topics. Astronomical terms will be explained as they are encountered.

Feel free to bring along a device (laptop or tablet) with Stellarium installed, but this is not essential.

This workshop will run twice, on both Saturday and Sunday, from 10am to 11am each day. Both workshops are the same, so book ONE only

As seating and space are strictly limited, you must register in advance for one of these workshops, and pay a registration fee of €5 to reserve your place

What was the attraction of Antarctica for Ernest Shackleton, why have I and many others wished to follow in some of his footsteps? Why not stay at home and read a good book about polar exploration in a comfortable chair beside the fire? I shall propose some answers and pose questions.

The question of whether or not we are alone in the Universe has puzzled humanity since the time of the ancient Greeks, but the issue has become particularly relevant today, because many scientists believe that we may finally get an answer to this question in the next five to ten years. This talk will look at how life evolved on Earth, and consider what conclusions that might allow us to draw about how it might develop elsewhere. It will consider the factors that need to be present for life to appear, and how prevalent life is likely to be, given our current knowledge of the universe. Finally, the talk will consider some likely candidates for life, both in our own solar system and elsewhere, and look at the reasons why an answer to this question might not be too far away.

Details to follow

AromAtom, designed by perfumer and scientist Marina Barcenilla, is a fragrant encounter with space. Our primary aim is to demystify science by presenting it as a fun and accessible experience that everyone can participate in, regardless of age, education or background.
Using our space-scents as a tool to engage the imagination, participants are taken on a journey during which we explore the planets and moons of our Solar System, faraway galaxies and the vastness of the universe with sense of smell as our guide.

Get ready to shout your favourite warp speed catchphrase from 'engage' to 'go fast' as we explore the science behind over 58 years of treknology including the transporter, replicator, tricorder and of course the warp drive. Delivered by avid Star Trek fan and astronomy communicator, Brendan Owens, he'll take you through wormholes, time paradoxes and more to see fact and fiction collide and where real life science is starting to catch up with Star Trek films and TV. In any case, it's all sure to be... fascinating.

We close our 2024 festival with a flourish! Festival goers will take part in a Lantern Walk from Hotel Newport up to the iconic 100 year old St. Patricks Church, where the talented musicians of the Avoca String Quartet will present a 75 minute programme of music inspired by celestial majesty and fantasy, specially curated for Mayo Dark Sky Festival. Classical and cinematic music depictions of the planets, the moon and the stars will give way to epic popular music homages from Bowie and Pink Floyd, all presented in a relaxed, family-friendly concert by this versatile and dynamic four-set of two violins (Denice Doyle, Niamh McGowan), viola (Karen Dervan) and cello (David Doyle).

Full concert programme (75 minutes duration) to follow

[This event is FREE for all festival ticket holders (so hold on to those tickets/wristbands!) All others €20]