The Festival Opening Event takes place at 7pm on Friday 31 November 2025 in Ballycroy Visitor Centre. This event will include the formal festival opening, followed by a special musical performance by internationally renowned flute player Emer Mayock.
We will conclude the evening with some refreshments, followed by 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

Schedule:
19:00 - welcome and official opening of festival
19:15 - musical performance by Emer Mayock
20:00 - refreshments in Ginger & Wild Cafe
20:30 - dark sky walk and stargazing (weather permitting!)

WEATHER PERMITTING (!), join 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 31 October AND Saturday, 1 November.

Free event, no booking required

In this practical workshop on basic astrophotography, participants will be introduced to the essential techniques and equipment needed to capture stunning images of the night sky. Drawing on his extensive hands-on experience and passion for astronomy, Stephen will guide attendees through the fundamentals of setting up a telescope and camera, choosing the right lenses and mounts, and mastering simple exposure settings for photographing the Moon, planets, and constellations. He will demonstrate a range of equipment and share practical tips to help beginners avoid common pitfalls and achieve great results, even with modest gear.

This session is ideal for anyone keen to take their first steps into astrophotography and learn how to make the most of their existing camera or telescope setup. For those with a bit more experience and knowledge, Stephn will be on hand to answer any of your questions.

Following on from themes presented at last year’s festival, sound artist Anne Marie Deacy invites you to sit beneath the stars and feel the resonance of Mayo Dark Sky Park at Wild Nephin National Park, as the vibrations of nature and time permeate the room, transmitted through sculptural forms.
An energy exchange between listener, nature & place, from spring dawns, to winter dusks, the obvious and hidden, we explore sonic snapshots of the seasonal spectrum, from one of the most unique environments in the world.
This installation is full of sonic possibilities, signs and signals. Made over a period of time in Wild Nephin National Park, it is a chance to time-hop, pause and contemplate as we listen in, not only to natural phenomena, but asks, can we also through these sounds feel the atmospheric changes, as seasons flow and day follows night. Can you hear a warm summer breeze? Or the dark chill of a winter dawn? From tunings from afar, to recordings of moss to lightning, bird song to trees, this art work explores through resonance, our own collective sensory connection to nature, the past, land, seasons, change and the cosmos.

Presented with the support of and with gratitude to Wilderland, Park Rangers at NPWS, Ballycroy Visitor Centre, Mayo Dark Sky Festival Team, Creative Ireland, Mayo County Arts Services, North Mayo Heritage Centre & artist Elaine Harrington. For more information, visit https://wilderland.ie

This soundscape will be premiered over the festival weekend with a sound sculpture installation in the glass viewing room on the rooftop at Ballycroy Visitor Centre. Anne Marie will be on-site for the festival weekend to guide people to it in small groups and answer any questions you may have.
Times: 10am-1pm & 2-5pm each day (31 Oct - 2 Nov) with a special evening viewing from 7.30-9pm on Friday 31 Oct for the festival launch event.

Throughout the festival weekend, Stephen from K-TEC TELESCOPES will be on hand in Hotel Newport to answer any of your questions about telescopes and accessories, at price points to suit all budgets. He is also happy to give advice on the right telescope for your needs.

There is not a lot that Stephen doesn't know about amateur astronomy & photography, so why not drop in and say hello?

The Irish language has beautifully descriptive words for all aspects of the sky. People have always read the sky for predicting the future, especially the weather. Folklore collected in Mayo illustrates this. Who hasn't wished upon a falling star?

The Pale Blue Dot, our 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, 15:00 and 15:30 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!

We are delighted to confirm that the Pale Blue Dot Dome is now wheelchair accessible

There is plenty of free parking at Newport National School.

Michael will be your expert companion on the guided walks around Ballycroy Visitor Centre in Wild Nephin National Park on Saturday and Sunday
Meet at the Visitor Centre on Saturday 1st November or Sunday 2nd November - TIME TBC

A revolution in the way people access and use outer space is underway. It involves a transition from a realm dominated by government actors to one of private commercial activities. This is rapidly remaking the orbital space near the Earth. Already it has begun to transform the appearance of the night sky in ways never seen before.
In this presentation I will review the history of space exploration and development up to the dawn of the satellite 'megaconstellation' era in 2019; recount the changes of the last six years; and explain the effects on various users of the night sky from professional astronomers to casual stargazers. I will describe ongoing efforts to influence both spacecraft engineering decisions and the international policy framework with the goal of reducing the impact of satellites on astronomy and the global nighttime environment. Lastly, I will look ahead toward emerging concerns in the landscape of space issues in the second half of the 2020s.

An Out of this World experience through the world of Lego! This fun workshop is aimed at children from the age of 6 - 12. It will take place in the workshop of the Mulranny Arts Centre, and last one hour.

This workshop is suitable for children age 5 plus (Lego is provided), so children can get to step out of this world and experience the dark skies through Lego.

You can build your own astronaut - or why not fly to the moon on your rocket ship (you can check out some of our Lego displays) or just simply show us your idea of what you can see in our dark skies so maybe it’s through your own lego-made telescope showing us the biggest star or planet in the sky or a rocket ship on wheels with an alien on board. Let your imagination take you beyond this world into our skies... so let’s get building!

Campaigning against light pollution through legislation, policy, and social change "Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust, works to restore and sustain invertebrate populations by identifying, reducing, and removing threats through legislative action, policy development, and public engagement.
Invertebrate populations are undergoing significant global declines, with light pollution widely recognised as one of many drivers. The disruption caused by light pollution spans behavioural and physiological responses, as well as ecosystem-level interactions, including altered patterns of competition, predation, and symbiosis.
Building on our 2011 report, A Review of the Impact of Artificial Light on Invertebrates, Buglife has led advocacy efforts to place light pollution on the policy agenda at national, European, and international levels.
This talk will provide an update on Buglife’s efforts to combat light pollution, highlighting key policy wins, challenges, and emerging opportunities. We will outline the next phase of our campaign, focusing on international policy developments, national legislative prospects, and strategies to integrate invertebrate conservation into broader environmental initiatives. By bridging science, policy, and public action, we aim to create a future where artificial light is managed responsibly to limit its impact on biodiversity.

Gretta’s talk will explore the fascinating world hidden beneath the bogs of North Mayo. She will share the story of the Céide Fields, one of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries in Ireland, and reveal how these ancient remains shed light on the lives of early farming communities. The talk will highlight the extraordinary preservation of some of the oldest known field systems in the world, offering a glimpse into the history, landscape, and people who shaped this unique heritage site.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a groundbreaking infrared observatory resulting from an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. It was designed to address some of the biggest questions in astronomy and astrophysics, including identifying the first stars in the Universe, observing the first galaxies, revealing the initial stages of star and planet formation, and probing the composition of exoplanet atmospheres.

Since its launch, JWST has consistently demonstrated its power as one of the most advanced scientific facilities ever built. In this talk Dr Kavanagh will give an overview of JWST, its journey to launch, and he will show and discuss results from this revolutionary telescope.

An exploration of the sounds of the Irish natural world after dark.

Ornithologist and sound recordist Seán Ronayne will share his experiences of recording the magical sounds of the Irish natural world.

Join in the traditional music, song and craic at the Ballycroy Community Centre (light refreshment available)

Going from the first black hole images to the first black hole movies with the Event Horizon Telescope

Black holes are a direct prediction of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, however it took the good part of a century for scientists to come to terms with their bizarre nature, and even longer to definitively prove their existence. The point of no return for light, the event horizon, is a unique feature to black holes, and its size and shape in principle tell you everything you need to know about the black hole...if General Relativity is correct. Unfortunately seeing an event horizon is a bit tricky by definition, but we can use the fact that if a black hole is embedded in surrounding hot gas as it "feeds", a very good telescope should be able to see a ring of light surrounding a dark depression. In 2017 the first campaign of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a planet-sized array of radio telescopes, managed to capture this ring image for two black holes: the monster black hole in the M87 galaxy (published 2019) and the more modest black hole in our own Milky Way's centre, Sgr A* (published 2022). Since then the EHT has been growing and improving, with many new results on these black holes, plus others where the black hole "shadow" is not visible but nearby regions of interest are. Our next goal is to make movies of these black holes, rather than single snapshots year by year. After explaining about the project and a summary of the major results so far, I will talk about the plans for the future and why movies allow us to understand much more than a single frame. Along the way I will also explain more about what black holes are and do, and what more we hope to learn about them in the coming years.

The Festival's Gala Dinner takes place in the Mulranny Park Hotel on Saturday 1 November 2025. There will be a drinks reception at 7:30pm in the hotel, followed by a three course dinner 8pm, and musical entertainment. with jazz trio 'Ain't Misbehavin'

We are honoured and delighted that Ruskin Hartley, CEO of DarkSky International, will give a short after-dinner address to the attendees

WEATHER PERMITTING (!), join 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 31 October AND Saturday, 1 November.

Free event, no booking required

​

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) on SUNDAY 2 NOVEMBER at 10AM

PLEASE NOTE - children must be accompanied by an adult for the Seashore Safari, and dogs are not permitted

At 10:00 on Sunday morning, why not drop in to Hotel Newport for a special FREE event? While Stephen Kershaw from K-TEC TELESCOPES will be on hand to show you the latest in HOME TELESCOPES and accessories, we will also be screening a one hour film.

Journey beyond Pluto to Ultima Thule, a mysterious object billions of miles from Earth. This NOVA documentary follows the New Horizons mission team's perilous attempt at the most distant flyby in NASA history. The spacecraft faces incredible risks, navigating the outer solar system's dangers.

NO NEED FOR TICKETS - JUST DROP IN TO HOTEL NEWPORT AT 10:00 SUNDAY MORNING!

The Pale Blue Dot, our 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, 15:00 and 15:30 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!

We are delighted to confirm that the Pale Blue Dot Dome is now wheelchair accessible

There is plenty of free parking at Newport National School.

Over the course of the past 70 years, much of Ireland's blanket peatlands, including those in North Mayo, have been fragmented and degraded through the planting of non-native conifer plantations for timber production. We now know that this practice has had negative impacts on many of our iconic peatland bird species, such as red grouse and golden plover.

As we begin to attempt to undo some of the damage caused by peatland afforestation, this talk will examine what we can learn from some of the earliest attempts to restore from ‘forest-to-bog’ and the effect that these projects have had on our peatland bird communities, with a view to the future and increased restoration in our landscape

Michael will be your expert companion on the guided walks around Ballycroy Visitor Centre in Wild Nephin National Park on Saturday and Sunday
Meet at the Visitor Centre on Saturday 1st November or Sunday 2nd November - TIME TBC

Together with my students Chloe Lawlor and Jake Byrne I will give insight into the recent discovery of the forming planet in the WISPIT 2 system. We will explain how such astronomical observations can be obtained and what we learn from them. We will put this discovery in the wider context of planet formation.

The talk will cover the benefits of growing our own food, some guidelines on how to do it and what crops are easiest and most prolific for a small garden. We will also discuss the bio-dynamic sowing calendar which is based on the ascending and descending moon rhythms and many bio-dynamic gardeners sow their crops accordingly.

Declan will present an interactive show aimed at families.

Go on an amazing tour of the solar system, stopping at all the planets to jump on the moon, see the sunrise on Mercury and diamonds fall from the skies of Neptune. We will discuss what would happen to us if we changed the size of the sun and explore the stars in the night sky.

It is aimed at children aged between 7 and 12 and their families
All children must be accompanied by an adult (One adult per maximum three children)

CHILDREN GO FREE - Adults can use their 1-day or 2-day ticket OR pay €5 at the door

A huge hit at our festival since 2022, Rae Jordan (nee Goddard) will be back in 2025, attending as many of the festival events as she possibly can, and creating illustrations in real time that try to capture the essence of the Mayo Dark Sky Festival. You could meet her at any of our venues, so pop over and say hi!

Join Seán on a special journey through his many writings including his latest publication “Unveiling The Sun”.

Michael Burton, in addition to his role as Director of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, is the President of the International Astronomical Union's Commission for World Heritage and Astronomy. He is leading on the Astronomical Observatory of Ireland's aspirations to seek UNESCO World Heritage inscription for the three renowned Irish observatories of Armagh, Birr and Dunsink. Earlier this year Birr and Dunsink were placed on the UNESCO Tentative List of Ireland by the Irish Government, a first step on the long road towards full inscription. His talk today will tell the remarkable story of the astronomical endeavours at the three observatories across the long 19th century and their pioneering contributions to the development of the modern astronomical observatory.

Join Wild Nephin National Park guide Martin Connor for this special workshop on native trees

What would it be like to live on the Moon, grow food on Mars, or dive into the watery depths of one of Jupiter's moons? Come and find out about ideas past, present and future that will help humans explore these strange new worlds.

This talk will feature spectacular images and videos and show how thinking about limited resources on another planet could help us live better here and protect our own planet Earth.

We close our 2025 festival with a flourish! Festival goers will take part in a very special Lantern Walk from Newport Playground, over the 19th century viaduct, and up to the iconic 100 year old St. Patricks Church, where the talented musicians of KILA will perform. The Lantern Walk will include handmade large scale lanterns created by sculptor TOM MESKELL especially for the Festival!

Schedule:
18:00 | assemble in Playground for Lantern Walk
18:30 | Lantern Walk to church
19:00 | Concert by Kila

Kíla concerts are renowned for their high energy, vibrant fusion of Irish traditional music with global influences, and captivating stage presence. They seamlessly blend various musical styles, creating a dynamic and euphoric live experience. Audience members can expect a show filled with diverse instrumentation, including traditional Irish instruments like the uilleann pipes and bodhrán alongside a drum kit and other percussive elements.

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