2021 Festival update, and dates announced for 2022

Greetings from Mayo

We just wanted to let you know that this year's Mayo Dark Sky Festival, which was due to take place 29-31 October, will not go ahead as originally planned.

We have been trying to find a way to proceed with a hybrid festival of online and physical events, but, with the ever-evolving landscape of Covid restrictions, this has just proven unworkable.

The 2020 Virtual Dark Sky Festival was a great success, with over 1,300 people registering for our one-day online event. The stunning natural skies of Mayo, home to Ireland’s first internationally recognised dark sky park, were celebrated in 25 countries across the globe, which brought us such joy in the midst of strict lockdowns.

We are sad not to be hosting a festival this year, but feel it is the right decision and that we need to play our part as the world transitions slowly out of this global pandemic. We cannot wait to welcome people back to our communities and share our passion for unpolluted dark skies with as many people as possible. I am delighted to say that all of the speakers we had lined up for virtual talks have already signed up to speak in person at our 2022 Festival, which will take place 4 – 6 November 2022 across many venues along Mayo’s coastline, including Newport, Mulranny and Ballycroy.

If you do happen to be in Mayo next weekend, we have organised some low-key social events in venues around the Park. These events will adhere to prevailing covid restrictions, and more details will be announced in the coming days.

Wishing you all good health and clear skies!

Fiona, Georgia, and all the Festival committee