2025 Programme launched!

Mayo Dark Skies
Aug 17
2 min read

THANK YOU to everyone who came along for our Festival programme launch in the W Cinema Westport yesterday Saturday 16 August. We had such an enthusiastic crowd, and we all got to enjoy w special screening of Episode 2 of 'Ireland's Wild Islands' featuring the counties of Mayo, Galway and Clare on the B I G S C R E E N!

Director John Murray of Crossing the Line Films and presenter Eoin Warner were in attendance and shared their behind the scenes insights into the making of this very special, award winning programme, and of course the audience got to ask lots of interesting questions.

The event also included the launch of the ALAN 2025 Conference which will take place 28 - 31 Oct in the Westport Woods Hotel - which is shaping up to be the largest International ALAN Conference to date!

As far as the Mayo Dark Sky Festival goes, we can now start revealing the speakers and other events for our 2025 Festival! These include...

Head of the Event Horizon Team in the University of Amsterdam SERA MARKOFF with all the latest learnings about Black Holes
Writer, broadcaster and sound recordist SEAN RONAYNE on bird sounds of Ireland
Highly respected and internationally renowned organic gardening and farming expert KLAUS LAITENBERGER, with a talk about biodynamic gardening
BRENDAN OWENS, Astronomer Emeritus at Greenwich Observatory, talking about human space exploration on the Moon and Mars
Childrens show exploring the Solar System with DECLAN HOLMES of Science Ireland
FREE guided planetarium shows daily on Saturday and Sunday
Seashore Safari with Marine specialist CONOR RYAN
PETER GALLAGHER of DIAS (Dublin Institute of Advance Studies) talking about the historic Astronomical Observatories of Armagh, Birr and Dunsink and their UNESCO journey
LANTERN WALK to St Patricks Church featuring handmade large scale lighting sculptures by artist TOM MESKELL
Finale Concert by the incomparable KILA!