Plot a passage to Ireland for great literary festivals
Book lovers and travellers seeking a unique cultural experience will find plenty of literary festivals to enjoy on the island of Ireland.
Dublin Book Festival, Dublin City
As World Book Day again puts the focus on the joy of reading, lovers of literature should consider planning a visit to Ireland, which has a rich literary history stretching back to its seventh-century illuminated manuscripts. Irish writers have produced some of the world’s most beloved and respected books, poetry and plays and a love of language is part of the Irish psyche.
In Ireland, the chance to gather readers and writers to celebrate and explore literature old and new is always welcome and the island hosts a number of internationally respected literary festivals.
Dublin, a UNESCO City of Literature, which has produced four Nobel Prize for Literature winners alongside literary giants such as James Joyce and Oscar Wilde, is brimming with literary experiences but its Bloomsday Festival (11–16 June) is a highlight. This celebration of Joyce’s Ulysses is six days of readings, performances, tours, exhibitions, lectures, film and music. The city really gets into character with locals and visitors dressing in Edwardian clothes to mark the occasion.
Before then, the capital will host the International Literature Festival Dublin (16–25 May), which presents a mix of writers, speakers and creatives from around the world in readings, conversations, debates, screenings, podcasts and broadcasts. The event attracts some of the top contemporary writing talent and is attended by over 30,000 people.
Borris House, Borris, Co Carlow
W B Yeats is the inspiration for the Yeats Day Festival (11–16 June), a collection of poetry readings, talks and lectures, which takes place in the Yeats Building in Sligo, the town where the renowned poet and playwright is buried. It is run by the Yeats Society which organises events year-round including a summer school, tours of the landscape that inspired Yeats and visual art exhibitions in the Hyde Bridge Gallery.
Also in June (6–8) is the Festival of Writing and Ideas which is held in the beautiful surroundings of Regency-era Borris House. The magnificent manor sits at the foot of the Blackstairs Mountains in County Carlow and was once the seat of the high kings of Leinster. This unique festival features over 70 speakers from across the world representing many disciplines from poetry to politics, music and science who deliver insightful lectures and engage in stimulating discourse.
Dalkey Book Festival, Dalkey
Two great book festivals also take place in June.
Dalkey Book Festival, which writer Salman Rushdie described as "the best little festival in the world” celebrates its fifteenth year in 2025. Over the years it has featured some of the world’s leading writers and thinkers including Bernie Saunders, Colm Tóibín and Anne Enright. As the birthplace of George Bernard Shaw, picturesque Dalkey is the perfect place for book lovers to gather.
Belfast Book Festival (5–12 June) features poetry slams, workshops, live music, book talks and the Mairtín Crawford Awards 2025 for Short Story and Poetry. Taking place mostly in Belfast’s lively Crescent Arts Centre, the festival has events for both adults and children and celebrates the art of storytelling.
And among other literary events on the island are the Franco-Irish Literary Festival (27–29 March) in Dublin which blends French and Irish literary culture and Cúirt International Festival of Literature (8–13 April) in Galway, which in 2025 will celebrate its 40th year of championing new writers.