October-November 2026

The 2026 Mayo Dark Sky Festival will take place from Friday 30th October to Sunday 1st November, in Newport, Mulranny and Ballycroy and is celebrating its 10th year of existence

The festival will explore Astronomy, Biodiversity and Culture through educational talks, guided walks, visual arts, music and a planetarium.

November is one of the best months for stargazing the nightscapes because of its dark skies. Beautiful celestial bodies like Orion, Cassiopeia, double star Albireo, the Pleiades star cluster, the Summer Triangle, the Big Dipper, the planet Saturn with its rings and the MIlky Way can clearly be seen.

The 2026 programme include:

• Opening Night Reception
• Dark Sky Walk
• Friday Stargazing
• Planet Champion Workshop
• Seashore Safari
• Saturday Planetarium Shows
• Discovery, Demotion and New Horizons
• Saturday Guided Walk
• Thriving in Darkness- Unlocking the Lives of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises
• The Voyager Golden Record-Reimagined For Our Time
• Talk by Darragh Ennis
• Dusking Event At The Hug
• Gala Dinner
• Saturday Night Stargazing
• Touching The Asteroid, free film
• Successfully Navigating A Career in Wildlife Without A Sence of Direction
• Lego Workshop with Mixies Brixies
• Space Lego: A Behind the Scenes Look at tHow Space Telescopes Get Built
• Sunday Guided Walk
• Sunday Planetarium Shows
• Earth, A Cosmic Spectacle
• What The Camera Sees: Photographing The Night We’re Trying to Protect
• The Woodcock: Ireland’s Secret Nightime Wader
• Talk by John Zarnecki
• Talk by Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell
• Lantern Walk
• Finale Concert with Jack L