Maynooth University's second Arts and Mind Festival in May

Maynooth University will host its second ever Arts and Minds Festival offering a variety of music, song, literature and exceptional performances over the festival’s four days, from 3rd to 6th May.

Arts and Minds is Maynooth University’s celebration of the best in Irish and international arts and culture, welcomes the wider community, alumni, students and staff to campus for live, in-person arts events. The festival features what promises to be a stunning performance by the multiple award-winning Irish folk duo, Ye Vagabonds, on Friday, 5th May. A special reception for alumni will also take place before the event.

On Thursday, 4th May, the Irish National Opera presents 'Sisters, Lovers and Traitors' featuring operatic highlights from Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Le Nozze di Figaro and La Clemenza di Tito with soprano Anna Devin, mezzo-soprano Sharon Carthy, bass-baritone Gianluca Margheri, and pianist Finghin Collins.

The ‘Literary Lounge’ on Saturday 6th May hosts Nicole Flattery, author of 'Nothing Special', the acclaimed novel that explores the fascinating world of Andy Warhol’s studio The Factory, famed for its wild parties in the 1960s.

This year, the festival is delighted to welcome New York Times bestselling author Deepti Kapoor whose novel, 'Age of Vice', set in New Delhi and described as “one of the most anticipated novels of 2023, as psychologically thrilling as 'The Godfather' and as viciously entertaining as 'Succession'”.

There will be poetry readings with Seán Hewitt and Lauren Lawler, and for the first time, the festival will partner with Maynooth Film For All for an opening night screening of 'Aftersun', the internationally acclaimed Paul Mescal movie, on Wednesday 3rd May.

Irish language events are also to the fore at this year’s Festival, with An Fhéile Bheag, featuring a sean-nós singing walk in the lovely campus grounds, an outdoor Irish-language arts picnic, ‘Picnic Bheag Ealaíonta’, and the Ceardlann Amharclannaíochta Irish-language Theatre Workshop, on Saturday, May 6th.

An Irish-language interdisciplinary arts event in honour of the famous Lament for Art O’Leary composed 250 years ago this year, takes place on Saturday 6th May. Rounding off the final day is a unique Irish language hip hop and electronic music rave, ‘Tráthnóinín Déanach’ with rapper and poet, Súil Amháin, and the audio visual psych collective, Tuath.

The full programme of events and Eventbrite tickets are available on the MU website at https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/arts-and-minds-festival-2023