Each year in the month of May, Bealtaine is presented as a nationwide festival celebrating the arts and creativity as we age. The festival, which celebrated 30 years in 2025, is an initiative of Age & Opportunity, the national organisation that promotes active and engaged living as we get older. The Bealtaine theme for 2026 is Lust for Life.
Monaghan County Council Cultural Section runs an extensive, interactive programme throughout the county in our libraries, county museum, and in partnership with cultural and community settings. To date, this programme has featured collaborative socially engaged activities/events across all artforms in a range of settings, as well as exhibitions, concerts, dance events, storytelling, theatre productions, workshops and writers’ events. Projects have been delivered in a range of care settings and in organisations in which older people are active or which work with older people, e.g. Active Retired groups, resident’s associations, libraries, book clubs, choirs, Men’s Sheds, ICA etc.
Monaghan County Council is inviting Expressions of Interest for events to take place during Bealtaine 2026 in locations in county Monaghan. This call is open to artists, creatives born or based in County Monaghan and community groups in Monaghan who work with older people.
Deadline for submissions is 1pm Friday 6th March 2026
Enquiries should be sent to culture@monaghancoco.ie