What’s on in Connaught

‘Still, We Gather’, brings together artists working across a wide range of mediums to celebrate the social and political potential of coming together, recognising gathering as a practice of care, joy, protest and collective imagination.

Developed through an open call, the exhibition brings together a constellation of contemporary Irish artists whose practices emerge from layered geographies and diverse lived experiences and whose works explore how forms of connection and resistance are sustained and reimagined across borders, cultures and times.

Image: ‘Calling the Bird Ancestors’ (2025), Dervla Baker, Marilyn Lennon & Andy Ingamells

Creative Coffee is a monthly event for artists interested in connecting with others, in a relaxed and welcoming space. Artists of all disciplines and interests are invited to attend.

Mick O’Dea is a painter and sculptor living and working in Ireland.

Past President of the Royal Hibernian Academy, a member of Aosdána, an Honorary Member of the Royal Scottish Academy, a Fellow of the Anatomical Society, Chairman of the Stamp Design Advisory Committee for An Post and a past member of the Board of Governors and Guardians of the National Gallery of Ireland.

Creative Coffee is a monthly event for artists interested in connecting with others, in a relaxed and welcoming space. Artists of all disciplines and interests are invited to attend.

Mick O’Dea is a painter and sculptor living and working in Ireland.

Past President of the Royal Hibernian Academy, a member of Aosdána, an Honorary Member of the Royal Scottish Academy, a Fellow of the Anatomical Society, Chairman of the Stamp Design Advisory Committee for An Post and a past member of the Board of Governors and Guardians of the National Gallery of Ireland.

Join us for a relaxed coffee morning tour of Inheritance. An exhibition that explores the legacies shaping our present and asks how we might create better futures for humanity.

Led by a member of our team, this easy going tour is perfect for all art enthusiasts. After the tour, enjoy further conversation over a complimentary tea or coffee. We’d be delighted to welcome you to this informal and friendly tour experience.

Every second Thursday, 11.30am
€6 pp

Tour Dates

Thu. 23 & 30 October
Thu. 13 & 27 November
Thu. 4 & 18 December

Exhibition continues from the 15th of November to the 20th of December 2025.

For this exhibition at Ballina Arts Centre, Helen Hughes presents a new body of work. Here she has limited her wide range of her materials to just three – rubber, plastic and expanding foam. This new work was influenced by the unique setting of this gallery – the strong presence of moving water, its proximity and imposing energy pervading the interior spaces. Her starting point for this work was a series of floatation devices from which the works evolved.

Exhibition continues from the 6th of December to the 21st of December 2025.

Lost in Reverie is an exhibition featuring works by artists Hermione Ruffles, Ivy Borden, Renske Boef, Sarah Deane, Síofra Egan and Tanya Chakálova. This group exhibition explores themes of nostalgia, escapism, loss and memory. Each artist draws on their unique histories and perspectives to engage with both personal and collective experiences of grief, displacement, and loss. These works deal with memory as unfixed and continuously renegotiated, asking the viewer to consider how memory and nostalgia shape our ways of relating to each other and our conceptions of home.

Solo exhibition of original work by self-taught artist Jennifer Allen. Working solely with white pencil on black paper, layering up elements to create depth and texture, her work is atmospheric and intimate, with a particular emphasis on capturing expression and character in all forms.

Jennifer has exhibited in Ireland, (solo exhibitions including ‘Out of Darkness’ and ‘Into the Light’; group exhibitions at the Frank McCourt Museum and the Georgian House, Limerick) and was guest artist at iBAM (Irish Books, Art and Music) in Chicago.

Weaving a Tale runs Monday to Friday, Dec 1st to Dec 22nd, 2025

A solo exhibition of paintings and sculptures by Emmanuel Matt, a Swiss and French artist who resides and live in North West Mayo. Opening on December 3rd. 6pm to 9pm. Exhibition from December 3rd to the 23rd. 2025.

Curated by Emer McGarry.

The exhibition spans installation, film, drawing, and sculpture, with works by Marcus Coates, Miriam de Búrca, Susan Hiller, Anna Maria Maiolino, Kathy Prendergast, Cornelia Parker, and the collaborative research project Selvagem – Cycle of Studies. Each proposes different strategies for navigating what we inherit and what we pass on.

Join us for a relaxed coffee morning tour of Inheritance. An exhibition that explores the legacies shaping our present and asks how we might create better futures for humanity.

Led by a member of our team, this easy going tour is perfect for all art enthusiasts. After the tour, enjoy further conversation over a complimentary tea or coffee. We’d be delighted to welcome you to this informal and friendly tour experience.

Every second Thursday, 11.30am
€6 pp

Tour Dates

Thu. 23 & 30 October
Thu. 13 & 27 November
Thu. 4 & 18 December

Exhibition continues from the 8th of November 2025 to the 28th of February 2026

Jack Butler Yeats (1871–1957) is one of Ireland’s most celebrated twentieth-century artists. The Niland Collection, housed at The Model, holds an extensive body of his work spanning the full arc of his career – from early pen-and-ink illustrations and lively watercolours, to the expressive oil paintings that define his mature style. ‘A Painted Universe’ invites visitors to step into Yeats’s artistic world, where memory, emotion and experience are transformed into colour, form and light.

The Model is delighted to present once more The Sunset Belongs to You – a series of portraits commissioned from two of Irelands most distinguished painters, Mick O’Dea + Geraldine O’Neill. The portraits capture young people from diverse backgrounds living across County Sligo, and were painted between 2022–23. Looked at together, they provide a hopeful glimpse into the Ireland of the future.

Exhibition continues from the 15th of November to the 20th of December 2025.

For this exhibition at Ballina Arts Centre, Helen Hughes presents a new body of work. Here she has limited her wide range of her materials to just three – rubber, plastic and expanding foam. This new work was influenced by the unique setting of this gallery – the strong presence of moving water, its proximity and imposing energy pervading the interior spaces. Her starting point for this work was a series of floatation devices from which the works evolved.

Hymn to Him is a guilty pleasure, a sustained glance at the relationship between the unstable and convoluted lives of artists and the composed stillness of the characters they create. In her painting and photographic work, she lingers on the surfaces of things – bellies, primroses, house keys, vegetables. Costello inserts herself into her compositions and, as her own model, she remains in control of both sides of the canvas.

Waking the Land is a collective based in Leitrim. Our five members are Tara Baoth Mooney, Shane Finan, James Kelly, Laura McMorrow, and Sonya Swarte. We collectively occupy an artist-led studio and experimental space in Manorhamilton that opened in September 2022. Over the past three years, we have led events in north Leitrim in response to environmental grief, care, and tending to the land.

Exhibition continues from the 21st of November 2025 to the 9th of January 2026.

As this year’s inspiring exhibition activities at Solas Art Gallery come to a close, our members celebrate the unveiling of the final exhibition of the season. This Winter Group Exhibition brings together over 20 artists whose works yet again will showcase an extraordinary mixed array of intriguing mediums, diverse materials & vibrant artistry. From traditional fine art processes (drypoint, pen & ink, oils, acrylics, watercolours and photography) to contemporary and textural forms (embroidery, knitting, wet felt, decorators emulsion and mixed media collage), together these pieces celebrate texture, technique and the shared joy of making.

Hamilton Gallery’s annual” Winter Gathering” brings you the work of over 20 gallery artists. Opens on November 27th, at 6.30pm. Please join us for this festive celebration of Irish art. This year Winter Gathering Catherine Fanning, Cormac O’Leary, Daniel Chester, Donncadh O’Callaghan, Eileen Healy, Joe Dunne, Joesphine Geaney, Daniel Chester, Paul Colreavy, Mags Duffy, Joe Dunne, Catherine Fanning, Joesphine Geaney, Medbh Gillard, Julianne Guinee, Martina Hamilton, Eileen Healy, Stephanie Hess, Kaye Maahs, Leonora Neary, Marylin North, Donncadh O’Callaghan, Cormac O’Leary, Kate Oram, Pat Owen, Rae Perry, Karen Webster, MaManon West and more

Solo exhibition of original work by self-taught artist Jennifer Allen. Working solely with white pencil on black paper, layering up elements to create depth and texture, her work is atmospheric and intimate, with a particular emphasis on capturing expression and character in all forms.

Jennifer has exhibited in Ireland, (solo exhibitions including ‘Out of Darkness’ and ‘Into the Light’; group exhibitions at the Frank McCourt Museum and the Georgian House, Limerick) and was guest artist at iBAM (Irish Books, Art and Music) in Chicago.

Weaving a Tale runs Monday to Friday, Dec 1st to Dec 22nd, 2025

You are cordially invited to join us at Custom House Studios + Gallery to celebrate the opening of our annual Winter Exhibition , on Sunday 30th November @2pm, Exhibition continues until Sunday 11th January, 2026. Official opening by Keira Keogh TD.

Many of the artists who have exhibited here, practice here, and governed the organisation throughout 2025 will present work

We are thrilled to announce that the Linenhall and Ballina Arts Centre are teaming up once more for the bi-annual Mayo Artists Show, an opportunity to rejoice in the talent of visual artists across the length and breadth of our beautiful county.

While one of the greatest privileges of our work is engaging with artists and witnessing the gallery transform throughout the year, it is always an especially memorable, and feel good occasion showcasing the talents of Mayo’s finest visual artists, across our gallery walls and spaces.

A solo exhibition of paintings and sculptures by Emmanuel Matt, a Swiss and French artist who resides and live in North West Mayo. Opening on December 3rd. 6pm to 9pm. Exhibition from December 3rd to the 23rd. 2025.

Exhibition continues from the 6th of December to the 21st of December 2025.

Lost in Reverie is an exhibition featuring works by artists Hermione Ruffles, Ivy Borden, Renske Boef, Sarah Deane, Síofra Egan and Tanya Chakálova. This group exhibition explores themes of nostalgia, escapism, loss and memory. Each artist draws on their unique histories and perspectives to engage with both personal and collective experiences of grief, displacement, and loss. These works deal with memory as unfixed and continuously renegotiated, asking the viewer to consider how memory and nostalgia shape our ways of relating to each other and our conceptions of home.