What’s on in Connaught

For over 13 years the Hamilton Gallery Winter Gathering season has been one of our programme highlights. Building on the appeal of that seasonal invited artist format, we are delighted to bring you our inaugural Hamilton Gallery Summer Gathering.

Summer Gathering 2026 includes artists Fiona Carswell, Orla de Bri, Seamus Gill, Jane Murtagh, and Sorca O’Farrell.

The exhibition opens on July 25th, at 3pm.

Hamilton Gallery is open Monday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm.

Exhibition launch 7th of August, 6-9pm.

Mycelium Sanctuary is an immersive exhibition by Sara K Dunn. The artworks and interactive installation are inspired by the expansive world of mycology.  An ecosystem of art mediums, all unified through intricate details and greens, form the exhibition. Moving through drawing, printmaking, textiles, sculpture, and installation work, Dunn shares her love and devotion to the mycological world with the viewers. The exhibition will be open daily, from 12-6pm, except Tuesday, and the artist will be present in the space each day. This exhibition is a culmination of our inaugural Graduate Studio Residency.

Join us for the launch of The Green Loy at The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon on Saturday 20 June from 2—4pm.

The Green Loy is a celebration of local folk art and culture, grounded in the life and traditions of Leitrim and the north-west. A cock of hay, a loy, and a vividly reimagined dresser form part of a vision that elevates everyday objects into the realm of art.

The exhibition is curated by writer and broadcaster Vincent Woods, ceramic artist Katy West, and dancer and community artist Edwina Guckian.

Join us for the launch of The Kite Ballet at The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon on Saturday 20 June from 2—4pm.

The Kite Ballet by Thaís Muniz intertwines poetic and mythical elements with political, historical, and symbolic themes, amplifying the voices of local activists from the Itapuã area in Salvador, Brazil.

The eponymous film portrays a group of kite runners in their weekly communal ritual, highlighting the threat of private development and ecological displacement of Afro-Indigenous sacred territory, where joy and spiritual practices have thrived for centuries.

Phil Collins
Sat. 20 Jun. – Sat. 22 Aug. 2026
The Model is delighted to present a major exhibition by the internationally renowned visual artist and filmmaker Phil Collins. Over the course of a deeply engaged practice spanning three decades, Collins has realised ambitious projects that shift perspective between the individual and the collective, situating personal experience within broader historical contexts. Balancing intimacy with social critique, he consistently challenges the conventions of documentary representation, creating works that are emotionally charged, formally adventurous and attentive to the poetics of the everyday.

Gina O’Connor is delighted to present her solo exhibition Lá Breá Álainn (Lovely Fine Day) at Teach Nan Phaidi Restaurant on Inis Mór Island, County Galway. This exciting collection of oil paintings by West of Ireland artist Gina O’Connor is a celebration of a typical Irish Lá Breá Álainn.

This exhibition showcases Gina’s dynamic style, inspired by her exhilarating experiences in Inis Mór and Connemara. The winds, colours and light of the West have a tossing-and-turning effect on the human soul, and it is with great joy that Gina recreates this in her paintings. Fáilte, tar isteach and enjoy the sceitiminí (excitement) of Gina’s exhibition.

The Linenhall is delighted to present Soft Fascination, a new exhibition showcasing the work of five Mayo-based artists, opening in the Linenhall Gallery on Friday, 10 July and running until Saturday, 22 August 2026.

Bringing together a diverse range of artforms, Soft Fascination marks the culmination of the Bolay Programme 2025, an ambitious professional development initiative run by the Linenhall that supported five Mayo artists through an intensive five-month mentorship with acclaimed curator and art critic Marianne O’Kane Boal.

The artists featured are: Genevieve King; Christine Prescott; Caroline Reapy; Bridget Ryan; and Ian Wieczorek

Exhibition continues from 15/11/25 until 27/09/26.

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.

Phil Collins
Sat. 20 Jun. – Sat. 22 Aug. 2026
The Model is delighted to present a major exhibition by the internationally renowned visual artist and filmmaker Phil Collins. Over the course of a deeply engaged practice spanning three decades, Collins has realised ambitious projects that shift perspective between the individual and the collective, situating personal experience within broader historical contexts. Balancing intimacy with social critique, he consistently challenges the conventions of documentary representation, creating works that are emotionally charged, formally adventurous and attentive to the poetics of the everyday.

Join us for the launch of The Green Loy at The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon on Saturday 20 June from 2—4pm.

The Green Loy is a celebration of local folk art and culture, grounded in the life and traditions of Leitrim and the north-west. A cock of hay, a loy, and a vividly reimagined dresser form part of a vision that elevates everyday objects into the realm of art.

The exhibition is curated by writer and broadcaster Vincent Woods, ceramic artist Katy West, and dancer and community artist Edwina Guckian.

Join us for the launch of The Kite Ballet at The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon on Saturday 20 June from 2—4pm.

The Kite Ballet by Thaís Muniz intertwines poetic and mythical elements with political, historical, and symbolic themes, amplifying the voices of local activists from the Itapuã area in Salvador, Brazil.

The eponymous film portrays a group of kite runners in their weekly communal ritual, highlighting the threat of private development and ecological displacement of Afro-Indigenous sacred territory, where joy and spiritual practices have thrived for centuries.

Gina O’Connor is delighted to present her solo exhibition Lá Breá Álainn (Lovely Fine Day) at Teach Nan Phaidi Restaurant on Inis Mór Island, County Galway. This exciting collection of oil paintings by West of Ireland artist Gina O’Connor is a celebration of a typical Irish Lá Breá Álainn.

This exhibition showcases Gina’s dynamic style, inspired by her exhilarating experiences in Inis Mór and Connemara. The winds, colours and light of the West have a tossing-and-turning effect on the human soul, and it is with great joy that Gina recreates this in her paintings. Fáilte, tar isteach and enjoy the sceitiminí (excitement) of Gina’s exhibition.

The Linenhall is delighted to present Soft Fascination, a new exhibition showcasing the work of five Mayo-based artists, opening in the Linenhall Gallery on Friday, 10 July and running until Saturday, 22 August 2026.

Bringing together a diverse range of artforms, Soft Fascination marks the culmination of the Bolay Programme 2025, an ambitious professional development initiative run by the Linenhall that supported five Mayo artists through an intensive five-month mentorship with acclaimed curator and art critic Marianne O’Kane Boal.

The artists featured are: Genevieve King; Christine Prescott; Caroline Reapy; Bridget Ryan; and Ian Wieczorek

Working across sculpture and installation, Rainey’s practice explores themes of transformation, reconstruction and material memory, drawing on references from classical statuary, mythology and archaeology. ‘Deviations’ brings together a new body of work that considers how objects, histories and narratives are continually reshaped through time.

Solas Art Gallery is delighted to present its Summer Group Exhibition at the Island Theatre, Ballinamore. This selected exhibition welcomes submissions from both members and non-members, showcasing an exciting collection of contemporary visual artworks. Featuring an inspiring mix of established exhibitors, returning favourites and talented new artists, this year’s exhibition promises to be one of the most diverse and captivating to date. From striking paintings and intricate textiles to sculpture, photography, collage and mixed media artworks, every submission offers its own unique story and creative perspective.

Opening night: 24th of July at 7:30pm.

For over 13 years the Hamilton Gallery Winter Gathering season has been one of our programme highlights. Building on the appeal of that seasonal invited artist format, we are delighted to bring you our inaugural Hamilton Gallery Summer Gathering.

Summer Gathering 2026 includes artists Fiona Carswell, Orla de Bri, Seamus Gill, Jane Murtagh, and Sorca O’Farrell.

The exhibition opens on July 25th, at 3pm.

Hamilton Gallery is open Monday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm.

Exhibition launch at 31st of July, 5-8pm.

In this new body of work, Rusek explores movement and dwelling through the interconnected relationships between land and sea. Drawing on edge-zone ecology as a metaphor for dynamic cooperation, the exhibition invites abundant thinking inspired by biological rhythms and natural systems. Filtration mechanisms in fungi, plankton, and nitrogen-fixing plants become metaphors for metabolising emotion and memory. Through ceramics, mixed-media works, and found materials, Rusek gives tangible form to grief, absence, remembrance, and the unseen, from intimate votive objects to large-scale installations.

Portumna Castle and Gardens is proud to present Art and Time Enfolded, an exhibition of 2D and 3D works by GRID Collective. Including pieces by the three artists (Fifi Smith; Helen Blair; Mary Catherine Nolan) created before GRID Collective was formed, the exhibition invites viewers to consider the impact that working collaboratively has had on the individual artists’ practice over the years of the collective’s existence. A selection of works from GRID Collective’s previous exhibitions, presented in chronological order, demonstrates how the ethos of working collaboratively has found expression while meeting the needs of specific locations.

Exhibition continues from 06/08/26.

Local artist Val McLoughlin has two exhibitions running at the moment in Ballina, including Out of Ink at Ballina Library. Ink painting has elements of calligraphy with suggestions of landscape, paintings made using brushwork and line in balanced compositions. The medium displays its capacity to render movement and energy through its inherent fluidity. These paintings mainly take the form of abstract expressionism with references to Chinese and Japanese aesthetics. They can be described as an integration of contemporary western art and traditional eastern ink paintings.

Monday: Closed 
Tuesday: 10.00am – 7.00pm 
Wednesday: 10.00am – 7.00pm 
Thursday: 10.00am – 5.00pm 
Friday: 10.00am – 5.00pm 
Saturday: 10.00am – 4.00pm 

Exhibition launch 7th of August, 6-9pm.

Mycelium Sanctuary is an immersive exhibition by Sara K Dunn. The artworks and interactive installation are inspired by the expansive world of mycology.  An ecosystem of art mediums, all unified through intricate details and greens, form the exhibition. Moving through drawing, printmaking, textiles, sculpture, and installation work, Dunn shares her love and devotion to the mycological world with the viewers. The exhibition will be open daily, from 12-6pm, except Tuesday, and the artist will be present in the space each day. This exhibition is a culmination of our inaugural Graduate Studio Residency.

In the Pale Light of a Shadow is an installation that explores how we perceive and relate to the world, particularly nature. The installation is made up of a number of visually spare, interconnected works.

Drawing on local ecology in Ballina along with a number of philosophical and art-historical references, the exhibition questions binaries between nature and culture. Through a range of imagery, subtle gestures and interventions, the works offer oblique reflections on nature, materiality, time, and the human shadows cast on land.

The exhibition title, “Quarters”, refers to the fact that most of the studies for these paintings were executed on the banks of the Moy across the four seasons. In the process, remembrance and riverscape merged with the tactile process of sketching and painting. Memory combined past and present. Ambient sounds of wind and rain, and sensations of heat and cold became elements of the work.

In the studio, the creative evolution of the paintings was an intuitive fusion of recollections, feelings, and physical and visual impressions, all stretching across my experiences at the riverbank. This work resulted in six paintings directly related to the