Our theme this year is flight. Art, in its many forms, has the power to elevate anyone, artist and audience alike. So let’s fly together! Welcome to Mountshannon Arts Festival 2026, 30th edition, where the sky is not the limit, but the beginning of our journey.
Our opening evening will start with ‘a cappella’ group of upper voices Satakiela.
Storytelling in his blood and music in his bones, Aindrias de Staic will then bring his electrifying show By The Light of the Silvery Moon to open the 30th anniversary of Mountshannon Arts Festival.
Free with wristband
Wristband adult €10/ wristband child €5 (family price available)
New this year, you can book the opening night!
Satakieli
Satakieli
‘Satakieli’ – literally ‘a hundred tongues’ is the Finnish word for ‘nightingale’. On moving to Ireland from the UK in 2019, it was Richard’s ambition to create a small ‘a cappella’ group of upper voices to sing the beautiful folk-based and contemporary music which has its roots in the folklore and sagas of Finland (a ‘sister’ choir to ‘Enkelit’ (‘Angels’) which he formed in the north of England in 2003). After aCovid delay, Satakieli was born in 2022 and comprises around a dozen singers from Clare who rehearse once a month on a Sunday afternoon in Kilkishen.
Credit Anthony O'Connor
Aindrias de Staic
Storytelling in his blood and music in his bones, Aindrias de Staic brings his electrifying show By The Light of the Silvery Moon to open the 30th anniversary of Mountshannon Arts Festival.
This is a rollercoaster of a performance — irreverent, bawdy, fast-paced and wildly entertaining. With his unique storytelling style, Aindrias blends myth, memory and mischief while performing alongside two outstanding musicians, percussionist Brian Fleming and harpist Aisling Lyons.
Together they create a live sonic landscape that transforms each tale into a rich fusion of story and sound.
Inspired by folklore, nature and the traditional arts, Aindrias brings audiences on a journey through winding boreens and strange encounters — from humorous recitations and wandering musicians to abridged folkloric myths and outrageous otherworldly adventures. Expect magic, mischief and moments of real wonder — strictly for grown-ups.
Having travelled the world as a troubadour, Aindrias now lives back on the family farm in North Clare. During Covid he spent months in a caravan without electricity, in what he calls his “Analogue Corner”, reading and listening by candlelight to recordings collected by his late father, Eddie Stack — a writer, musician and folklorist. From these tapes of mythic lore emerged the vivid characters and stories that now shape this remarkable show.
By The Light of the Silvery Moon celebrates Ireland’s living storytelling tradition — where ancient voices meet modern ears in a night of wit, music and imagination. Aindrias has become a beloved figure across Ireland and a leading force in the revival of contemporary Irish storytelling, drawing inspiration from the bardic traditions of Raifteirí an File and Brian Merriman while forging a vibrant seanchaí style of his own.
‘He’s a waterboy seanachai, the Pied Piper of mischief, if he didn’t exist, we’d have to invent him, our culture needs spirits like this, a wayward Irish fiddle playing dream talker’. Tommy Tiernan
‘A pioneer in the revival of traditional storytelling, Aindrias has become one of the key figures in the mining, exploration and presentation of Irish Stories and Mythology. He breathes new life into the old tales – infusing them with musicality, rhythm and his unique insights on life’. Manchan Mangan