The Allingham Festival

04/09/2026

Denise Blake to Judge 2026 Allingham Poetry Competition

The Allingham Festival Committee is pleased to announce that poet, author and creative writing tutor Denise Blake will judge the entries in the 2026 Allingham Poetry Competition. She replaces poet and publisher Kate Newmann, who will be unable to attend the Awards Ceremony on November the 7th at the Allingham Festival.

The 2026 Poetry & Flash Fiction Competitions are open for entries until September 27th.

Competition rules and entry forms are found online at
https://allinghamfestival.com/competitions/fiction-poetry-competitions/

If you haven't entered yet, what's keeping you???

The Allingham Festival 2026 Poetry & Flash Fiction Competitions are now open! Find out more about how to enter here.

27/08/2026

✦ NEW WEBSITE ✦ NEW PROGRAMME ✦ TICKETS ON SALE ✦ 🍂

"Autumn's the mellow time..."
But November is Allingham time!

And now is the perfect time to start planning your trip to Ballyshannon for 5 days and nights of words, music and craic at the 2026 Allingham Arts Festival!

We've got a newly designed website to help you explore the full programme, learn more about the festival and the area, and most importantly – book your tickets!

Once again, we have a programme packed full of writers, poets, music, film, history, and much more!

📖 Michael Harding
🎻 Ár Seisiún Mór with Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh & Friends
✍️ Elaine Feeney
📚 Paul Howard
🎙 Róisín & Ann Ingle
🎤 Jack L.
🎸 Johnny Gallagher
🎭 Ballyshannon Drama present 'The Wonder Wheel'
🎬 Garry Keane's 'A Quiet Love'
🍂 Plus local films, book launches, poetry, history and much more besides

Visit the website for more info: www.allinghamfestival.com
─────────────

Every event is on sale now. Have a look through and pick your nights.

🗓 4th–8th November 2026
📍 Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal
🎟 www.allinghamfestival.com

Tickets are also available via the Abbey Arts Centre website and box office:
www.abbeycentre.ie
Tel: (071) 9851375

─────────────

Many thanks to the fantastic design team at Hello Humans for all the work over the last few months redesigning and developing our new website in very short timeframe! We hope you'll agree they did a fantastic job of capturing the spirit of the festival in their design.

Big shout out as well to Niall McKee Imagery who produced the video sequence on the front page! The short version is up at the minute but we might share Niall's full 1 min piece in the future.

Once again, we look forward to meeting you all this November in Ballyshannon, 'the kindly spot, the friendly town.'

Go Visit DonegalFáilte IrelandDonegal County CouncilAbbey Arts Centre Aoife FestivalEventsPoetry Ireland / Éigse Éireann Ballyshannon Folk and Traditional Music FestivalBallyshannon Drama SocietyDonegal DailyJack Lukeman

23/08/2026

Don't miss the opportunity to hear Paul Howard in conversation with Róisin Ingle at the Allingham Festival in Ballyshannon, Co Donegal on Saturday November 7th!

As a child in Dublin the the Ross O’Carroll-Kelly author was ‘heavily incentivised’ to lose his English accent

22/08/2026

Writers & Poets, the weekend rolls by quickly! Now is the perfect time to submit your entry for the 2026 Allingham Arts Festival Poetry and Flash Fiction Competition.

Just head on over to the Online Entry page on our website to enter.

Or if you prefer the traditional method, download and print off the entry form and pop it in a postbox today.

The Allingham Festival 2026 Poetry & Flash Fiction Competitions are now open! Find out more about how to enter here.

03/08/2026

Writers & Poets!

If you are having difficulty accessing the Online Entry Form on the website, please use this link to access it directly - click on the link, or copy and paste it into your browser.

https://pci.jotform.com/form/242114641884355

We will have the link running on the website correctly as soon as we can exterminate the gremlins that have taken over!

02/08/2026

Musical Line-up Announcement for Allingham Arts Festival 2026 -

🎻 Ár Seisiún Mór - a night of the Donegal sound

One of the highlights of this year's upcoming Allingham Arts Festival in November: Ár Seisiún Mór, a concert of traditional music built around 'the Donegal sound', curated by Bianca Rohleder.

The evening will include the premiere of a special new piece composed by Bianca in tribute to Margaret McGinley, the beloved local teacher whose work shaped so much of Ballyshannon's cultural life.

On stage: Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Seamie O'Dowd, Martin McGinley, Seanan Brennan, Bianca Rohleder, Robbie Fottrell, Shauna Mullin, and more.

📍 Abbey Arts Centre
🕣 8:30pm
🎟️ Friday, November 6th

A very special night of music and remembrance - don't miss it. 🎶

01/08/2026

✍️ Calling all writers and poets - the Allingham Poetry & Flash Fiction Competitions are open!

Have you submitted your entry yet?

The 2026 Allingham Poetry and Flash Fiction Competitions are open to adult writers everywhere - international entries very welcome!

🏆 €300 first prize in both categories
🎤 Winners read their work at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday 7 November, as part of the festival
📝 Flash fiction: up to 700 words · Poetry: up to 40 lines
📄 Up to 5 pieces per category
💶 €7 entry fee per piece
⏰ Entries close midnight, Sunday 27 September

Whether it's a story that's been sitting in a drawer or a poem you've been meaning to finish, this is your excuse. Full rules and entry details at the link below.

🔗 allinghamfestival.com/competitions/fiction-poetry-competitions

If the button on the website does not work please use this link to access the form on JotForm directly (copy and paste it into a browser):

https://pci.jotform.com/form/242114641884355

Good luck to all who enter! 🍀

31/07/2026