The Strokestown International Poetry Festival 2026 will take place over the May Bank Holiday weekend from Friday, May 1st (Poetry Day Ireland), to Sunday, May 3rd, in the beautiful sylvan setting of Strokestown Park House, Co. Roscommon.
Ireland’s longest-running poetry festival, now in its fifth year under the direction of Joe Woods, will present a vibrant programme featuring a diverse mix of local, national, and international voices. Festival-goers can look forward to bilingual readings, book launches, film screenings, workshops, and a lively open-mic and music night.
More than thirty poets will appear over the course of the weekend, with additional guest poets to be confirmed. Books by all participating authors, representing more than fifteen publishers, will be available throughout the festival at the on-site Salmon Bookshop.
Festival highlights include a gala reading celebrating Salmon Poetry’s 45th anniversary (featuring five of Salmon’s acclaimed poets: Rachael Hegarty, Joan McBreen, Jessamine O’Connor, Nessa O’Mahony, and Adam Wyeth), a workshop and reading by the supremely talented Sheffield poet Helen Mort, the launch of the final issue of Cyphers No. 100 (the influential literary journal published since 1975), poetry films screening from contemporary Irish poets and performers in association with the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation, and announcement of competition results as well as readings by the shortlisted poets Amy Barry, Marian Brannigan, Catherine Ann Cullen, Conor McAnally, and Tom Noon. The Joan McBreen Keynote Address will be delivered this year by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, who will speak about readers of poetry.
The shortlisted poems can be read here: strokestownpoetryfest.ie/strokestown-international-poetry-prize-2026-shortlisted-poems/.
The festival continues its long tradition of celebrating poetry in a convivial and welcoming setting, bringing together established and emerging writers with readers from across Ireland and abroad.
Further festival details and weekend tickets (offering exceptional value at €50) are now available at strokestownpoetryfest.ie.
