Skip to the stories
Friday, 30 October 2026
Saved
FTMQ News

Next edition

13:18

Headlines

Killarney Ireland

President Catherine Connolly opens Oireachtas na Samhna festival in Killarney

Irish President Catherine Connolly officially opens the five day Oireachtas na Samhna Irish language festival at the Gleneagle Arena in Killarney today.

FTMQ News, written by our newsroom0 views

Share

President Catherine Connolly will officially open the Oireachtas na Samhna festival in Killarney today, according to RadioKerry.ie. The launch is scheduled for 1 pm at the Gleneagle Arena in Killarney. Thousands of visitors are expected to attend the festival over its five day run from October 28 to November 1. [1]

RadioKerry.ie reports that Oireachtas na Samhna is the oldest Irish language arts and culture festival in the country, dating back to 1897. The event celebrates language, traditional music, song, dance, and storytelling. [1]

Connolly has served as the president of Ireland since 11 November 2025, having previously served as a Teachta Dála for the Galway West constituency from 2016 until her election. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Connolly previously spoke at her first Arraiolos Group event in Slovenia following her election, where she addressed 11 European presidents about human rights and international law. [2][6]

The name Samhain refers to a Gaelic festival that marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, and it is also the Irish Gaelic word for November. The word Oireachtas originally denoted an assembly or deliberative gathering in the Irish language. [4][5]

Share

In short

  • President Catherine Connolly launches the Oireachtas na Samhna festival in Killarney today.
  • The festival runs for five days from October 28 to November 1 at the Gleneagle Arena.
  • Oireachtas na Samhna was founded in 1897 and is Ireland's oldest Irish language culture festival.

Sources

Every paragraph above points to the numbered items it rests on. Read the originals here.

  1. [1]President Catherine Connolly to officially launch Oireachtas na Samhna festival in Killarney todayRadioKerry.ie, 2d ago (the report this story comes from)

Background

  1. [2]Catherine Connolly on Wikipedia
  2. [3]List of television channels in Celtic languages on Wikipedia
  3. [4]Samhain on Wikipedia
  4. [5]Oireachtas on Grokipedia
  5. [6]President Catherine Connolly criticises US sanctions on International Criminal Court FTMQ News, 14d ago

Our newsroom writes these reports with the help of software, from the 6 sources listed and nothing else, and checks them against those sources. Facts can still be wrong or move on; the originals are the record. Spotted a mistake? Write to daniel@monsterkong.com.

Related from FTMQ News

Earlier reports of ours on the same people and subjects.

More in Killarney Ireland

Get the day in one email

Reports like this one, the top news of the last 24 hours, every morning. Free, one email a day; readers can comment under every report.

By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy. Unsubscribe any time.

Comments

Loading

Join the conversation

Comments are open to readers of our daily email: the top news of the last 24 hours, every morning, free. Sign up and the comment box opens.

Already on the list? Enter the same address and we will send a sign-in link.

By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy. Unsubscribe any time.