Gerard Manley Hopkins Festival returns to Kildare next week
Hans Pålsson
NEWBRIDGE will welcome writers, academics, artists, musicians and literature enthusiasts from Ireland and overseas for the 38th Gerard Manley Hopkins International Festival, taking place at Newbridge College and venues throughout the town from Friday 24 July to Thursday 30 July 2026.
The week-long festival celebrates the life, poetry and wide ranging interests of Gerard Manley Hopkins, including music, painting, philosophy and conservation.
It will also recognise the influence of his mentor, John Henry Newman.
This year’s programme brings together distinguished speakers and performers from Ireland, Britain, the United States, Germany, Japan, China, Australia, Finland, Canada, Mexico and several other countries.
The festival will officially open at Newbridge College at 7pm on Friday 24 July.
Guests will include David Gill, Ambassador of Germany, the Mayor of Kildare, the Mayor of Newbridge and Councillor Rob Power.
The opening reception will feature music by Conor Mahony and flamenco guitar by John Walsh.
Among the major highlights will be a celebratory concert by legendary Swedish pianist Hans Pålsson 8pm on Saturday 25 July. His programme will include works by Beethoven, Haydn and Schubert.
On Monday 27 July, the festival will host a special Poetry Ireland Reading featuring three distinctive literary voices: Dermot Bolger, Donald Gardner and Desmond Egan.
The reading will take place in the Walker Building at Newbridge College at 5.00pm and admission is free.
Monday evening will continue with an Irish Night at Cummins’s, featuring music and poetry, with Morgan McCabe as Master of Ceremonies.
On Tuesday 28 July, the programme will include lectures exploring Hopkins’s poetry, attention, free will, translation and the natural world. A special Taste of Japan event will feature origami, a book launch, Japanese poetry, a shamisen recital and Noh theatre poems.
The evening will conclude with an International Poetry Celebration at Newbridge College, followed at 9.30pm by one of the most anticipated events of the festival. World famous Irish actor Barry McGovern will present A Samuel Beckett Hour at O’Rourke’s Lounge on Main Street.
Other festival highlights include creative writing and translation workshops, an international group art exhibition, youth events, music, field trips, poetry readings and a series of awards recognising achievement in literature, scholarship and the arts.
The festival’s Parallel Youth Programme will provide young participants with opportunities to engage with literature, poetry and creative expression.
Student certificates and the Rosemarie O’Connor Prize will be presented at the conclusion of the programme on Thursday 30 July.
The programme also includes several award presentations, including the James McKenna Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Newbridge Silver Literary Award, the Hopkins Society Award and the O’Connor Cup Award.
Festival activities will take place at Newbridge College and in a number of local restaurants, pubs and cultural venues, creating an important connection between the international event and the wider Newbridge community.
The Gerard Manley Hopkins International Festival has developed a remarkable international reputation during its 38 years.
It continues to bring visitors to Newbridge while celebrating poetry, scholarship, music, art, cultural exchange and friendship.
