DOOLIN WRITERS' WEEKEND 2026
WHERE WORDS GO WILD!
Our Story
After a few years’ hiatus, Doolin Writers’ Weekend is back. Words have always found a home in Doolin and this festival is still the kind of gathering where everyone belongs, and never the kind that takes itself too seriously. Writing is a lonely game, and January can be a lonely month, but Doolin is where you’ll find friendship, inspiration, and the company of other writers who know the road.
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It’s a weekend of open doors, stories shared, pints, tunes, and conversations that carry long into the night. Workshops, readings, music, yoga, séances and mad masses, open mics and food worth travelling for. Doolin Writers' is a festival that feeds the head and the heart.
WHAT'S ON
Below is our jam packed itinerary where you can see what's happening throughout the entire weekend.
Scroll to see what's in store!
ITINERARY
FRIDAY 16th JANUARY
3.00pm–5.00pm: Workshops
Sarah Moore Fitzgerald: Narrative Hydraulics: Time, Pace and Motion in Story
Lucy O’Callaghan: The Story Engine: Plotting your Novel
7.30pm: Opening Reception
Join us in The Barn to kick off the weekend with a welcome from the team, a glass in hand and a room full of words
8.00pm: Opening Reading
8.30pm: Spoken Word Performance
10.00pm: Séance in The Attic
With Elaine Feeney Irish Author of the Year
With Abby Oliveira
Led by High Priestess Branwen - a candlelit ritual gathering in the shadows, calling in voices and visions from beyond the veil
SATURDAY 17TH JANUARY
8.30am–9.30am
10.00am–12.00pm: Workshops
12.00pm–2.00pm
2.00pm–4.00pm: Workshops
5.00pm: The Short Story Now: Voices from Our Place
6.00pm: Book Launch
7.00pm: In Conversation
with Roddy Doyle
Morning Yoga
Susan Tomaselli - Walk the Line: A Workshop on the Essay
Tadhg O’Sullivan - Between the Lines & The Lens
Luke Morgan - Ag Tusu Arís: Returning to Writing in Irish
Lunch Break
Belinda McKeon - The Character Alchemist: Creating Vivid Characters
Abby Oliveira - Stirring the Big Pot: Gathering Mini-Muses
Ian Maleney - The Look: Filmic Techniques in Written Narrative
Alice Kinsella - Don’t you know who I am: The Art of Telling Your Own Story
Readings and conversation with Mattie Brennan, Caitríona Quirke and Laura Blaise McDonnell
The Sleep Thief, Stephen Murray with special guest Jess Traynor
A special evening with one of Ireland’s most beloved writers in conversation with Elizabeth Reapy
9.00pm: The Listening Rooms
Featured reading by June Caldwell followed by an Open mic of stories, songs and words that go wherever they please, hosted by David Donohue
11pm
DJ Set with Margaret O’Connor
SUNDAY 18TH JANUARY
8.00am–9.00am:
9.00am–11.00am: Workshops
12.00pm–2.00pm: Sunday Mass
4pm-6pm: Slow Session in Fitz’s Pub
Sound Bath
Alice Kinsella - First Line to First Draft: Poetry Workshop
Daniel Wade - Craftwork: Plot, Dialogue & Writing for the Stage
With High Priestess Branwen, Luke Morgan, and Aoife Dunne: part performance, part blessing, part madness
With Charles Tunes from Doolin, bring your instruments, all welcome to join
7pm- Film Screening:
The Swallow by Tadgh O’Sullivan and featuring Brenda Fricker