Over 45 events announced for First Fortnight Mental Health Arts & Culture Festival, including Declan O’Rourke, Tolü Makay, Emma Longford and more

First Fortnight, Ireland’s Mental Health Art & Culture Festival, has announced the programme of its 2026 edition, set to take place from January 6 to 17.

For this year’s edition, poet and supporter of the festival from its early years Stephen James Smith will be joining festival director Maria Fleming as co-curator.

It will include over 45 events during the first two weeks of January, representing numerous artistic disciplines and panel discussions with a shared focus on story-telling and connectivity.

It will take place in Dublin and across the provinces, including regional development partnerships in counties Donegal, Down, Kildare, Wexford, Cork, Kerry and Limerick.

This year’s musical soundscape will feature Declan O’Rourke, Tolü Makay, Limerick’s own Emma Langford, David Costello, RUÁ and Toshín, to name a few.

The festival will also programme an event taking place for the very first time in Ireland’s National Theatre, In Good Company featuring Declan O’Rourke and Deidre O’Kane in conversation.

Poets Vona Groarke and Jan Breierton, Dagogo Hart, Emmet O’Brien and Samuel Yakura will also be making apparitions at the festival, while Inuit and First Nations artists from Alaska and Canada Taqralik Partridge, Melissa Shaginoff, Leslie Kachena McCue will contribute for the first time.

First Fortnight, supported by The Arts Council Commission Award, will also present the premiere of Antidote2, performed by WeAreGriot is commissioned especially for the 2026 festival.

“This January,” comments co-curator Stephen James Smith, “artists from every corner of the island, ó gach cearn den tír — and friends from farther shores — bring work that holds grit and grace in the same palm. Perseverance, resilience, hope: they aren’t always centre-stage, lár an aonaigh, but they’re in the rehearsal rooms, the drafts, the long nights, and the morning after. Maybe that’s why First Fortnight feels like home — because the work of artmaking and the work of minding our minds share the same muscles.

“So, come with us — at dawn or after dark,” he continues, “ag breacadh an lae nó i ndiaidh dó dul ó sholas — for conversation, song, silence, laughter, and the simple act of sitting together. Our mission remains the same: to use art to change how we speak about mental ill health, and how we listen to one another.”

Maria Fleming, Festival director and CEO of First Fortnight, says: “I don’t think I am alone in finding currently that the world is marked by uncertainty and challenge. I do know it is precisely during challenging times like these that the power of art, community, and open conversation comes into its own. First Fortnight has always been a space where creativity meets compassion, where we face difficult realities together and find strength in shared experience.

“My hope is that these days offer you connection, inspiration, and a reminder that even in the darkest moments, there is light to be found. I am delighted that Stephen James Smith who has always curated our ever popular ‘Therapy Sessions’ has joined me as a co-curator for festival 2026. It has been great fun working with Stephen and I am excited to share with you our programme. Thank you for joining us, supporting us, and believing, as we in First Fortnight do, in the transformative power of the arts.”

You can find the full programme and book your tickets for First Fortnight’s 2026 edition here.