22/07/2026
Keep Her Lit: LÚNASA Gathering
Sunday August 16th
Hello folks, we are delighted to share this early announcement with you all with access to ticket links ahead of general release today at 12PM. We have a wonderful line up of creative and community events to celebrate Lúnasa this August in a very special village - Kells, Co. Kilkenny.
Taking place during Heritage Week 2026, we are very grateful for the support of the Heritage Council and Kilkenny County Council in running this day long celebration.
Poster Illustration: Denise Conroy/Votive Illustration
Our Lúnasa Gathering 2026 will take place in Kells, Co. Kilkenny and is very much a return to home for the festival organisers - Jadzia, Kasia and Liadain - for it was the enchanting Mill Cottage just outside the village where they made their first home in Kilkenny, back in 2001. It was in the summer of 2008 that the infamous Red Shed Sessions were born - unique garden sessions bringing together Jadzia and Dave’s love of hosting and music that would continue for ten more summers before their move to beautiful Inistioge. As many of you may know, Keep Her Lit was founded in Dave’s memory, so it is extra special to host our very first Lúnasa Gathering in Kells this summer.
We hope you can join us!
Living Threads: Kings River Walk
11am-1pm
A workshop and walk that explores the relationship between landscapes and rivers and the interconnecting thread of living things.
Nettles have endured. Once gathered and twisted into fishing lines by our ancestors, they remind us of a time when rivers sustained both people and wildlife in different ways.
In this workshop, led by Maura Brennan (The Acorn Project, Nore Vision) you will explore the changing story of our rivers through the lens of shifting baseline syndrome - the idea that each generation accepts the environment it inherits as normal, often forgetting what has been lost.
As fishing lines grow emptier, what do they tell us about the health of our rivers, our memories, and our expectations? Through making nettle cordage, sharing stories, and reflecting on our relationship with place, we'll consider how a humble plant can help us reconnect with the living threads that bind people, rivers, and the more-than-human world.
Book Here!
Trad Picnic with The Len Collective
Doors 1PM
Concert 1.30-2.30PM
Join the Len Collective for a set of traditional Irish music, singing and dancing for all the family on the mill island. This daytime concert is open to all ages, so bring a blanket, a picnic or grab a treat at the Kings Mill café to enjoy on the picturesque island behind Mullins' Mill.
The Len Collective are a group of traditional Irish musicians from Dublin. Though only officially forming the Collective in 2022, these group of friends have been playing and attending festivals together since they were children. Go into the Cobblestone at any hour of the day or night and there's a good chance you'll find at least one of them hanging about.
Since forming in 2022, the Len Collective have performed at multiple festivals including the Otherside, All Together Now, Féile na Gealaí, Féile Nasc, Lá Mór na Gaeilge, Smithfield Fleadh, Electric Picnic, St Patrick’s day festival Dublin, Music in the Courtyard @ IMMA, the Tradition Now series at the National Concert Hall. The Len collective have represented Ireland abroad at the Tonn Nua festival in Berlin, Embassy of Ireland Warsaw visit for St Brigid’s Day, Yn Chuinnaght Celtic Gathering at the Isle of Man and the residency at the Irish Pavilion Expo in Osaka, Japan.
Book Here
Set Dancing and Dabke Workshop
3.30-5pm
This workshop will bring together dancing traditions from Palestine and Ireland.
Dabke is not just a dance, but a deep-rooted Palestinian folk art that embodies joy, belonging, and has become a symbol of resilience and resistance for the Palestinian people. This workshop will be hosted by Mustafa Alsaidi, originally from Gaza, who founded Belfast Dabke to carry on the tradition of his people and family to his new home in Belfast.
Louise O Connor is a dancer and fiddle player from County Clare who runs the Lasta Céilí project in Dublin. The word ‘Lasta’ means ‘alight’ or ‘aglow’ and sums up Louise's passion for keeping the flame of Irish music and dance traditions alive, while building connections between people of different ages, backgrounds and abilities.
This workshop will include a set dancing lesson, a dabke lesson, and then culminate in bringing the two traditions together. It is open to all levels and will be delivered in a lively and communal learning atmosphere.
Book Here
Keep Her Lit Community Céilí
hosted by Louise O’Connor
5.30-6.30PM
We are delighted to bring back the Community Céilí facilitated by Louise O’Connor from Lasta Dance, after our first Céilí back in 2023!
As before, the Keep Her Lit Céilí is open to complete beginners, improvers and experienced dancers are also most welcome - to dance Ionsaí na hInse, Baile Luimní and loads more! Louise will be calling the sets and will also be teaching a set dancing workshop earlier in the day (see above).
Music for the Céilí will be by The Len Collective. Join us for an evening of craic agus damhsa in Kells Community Hall!
Book Here
Traditional Music Session @ The Motte and Bailey
7-9PM
An evening trad session from 7pm-9pm to round out the day - Fáilte roimh cách!
Featuring Ivan Maguire, Tommy Lanigan, Tricia Hutton and Michelle O’Brien.
Public Transport to Kells
Kells is located 13km south of Kilkenny city.
The Local Link Route 891 Fiddown - Kilkenny passes through Kells, with departures from Kilkenny on Sundays at 09:55, 13:20, 16:20 and 19:50. Return busses depart Kells for Kilkenny at 12:08, 15:33 and 18:33.
More info on Local Link Route Here:
Local Link Route 891
Festival Shuttle Bus
We are organising two return shuttle busses from Kilkenny to Kells:
10.30AM to Kells & 9PM return to Kilkenny
12.30PM to Kells & 11PM return to Kilkenny
Available to pre-book here:
Festival Shuttle
If you would like to unsubscribe to our new Keep Her Lit mailing list, you can do so below. We’d love to keep you posted about upcoming events for 2026 - stay with us if you’d like to be the first to know!
