GreenLight: Irish Cultural Events in the New York Consular Region

Current & Upcoming Irish Cultural Events

*Supported by Culture Ireland.

ONGOING

Now-Nov 15: On the 20th anniversary of Irish Repertory Theatre's acclaimed 2006 production, O'Neill's existentialist masterpiece returns to the Mainstage. The Hairy Ape is the journey of a dark-souled, brutish ship laborer known as Yank and the common man's search for belonging in a world controlled by the rich and powerful.

Now-Nov 15: Choreographer, writer, and director Oona Doherty’s fantastical-biographical Specky Clark, merges dance with theatre to mine her great-great-grandfather’s Belfast story. Lifting the veil on a Halloween night, ten international performers breathe life into this powerful and darkly funny narrative.

Now-Jan 13: "Array Collective: In the Round" will show at Irish Arts Center in partnership with Rua Red South Dublin Arts Center. Curated by Maolíosa Boyle and Jonathan Cummins, the Belfast-based Array Collective creates collaborative actions in response to socio-political issues affecting Northern Ireland, employing craic and collaboration as a means of resistance.

Now-Jan 17: The exhibition 'Irish Literature: History & Myth Since 1798' at The New York Historical Society celebrates how Irish writing plays an integral role in the formation of ideas about Irish history, myth, nationhood, and cultural renewal.

November 2026

Nov 4-Nov 22: Ann LeClaire with Parting Glass is proud to present the New York premiere of the Irish musical 'Parcel from America' at Theatre Row. Adapted from a tale by acclaimed Irish storyteller Tomáseen Foley, Parcel from America is the story of a young boy and a lonely widow in a remote parish in the west of Ireland, and the importance of one special Christmas parcel that changes the lives of the entire community.

Nov 4: The Dublin International Piano Competition presents its 2025 First Prize winner, pianist Carter Johnson, in his Weill Recital Hall debut at Carnegie Hall. His program interweaves Schumann’s gracious Arabeske and luminous “Ghost Variations” with the forces of Schnittke and Bartók, ultimately converging in Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, a work that explores every corner of the human emotional experience.

Nov 4: Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and former Poetry Editor of The New Yorker Paul Muldoon leads his “How to Read a Poem” discussion American Irish Historical Society. Participants meet to discuss poems published that week in literary journals and magazines, not just to glean their individual meanings, but to reflect on where poetry as an art form has been – and where it’s going.

Nov 5: Join Lucy Caldwell in conversation with Kelly Sullivan at Glucksman Ireland House NYU about her new collection 'Devotions.' Born in Belfast in 1981, Caldwell is the author of four novels, several stage plays and radio dramas, and three previous collections of short stories.

Nov 5: The Consulate General of Ireland in New York in partnership with The Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities at Columbia University hosts "What Does a Shared Home Place Mean to You?" - an evening of discussion that explores the different identities, cultures, and traditions that make up modern society on the island of Ireland. The evening features East Belfast based writer Jan Carson, Sean Gaffey, Chairman of Co-operation Ireland USA, Deirdre Lewis, Director and Visual Artist and Larry McCarthy, President of the GAA 2021-2024, and Rachel Quigley, Managing Editor of Underscored, CNN.

Nov 6-Nov 15: The 14th Annual Yonkers Film Festival (YoFiFest) returns to celebrate moving pictures, the people who make them, and the people who watch them. From opening night’s Red Carpet Reception, through our Closing Night Party, YoFiFest is a welcoming and inclusive festival that celebrates filmmakers at every stage of their careers.

Nov 7-Dec 13: The Good Thief by Tony-Nominee Conor McPherson (Girl from the North Country), comes to Irish Repertory Theatre in association with Two River Theatter.  After a seemingly straightforward job spirals into betrayal and violence, a small-time Irish gangster is forced to face the consequences in this one-man play in the form of a confession.

*Nov 12-15: Dublin company Dead Centre comes to NYU Skirball with the North American premiere of Deaf Republic, its extraordinary adaptation of Ukrainian-American poet Ilya Kaminsky’s acclaimed work. Using spoken language, sign language, captioning, silence, puppetry and live cinema, it imagines a town responding to occupation through collective deafness, transforming silence into an act of resistance.

Nov 12: Join Glucksman Ireland House NYU for the launch of "The Cambridge History of Irish Poetry," a one-volume, multi-authored history of the poetic traditions of Ireland and their impact on poetry beyond its shores.

Nov 14: Glucksman Ireland House NYU hosts its bi-annual Irish language workshop. Instructors lead classes at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels that will combine discussion about Irish culture and language resources. The event will close with a reception open to all.

Nov 16: From Irish-language poetry and contemporary fiction to independent film and live music, the Irish American Writers & Artists (IAW&A) Salon brings together New York's engaging literary and artistic voices for one night at The Ellington.

Nov 19: Join Jan Carson in conversation with Anne Teekell at Glucksman Ireland House NYU for her latest novel, "Few and Far Between." The award-winning writer presents an alternate history of Northern Ireland’s recent past where the last remaining residents of a haunted archipelago face eviction from their home.

*Nov 20-Nov 22: The 17th Annual PoetryFest, Irish Arts Center's longstanding festival gathers writers from Ireland, Northern Ireland, and North America for a weekend of conversations and readings, starting with Friday evening’s much-loved Favorite Irish Poems launch event celebrating Irish poetry across the ages.

Nov 21-Jan 3: You are cordially invited to step into the heart of Edwardian Ireland for an evening at the Morkans’ annual holiday party. You’ll join the characters of James Joyce’s beloved story, The Dead, 1904, in a richly immersive and unique theatrical experience at the American Irish Historical Society. Produced by Dot Dot Productions in association with Irish Repertory Theatre.

December 2026

Dec 3: Hosted by critically acclaimed Irish songwriter Niall Connolly, Big City Folk Song Club at Irish Arts Center is “a safe space for new songs.” This month's show features Sean Kiely, presented with generous support from the Emigrant Support Programme.

Dec 4: Traditional Irish Sessions in the Devlin Café at Irish Arts Center are back! Beginner players kick off the event at 6pm; advanced players jump in at 8pm. Audience members—join at any time.

*Dec 13-18: Irish Christmas in America is a family-friendly celebration of Irish music, song, and dance, featuring fiddle, flute, uilleann pipes, and harp. Produced by renowned Sligo fiddler Oisín Mac Diarmada, the show blends lively performance with evocative imagery, offering a memorable glimpse into Ireland’s rich Christmas traditions and spirit. Catch the show at The Ludlow Garage in Cincinnati, OH (Dec 13), Music Box in Cleveland, OH (Dec 14), and Stockton University in Galloway, NJ (Dec 18).

Dec 21: From Irish-language poetry and contemporary fiction to independent film and live music, the Irish American Writers & Artists (IAW&A) Salon brings together New York's engaging literary and artistic voices for one night at The Ellington.

February 2027

Feb 5: Traditional Irish Sessions in the Devlin Café at Irish Arts Center are back! Beginner players kick off the event at 6pm; advanced players jump in at 8pm. Audience members—join at any time.

Feb 6-June 12: The Irish Arts Center spring exhibition features select works by Geraldine O’Neill and Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh, two contemporary Irish painters. O’Neill has had work presented at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) and the National Gallery of Ireland and Ní Mhaonaigh was elected president of the Royal Hibernian Academy in 2025 and to Aosdána in 2024. Both artists are represented in Ireland by Kevin Kavanagh Gallery.

Feb 6: Celebrate St. Brigid's Day and Imbolc, the ancient Irish festival heralding spring and honoring the patron saint and goddess Brigid, with a concert and activities for all ages at Irish Arts Center.

Feb 11: St. Pat’s for All, one of the most inclusive celebrations of Irish culture and solidarity in the U.S., once again hosts its annual benefit event at Irish Arts Center. Its parade will be held Sunday March 7.

*Feb 18-March 21: Irish Arts Center presents 'Riders to the Sea and Macbeth,' a Druid double bill directed by Garry Hynes. 20 years on from the formative DruidSynge (2005), Tony Award winners Garry Hynes and Marie Mullen return to the work of one of Ireland’s greatest playwrights for this new production of J. M. Synge’s one-act masterpiece. Followed by The Scottish Play as you’ve never seen it before.

March 2027

March 16: Following the sold-out concert celebration on St. Patrick’s Day 2026, The Martin Hayes Quartet returns to Carnegie Hall for another transcendent musical experience for the ages.

March 16-17: Ireland’s beloved folk mischief-makers The Mary Wallopers return to New York City with a two-night stand at Irving Plaza. The run marks the band’s return to the city following their sold out show at Brooklyn Paramount earlier this year.

March 17: Irish Arts Center and the New York City Council will be handing out free books at the 15th Annual Book Day pop-up stations all across the city. Locations to be announced in March 2027!

March 27: Get a taste of Ireland’s rich cultural traditions at Irish Arts Center's annual St Patrick's Day Open Day! Guests of all ages can join in a céilí, sample educational offerings, make arts and crafts, and delight in the day’s free music and dance performances.

March 31: Symphony Space's public radio show and podcast, Selected Shorts, goes on the road with an evening of Irish fiction at Irish Arts Center.

April 2027

April 1: 'Our Steps Living Archive' presented by Jean Butler in association with Irish Arts Center and Jerome Robbins Dance Division is a multimedia homage to Irish dance. Including video and audio highlights from the collection and live demonstrations by traditional dance artist and archive participant Cara Butler plus special guests.

April 15-25: Choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan and his Bessie Award-winning company, Teać Damsa, return to NYC with the North American premiere of 1975 / Naoi Déag Seachtó Cúig, following 2019’s Swan Lake / Loch na hEala at BAM and 2023’s How to Be a Dancer in 72,000 Easy Lessons at St. Ann’s Warehouse.

May 2027

May 1: Irish Arts Center hosts its first celebration of May Day and the Gaelic festival of Bealtaine. The surrounding neighborhood also joins in for a community party featuring music performances, a céilí, arts and crafts, and more. Admission is free.

*May 6-May 8: Villagers, the double Ivor Novello-winning project of indie-folk singer-songwriter Conor J. O'Brien, comes to Irish Arts Center for a weeklong residency and their first NYC performance since 2016.

*May 12: Fiction editor from 'The New Yorker' Deborah Treisman, joins Dublin Literary Award-winning author Kevin Barry in conversation at Irish Arts Center, celebrating the relationship between 'The New Yorker' and the generations of Irish and Irish American writers it has welcomed.

May 14: Traditional Irish Sessions in the Devlin Café at Irish Arts Center are back! Beginner players kick off the event at 6pm; advanced players jump in at 8pm. Audience members—join at any time.

May 22: Féile na Gaeilge is a bilingual event for speakers of all levels, including beginners and those simply curious about Irish cultural heritage. Come together for conversation circles, workshops, film screenings, and performances at Irish Arts Center's annual celebration of the Irish language.

June 2027:

June 8-12: Irish-French chanteuse Camille O'Sullivan and pianist Feargal Murray return to Irish Arts Center for their fifth engagement with an intimate evening of songs from across her wide-ranging interpretive catalog, including audience favorites.

*Supported by Culture Ireland.