If you’re planning an autumn trip to Ireland’s northwest, the Sligo Baroque Music Festival offers something rare — Vivaldi and Bach performed by candlelight in intimate churches and galleries, all set against the dramatic backdrop of Benbulben.
Now in its 31st year, this festival runs 18-27 September 2026, with concerts across St. John’s Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, The Model, and the Hawk’s Well Theatre, bringing world-class early music to one of Ireland’s most underrated regions. Sligo is Yeats country, wild Atlantic coastline, and ancient passage tombs — and September’s softer crowds make it ideal for exploring.
We love events like this because they give visitors a reason to slow down. Rather than ticking off sights, you’re settling into a place, experiencing it the way locals do. A morning hike to Queen Maeve’s cairn, an afternoon in Strandhill, then an evening of baroque music in a centuries-old church? That’s a proper Irish weekend.
The 2026 programme runs across ten days in September, from an opening concert with mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty through to a closing gala performance of Handel’s Dixit Dominus. Worth building a trip around.
Originally reported by sligobaroquefestival.com
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