What are the opening hours?

Monday 2:30pm - 11pm Tuesday 2:30pm - 11pm Wednesday 2:30pm - 11pm Thursday 2:30pm - 11pm Friday 2:30pm - 11pm Saturday 2:30pm - 11pm Sunday 2:30pm - 11pm

http://jamesconnollyfestival.com/

James Connolly Festival, 43 East Essex Street, Dublin (2026)

29/04/2026

On Sunday the festival closes with the James Connolly Commemoration at Arbour Hill from 3pm. For this year's commemoration we are honoured to welcome Dr Saeb Sha’ath to give the oration. The Gaza-born activist is a well known public speaker and expert on West Asia. He is well versed on Irish history and affairs. He will address our commemoration on the historic struggle of the Irish and Palestinian people for national freedom and independence. We will also hear from Fionn Wallace of the Communist Party of Ireland.

27/04/2026

Michael O'Riordan was born in Cork in November 1917. He was for many decades the public face of the communist movement in Ireland from the mid 1940's onwards until his death on the 18th May 2006. He dedicated his entire life to the struggle for socialism, for the liberation of the working class and for a united independent sovereign Ireland. He fought in the Spanish anti-fascist war (1936-39) with the Connolly Column as part of the International Bridge.

He stood for elections on a number of occasions. During the election campaign of 1951, at the height of the Cold War, he received the endorsement of playwright Sean O'Casey who wrote “Mr O'Riordan is his own message. He has nothing to sell but his soul. But he hasn't done that, though he will be told he'll lose it by holding on to it.”

O'Riordan was a communist with strong principles, showing great personal and political courage throughout his life. He was a man of peace, an anti-fascist, a housing activist and a strong, active supporter of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association in the occupied six counties. He was a staunch defender of the Soviet Union and all those fighting for a better world.

On the twentieth anniversary of his passing, join us for an evening of memories and discussion on his life with long time stalwart members of the Communist Party of Ireland and author of ‘The Making of an Irish Communist Leader - life and times of Michael O’Riordan 1938-1947’

Michael Quinn (Author)
Eugene MacCartan (Communist Party of Ireland)
Eddie Glackin (Communist Party of Ireland)

Tickets available now, link in bio 👆
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/mick-oriordan-the-man-we-knew-tickets-1987508875549

26/04/2026

Poetry & Spoken Word in our courtyard

Anna D is a writer, performer and spoken word poet from Dublin. Her work is violently vulnerable, fragile and fierce and aims to disturb the comfortable, and comfort the disturbed. She is interested in the politics of emotional life, the female experience, motherhood, relationships, familial and collective trauma and the web of structural oppression that impacts how we relate to each other and the world today. She is currently Artist in Residence at Dublin Fringe Festival where she is working on a multidisciplinary theatre project about ‘Matrescence’.

Nithy Kasa was born in Kimpese, a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2005, the teenage Kasa moved to Galway. A poem she submitted to her secondary school’s magazine caught the attention of her English teacher, a renowned Galway poet. Her teacher’s encouragement led to her enrolment in Poetry Ireland’s national Poetry Aloud Competition, where she reached the finals multiple times.

Rachel Lally is an actor, writer, poet, facilitator and performer whose work centres on community, social justice and collective storytelling.

A multidisciplinary artist, Rachel has performed across theatre, spoken word and live music, with appearances at festivals including Edinburgh Fringe, Prague Fringe, Electric Picnic and Knockanstockan. Her work frequently engages with themes of power, class, gender and resistance, drawing on both personal narrative and wider social histories.

Her poem and film “Indirect Prison,” responding to Ireland’s Direct Provision system, premiered at Axis Theatre and reflects her ongoing commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices.

Clíodhna Bhreatnach is from Waterford and lives in Dublin. Her poetry has appeared in The Stinging Fly, Propel, and Poetry Ireland Review. She was awarded a Dublin City Arts Bursary in 2025. She is the former poetry editor of the Frustrated Writers Group. Her debut pamphlet Pink roses, Green was published by Green Bottle Press in 2025 and was highly commended for the Patrick Kavanagh Award.

Tickets available now, link in bio 👆
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/poetry-spoken-word-in-the-courtyard-tickets-1987520389989

22/04/2026

‘The Agitator’s Wife’

The title is referred to by James Connolly’s daughter, Nora, in her 1935 memoir, as a ‘play’ written by her father and in other biographies of the 1916 leader as his ‘lost play’.

In 2018, researchers in Warwick University discovered a short story entitled ‘The Agitators Wife’ in an edition of an English journal, Labour Prophet, which was published in 1894. It tells the story of the wife of a trade union official who takes over the leadership of a strike by dockers when her husband falls ill. There was speculation that this story was written by Connolly as it echoed his views on the importance of women in the struggle for worker’s rights and freedom. However, the identity of the author has not been established.

‘An Agitator’s Wife’

In 1895, a short play by James Connolly entitled ‘An Agitators Wife’ was published in the Labour Leader newspaper under a pseudonym which he was known to have used. This play portrays the personal frustration and anger of a woman living in poverty with small children and married to a trade union activist. It was reproduced in ‘The Lost and Early Writings of James Connolly 1889 -1898’ by Conor McCabe in 2024.

‘Portrait of a Rebel Father’

A reading from Nora Connolly O'Brien's 1935 memoir of her father ‘Portrait of a Rebel Father’. This excerpt vividly describes the last days of Connolly's life and his farewell to his family as he lay in Dublin Castle hospital awaiting ex*****on.

The short story, the play and the extract will be read with songs about James Connolly.

Produced by Frank Connolly

Adapted and directed by Jessica Freed

Actors: Leanne Bickerdike, Daniel Costello, Finbarr Doyle, Jessica Freed and Rory Mullen

Singer: Gearoid Lanigan

Tickets available now, link in bio 👆
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/james-connolly-agitators-wife-portrait-of-a-rebel-father-songs-tickets-1987507555601

18/04/2026

Sat May 9th - Book Launch : 'Breaking Dependency: Ireland's Struggle for Class Power and Sovereignty' with Eoghan O'Neill
Connolly Books (Upstairs). 2pm

Ireland's transformation over the past half a century is regularly presented as a success story - from poverty to prosperity, mass emigration a “poster boy” for successful economic development that should be the template for other nations to follow?

The book pulls away the veil of the slick Irish government PR spin and exposes the deep economic and political weaknesses that lie at the heart of this social and economic dependency strategy. The book interrogates that dependency not as moral failure but as a structural feature of capitalism in Ireland.

The road from dependency to sovereignty is neither automatic nor inevitable. It must be fought for, organised, and defended and ultimately owned by the working class.

Tickets available now, link in bio 👆
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/book-launch-breaking-dependency-with-author-eoghan-oneill-tickets-1987523265590?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

16/04/2026

‘I Am Cuba’ (Soy Cuba) was both a landmark of radical political cinema and one of the most visually ravishing films ever made. A legendary hymn to revolution shimmers across the screen like a fever dream of rebellion.

The result of an extraordinarily ambitious collaboration between the Soviet and Cuban film industries, director Mikhail Kalatozov’s I Am Cuba unfolds in four explosive vignettes that capture Cuban life on the brink of transformation, as crushing economic exploitation and inequality give way to a working-class uprising.

Backed by Carlos Fariñas’s stirring score, the dazzling camera work by Sergei Urusevsky—an inspiration for generations of filmmakers to follow—gives flight to the movie’s message of liberation

Tickets available now, link in bio 👆
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/connolly-books-film-club-presents-i-am-cuba-by-mikhail-kalatozov-tickets-1987508240650

16/04/2026

🚨 WE ARE LIVE COMRADES 🚨

The festival runs from Wed May 6-10 with most events taking place at Connolly House & The New Theatre.

This year's festival kicks off with an evening of theatre, readings, songs & stories based around the works of James Connolly & his daughter Nora. It will see the first performance of James Connolly’s ‘The Agitator's Wife’. A formerly lost short story discovered in 2019, believed to be written by Connolly in 1894. It depicts a Scottish docker's wife taking over leadership of a strike to support her family & community. It likely inspired a lost play of the same name mentioned in his daughter's 1935 memoir. Speaking of Nora Connolly’s memoir ‘Portrait of a Rebel Father’, the evening will also see selected readings from it by actor Leanne Pickerdike. The evening will close with songs

On Thurs the Connolly Books Film Club will screen ‘I Am Cuba’ (Soy Cuba). The film was both a landmark of radical political cinema and one of the most visually ravishing films ever made. A legendary hymn to revolution shimmers across the screen like a fever dream of rebellion. It will be followed by a Q&A.

Friday sees us mark 20 years since the passing of a legendary Irish Communist. ‘Mick O’Riordan: The Man We Knew’ will see the New Theatre host an evening of memories & discussion on Mick’s life with long time stalwart members of the Communist Party of Ireland & author of ‘The Making of an Irish Communist Leader - life and times of Michael O’Riordan 1938-1947’

Sat will see 3 events take place. The day will open with a poetry & spoken word session featuring Anna D, Nithy Kasa & others outside in the Connolly Books Courtyard. In the afternoon we will launch Eoghan O’Neills new book 'Breaking Dependency: Ireland's Struggle for Class Power and Sovereignty' in the O’Riordan-Redmond room at Connolly House. Later that evening, the annual ‘James Connolly Memorial Lecture’ will be delivered by Dr Patrick Bresnihan. The title of this years lecture is ‘Imperialism, Sovereignty & the spectre of Neutrality'

On Sunday the James Connolly Commemoration will be delivered by Gaza-born Dr Saeb Sha'ath at Arbour Hill cemetery

Book tickets now, link in bio 👆

15/04/2026

Michael O'Riordan was born in Cork in November 1917. He was for many decades the public face of the communist movement in Ireland from the mid 1940's onwards until his death on the 18th May 2006. He dedicated his entire life to the struggle for socialism, for the liberation of the working class and for a united independent sovereign Ireland. He fought in the Spanish anti-fascist war (1936-39) with the Connolly Column as part of the International Bridge.

He stood for elections on a number of occasions. During the election campaign of 1951, at the height of the Cold War, he received the endorsement of playwright Sean O'Casey who wrote “Mr O'Riordan is his own message. He has nothing to sell but his soul. But he hasn't done that, though he will be told he'll lose it by holding on to it.”

O'Riordan was a communist with strong principles, showing great personal and political courage throughout his life. He was a man of peace, an anti-fascist, a housing activist and a strong, active supporter of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association in the occupied six counties. He was a staunch defender of the Soviet Union and all those fighting for a better world.

On the twentieth anniversary of his passing, join us for an evening of memories and discussion on his life with long time stalwart members of the Communist Party of Ireland and author of ‘The Making of an Irish Communist Leader - life and times of Michael O’Riordan 1938-1947’

Michael Quinn (Author)
Eugene MacCartan (Communist Party of Ireland)
Eddie Glackin (Communist Party of Ireland)

Tickets available now, link in bio 👆
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/mick-oriordan-the-man-we-knew-tickets-1987508875549?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

10/05/2025

An action packed penultimate day at James Connolly Festival.

🎟️ TICKETS 🎟️

11am - Walking Tour Sold Out ✖️
1pm - Poetry w/ .poetry & TICKETS AVAILABLE ✅
4PM Lecture with LOW TICKET WARNING ⚠️
9.30PM Gig with LOW TICKET WARNING ⚠️

The James Connolly Art Exhibition & Grand Canal Demolition Derby video game are available to view / play throughout the day. Entrance via

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/james-connolly-festival-2025-4233623

09/05/2025

Tonight we screen 'ISREALISM' at

🎬 FILM SCREENING
📌 The New Theatre
🗓️ Friday, May 8th
⏰ 7.30pm

👉 Swipe for trailer

The film examines how a new generation of American Jews, raised to "unconditionally love" Israel, are confronting the reality of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, leading to a reevaluation of their relationship with both Israel and their Jewish identity.

Book now, link in bio 👆
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/isrealism-tickets-1322067953839

James Connolly Festival

29/04/2026

27/04/2026

26/04/2026

22/04/2026

18/04/2026

16/04/2026

16/04/2026

15/04/2026

10/05/2025

09/05/2025

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Monday	2:30pm - 11pm
Tuesday	2:30pm - 11pm
Wednesday	2:30pm - 11pm
Thursday	2:30pm - 11pm
Friday	2:30pm - 11pm
Saturday	2:30pm - 11pm
Sunday	2:30pm - 11pm