Mr yeats visit to killala

JOIN William Butler Yeats as he brings festivities marking 150 years since his birth to Killala, celebrating the influence of the north Mayo town and its people and local events on his life and works.

The last invasion of Ireland, that of General Humbert and his French troops near Killala in 1798, was made immortal by Yeats in the first of his one-act plays, Cathleen Ní Houlihan.

Co-written by Yeats and Lady Gregory, it was staged at the Irish Literary Theatre, the precursor to the Abbey Theatre, in 1904.

Celebrating that association, as part of National Heritage Week and with support from Mayo County Council, Mr. Yeats returns to Killala for a night of poetry, music and song in St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Friday, August 28, starting at 8 p.m.

The event will include a reading of some of Yeats’ best loved poetry, handpicked by a host of Killala locals and natives, who will read their personally selected poems on the evening. 

Musical entertainment will be provided by the Lawlor School of Music, whose music will combine well-loved classics such as ‘Down By The Salley Gardens’ with contemporary and original pieces created especially for the evening.

A Department of Foreign Affairs touring exhibition on the poet and his work will also visit St. Patrick’s Cathedral as part of the event. 

William Butler Yeats is considered one of the greatest modern poets to come out of Ireland. He was a driving force of the Irish Literary Revival of the late 19th century, a founding member of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and Ireland’s first winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the poet’s birth in 1865.

Admission to the event is free, with donations to the RNLI. Don't miss this evening of poetry and song celebrating the influence of Killala, its people and events that took place there on William Butler Yeats.