Heritage Week on the Ring of Kerry: what is worth going to

National Heritage Week runs from Saturday 15 to Sunday 23 August 2026, and the Ring of Kerry carries 37 events across the nine days. Almost every one is free, and most are the sort of thing you cannot buy a ticket for the rest of the year: a blacksmith at work, an archaeologist on a hillside, a telescope pointed at a fort.

Organised by where you would already be:

Muckross has the densest programme, a different master craftsman in the Schoolhouse every weekday afternoon and events all weekend. It has its own page here: Heritage Week at Muckross.

Killarney puts two free tours in the Ross Castle courtyard. Exploring Ross Island, on the copper mining that goes back about four thousand years and on what grows on the peninsula now, is at noon on 15 and 22 August and starts from the yew tree in the courtyard. Places are limited and you have to book, by emailing [email protected]. Ross Castle through the Ages, on the barracks and Ross Cottage and the people who passed through both, is at 2pm on 16 and 23 August and needs no booking at all. Both are outdoors on uneven ground, so dress for it. Killarney House shows a photographic exhibition of Beatrice Grosvenor's time there on 23 August, and there is a trad session at the tourist office on 15 and 22 August.

Staigue Fort is the pick of the week for anyone who likes a dark sky. Kerry Dark Sky Tourism sets up telescopes at Staigue Fort House on the night of Friday 15 August, 9:30pm to 11pm, with one of the best preserved stone forts in Ireland in the foreground.

Derrynane runs three: a seagrass snorkel and paddleboard on 20 August, a dunes walk and talk on 21 August, and Stars, Sparkles and Seashores at the harbour at 9:30pm that same night.

Waterville doubles up on 22 August. Fathoms Deep, on the ships and people behind the village's cable heritage, runs at 3pm, and the guided stroll around the Cable Station follows at 4pm.

Kenmare closes the week with a Kenmare Lace demonstration on 23 August, and has storytelling and traditional music on 21 August, a bee walk in the community garden on 19 August and a shore walk at Coss Strand the same afternoon.

Sneem has willow weaving in the Wild Garden on 19 August and wild music in the same garden on 23 August. Above Glenbeigh, the Coomasaharn rock art gets two outings: a Lughnasa gathering on 15 August and a walk with archaeologist Aoibheann Lambe on 22 August.

Some sessions cap numbers and ask you to book, so check the listing for the one you want. The full Kerry programme, including the north of the county, is on the National Heritage Week site.