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Ancient Music Festival
Music In The Forest 2026
Weekend Afternoons | June–August 2026 | 3–5pm
Dorlindon Nature Sanctuary, Co. Wicklow
This summer, experience a celebration of Ancient Music in one of Ireland’s most enchanting natural settings. Hosted at Dorlindon Nature Sanctuary, the 2nd annual edition of this open-air festival brings together live performances of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music, performed in a mythical forest environment rich with beauty, stillness, and atmosphere. A unique blend of sounds from across the ages, including Irish Classical and traditional influences.
- 3–5pm daytime concerts in a natural forest amphitheatre.
- Performances by ensembles and soloists from the European Ancient and early music tradition.
- A rare opportunity to gather, listen, and reflect in a place where music, imagination, and tradition meet.
- A contribution from proceeds will go to the Children’s Health Foundation, adding heart to every performance.
- A Celebration of Ancient Music in the Beautiful, Natural Forest setting of Dorlindon.
Tickets can only be purchased online on Powertik and on Eventbrite (see the single event for the direct link).
Please note: Tickets are limited due to capacity constraints, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
The Ancient Music Festival Music in the Forest 2026 is proud to be supported by RTÉ Supporting the Arts
RTÉ Supporting the Arts supports many local and national arts events throughout Ireland through media partnerships and cultural content across RTÉ platforms, including RTÉ lyric fm, RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2fm, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, RTÉ.ie, and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
Through RTÉ Supporting the Arts, RTÉ helps showcase the wealth of artistic talent, diversity, heritage, and cultural expression throughout Ireland and supports festivals and events in reaching wider audiences.
As an independently run cultural initiative entering its second year, the Ancient Music Festival greatly appreciates this recognition and encouragement from RTÉ Supporting the Arts.
This festival is dedicated to Brenda Grealis
This year's edition is dedicated to Brenda Grealis — an extraordinary harpist, a beautiful soul, and a true inspiration behind this event. Brenda is currently facing a rare, life-altering illness. If you are able, please consider supporting her and her family during this incredibly difficult time.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-brenda-following-a-life-altering-perm-sps-diagnosis
Saturday 20th June 2026
Liam Ó Maonlaí
Liam Ó Maonlaí presents a programme of traditional song and original music, drawing on Irish language song, improvisation, and his distinctive approach to performance. Blending elements of traditional Irish music with contemporary expression, his performance moves between voice and piano, creating an intimate and deeply expressive musical experience rooted in the living tradition.
Saturday 27th June 2026
Dynamics Vocal Ensemble
Dynamics Vocal Ensemble, an eight-voice vocal group, presents a programme of choral music spanning from the Renaissance to the present day. Their repertoire includes works by composers such as John Farmer, Palestrina, Monteverdi, Arvo Pärt, Hugo Alfvén, and Zoltán Kodály, alongside Irish and German folk songs.
Sunday 28th June 2026
Paul Dooley & Kseniya Rusnak
Paul Dooley and Kseniya Rusnak present a rich and evocative selection of traditional and early music from Ireland and Ukraine, performed on the historic Irish harp and Ukrainian bandura. Their programme includes medieval harp repertoire, compositions from the old Irish harper tradition, traditional songs and airs, and contemporary works inspired by ancient musical forms, highlighting the deep cultural connections between these two enduring harp traditions.
Saturday 4th July 2026
The Dublin Trio - Kevin Conneff (The Chieftains), Joe McKenna, Tony Byrne
The Dublin Trio presents a programme of traditional Irish music and song, featuring uilleann pipes, whistles, guitar, bodhrán, button accordion, and vocals. Their performance includes expressive slow airs, lively dance tunes, and traditional songs drawn from Ireland’s rich musical heritage. Bringing together three distinguished musicians, their programme reflects the depth and vitality of Ireland’s living tradition.
Sunday 5th July 2026
The Earls of Ormond
The programme spans from the Royal Courts to the heart of the forest, featuring works from the Henry VIII Manuscript and a thematic nod to the legends of Robin Hood. The performance balances haunting folk melodies with a vibrant selection of instrumental bird tunes and seasonal favourites. From intricate instrumental repertoire to the sounds of the countryside, this selection promises to bring the spirit of Roundwood to life.
Saturday 11th July 2026
Traditional Arts Collective (TAC)
Join TAC for an afternoon of Traditional music, myth, dance and song. You will hear tales from Irish mythology and be introduced to ancient instruments including Irish bronze age horn, flute, harp, voice and bodhrán along with sean-nós dancing demonstrations.
Sunday 19th July 2026
Ancient Music Ireland - Co-Founders: Simon O'Dwyer & Maria Cullen O'Dwyer
This performance brings audiences on a journey through the ages, exploring the sounds of prehistoric and early medieval Ireland, progressing through the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Early Medieval periods, featuring accurate reproductions of ancient Irish instruments, brought vividly to life through performance, storytelling, and music archaeology. The presentation begins with the earliest known musical instrument discovered in Ireland - the ‘Wicklow Pipes’ from Charlesland, Co. Wicklow, dating to circa 2,240 BC.
> Buy Tickets for this event on Powertik or on Eventbrite.
Saturday 25th July 2026
Catherine Rhatigan, Treasa Ní Mhiolláin, Eileen Carr
Step into a world of forests, birdsong, ancient melodies and story as Catherine Rhatigan, Eileen Carr and Treasa Ní Mhiolláin return to the Ancient Music Festival at Dorlindon with a captivating new programme.
Drawing on Ireland's rich musical tradition, the trio celebrates the natural world and the lives of women in earlier Irish society through harp, flute and song.
Treasa will also teach the audience a simple song in Irish, ensuring everyone leaves Dorlindon Forest with a musical memory to take home.
> Buy Tickets for this event on Powertik or on Eventbrite.
Sunday 26th July 2026
Eternum
Eternum conjures a timeless, enchanting sound that carries the listener back through the centuries, weaving together evocative vocals with the rich tones of lute guitar, Irish lute/Irish bouzouki, blockflöte and bodhrán.
> Buy Tickets for this event on Powertik or on Eventbrite.
Saturday 1st August 2026
Mary Bergin & Mick Conneely
Mary Bergin and Mick Conneely present a programme of traditional Irish music drawn from Ireland’s rich instrumental traditions. Featuring tin whistle, fiddle, and bouzouki, their performance includes expressive slow airs, lively dance tunes, and traditional repertoire shaped by regional styles and generations of musicians. Their programme reflects the depth, subtlety, and expressive beauty of Ireland’s living musical tradition.
> Buy Tickets for this event on Powertik or on Eventbrite.
Sunday 2nd August 2026
Cappella Felsinea
The programme highlights the intricate interplay between the human voice and the cello - an instrument that found its solo voice in Bologna. Countertenor Francesco Giusti, baroque cellist Norah O’Leary, and organist Thomas Charles Marshall unite to explore this repertoire, weaving together vocal agility with rich instrumental textures to illuminate the vibrant acoustic landscape of the Baroque.
> Buy Tickets for this event on Powertik or on Eventbrite.
Saturday 8th August 2026
Ravensdale
Ravensdale presents compositions inspired by a variety of influences from the Early Medieval period, sung in Old Norse, Slavic, English, and Germanic, drawing on Slavic and Nordic lore.
> Buy Tickets for this event on Powertik or on Eventbrite.
Sunday 9th August 2026
Kathleen Loughnane & Cormac Cannon
Kathleen Loughnane and Cormac Cannon explore seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Irish and Scottish repertoire, drawing from the manuscripts of early music collectors and historic instrumental traditions. Their programme features solo harp works alongside collaborative performances, including music from the old Irish harpers and historic piping repertoire. Cormac performs on uilleann pipes, flute, and whistle, bringing this repertoire vividly to life, while Kathleen’s harp arrangements highlight the richness and expressive depth of the early harp tradition.
> Buy Tickets for this event on Powertik or on Eventbrite.
FAQs
Can tickets be purchased at the door?
No, tickets can only be purchased online through Powertik or Eventbrite (see the single event for the direct link for booking).
From what time can I access the festival/car park?
Gates will open at 2:00pm; please have your ticket handy at the gate in order to access the carpark/forest; gates close at 6:00pm after the event, parking must be vacated by that time.
Parking
Parking is limited, please organise carpooling if possible; parking is restricted to ticket holders, please have your ticket handy at the gate in order to access the car park; parking is unsupervised, please leave nothing of value in the car.
Is it an outdoor event?
Yes, it is hosted in a forest, so please bring suitable outdoor footwear and clothing and possibly an umbrella if on a rainy day; in case of bad weather the event will be hosted in a more sheltered area of the same forest, however an umbrella will be necessary to reach that area and the toilets.
Can you walk around the Forest freely?
No, the event is hosted in a nature sanctuary and access is strictly limited to the event area (Cathedral of Trees) and only via paved tracks.
Are the paths wheelchair friendly?
Unfortunately not, the paths are forest tracks so you should mind your steps. It is an adventure after all and reflective of Ancient Music in the Forest in a natural environment.
Can alcohol be consumed on site?
Strictly No Alcohol can be purchased or consumed at the Venue.
Can children attend?
Children under 16 can attend under parental supervision only, for their own personal safety (the area has many water features) and in order to facilitate a quiet environment in the performance area.
> Events
Tickets can only be purchased online on Powertik and on Eventbrite (see the single event for the direct link).
The Bronze Age instruments: sounds unheard for 3000 years will echo once more in Dorlindon ...
From Ireland’s ancient cast-bronze horn, a prestigious instrument likely played during ceremonies, rituals or possibly even during battles, to many other earliest known musical instrument from Ireland, like the "Wicklow Pipes" or prototype "Fipple Pipes", discovered in Charlesland, Co. Wicklow and dating to circa 2,240 BC.
The horn will play again Saturday 11th July 2026, thanks to Traditional Arts Collective (TAC), while Ancient Music Ireland will bring vividly to life on Sunday 19th July 2026 their amazing instrument collection, progressing through the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Early Medieval periods.
A contribution from proceeds will go to the Children’s Health Foundation, adding heart to every performance.
Children's Health Foundation raises vital funds to support sick children and their families in Children's Health Ireland hospitals and urgent care centres in Crumlin, Temple Street, Tallaght and Connolly. This support includes funding vital life-saving equipment and providing essential patient and parental supports to making ground-breaking, paediatric research possible.
The concerts will be held in the main auditorium: "The Cathedral of Trees". In case of poor weather they will be moved to a sheltered area. These locations are 10 minutes walk form the entrance, outdoor footwear is advised.
Our Event Partners
Photographers & Videomakers:
Liya Poluhina
Email: liya.poluhina@gmail.com
Instagram: @liya.polukhina_film
Denis Borovikovs
Email: dbphotoireland@gmail.com
Instagram: @db_photo_ie
Catering:
The Divine Foodie
Website: thedivinefoodie.com
Music in the Forest stewards' outfits from our partner Celtic Fusion Design.
