Irish Festival of Oulu

The Irish Festival of Oulu is the world’s most northerly Irish Music Festival and is the largest Irish Festival in the Nordic region. It has taken place annually since 2006.

It is a rich and inclusive celebration of Irish culture comprising music, theatre, poetry, storytelling, art, film, dance, music education and children’s culture.

Past performers at the Festival have included The Chieftains, Bill Whelan’s Riverdance, a Symphonic Suite, Altan, Paddy Glackin, and Michael Longley.

The supporters of the Festival include Culture Ireland, the City of Oulu, Tourism Ireland, the Irish Film Institute, Irish Festival of Oulu and the Embassy of Ireland in Helsinki.

The Festival has strengthened connections between Galway and the City of Oulu through the European Capital of Culture project.

The organisers of the Festival have also been responsible for some of the most innovative Global Greenings in recent years. This includes greening the first known attempt to perform Irish music from inside an icy pool of water in 2019.