First Fortnight Festival 2025: The Art of Mental Health

Every January, the First Fortnight Festival challenges mental health stigma and promotes mental health wellbeing through national arts and culture events. In 2025, celebrate Nollaig na mBan (Women’s Christmas) with singer Mary Coughlan and poet Paula Meehan, take part in Little John Nee’s Zeitgeist Jukebox in venues around Ireland, join the Mini Placard Movement at a creative workshop exploring homelessness and mental ill health, and much more. Here are some of our highlights.

Workshops 
Participants are invited to Mini Placard Movement, a creative workshop in partnership with Electronic Sheep around the subject of homelessness and mental ill health. Ireland is currently experiencing the biggest homelessness crisis since the beginning of the state. Participants will be given a mini placard and will be invited to create a small scale iconic mixed media visual on the placard. The resulting artworks will be showcased in an art exhibition at Smock Alley in Dublin alongside the work of commissioned Irish artists. No creative experience is required and all materials will be supplied.

How do we present difficult topics in theatre today? Representing Trauma Onstage Responsibly is a workshop presented by writer and actor Peter Gowen of Fight2Flight Theatre. The workshop will tackle experiences in the recent past that still impact Irish people’s lives, in particular, the trauma around the cruel treatment of children in the care of the educational institutions run by the Catholic Church. Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin, on 10 January.

Nollaig na mBan
Two of Ireland’s most acclaimed artists, singer Mary Coughlan and poet Paula Meehan, will celebrate the creativity, strength, and voices of Irish women on 6 January to mark Nollaig na mBan (Women’s Christmas). Together, they will create an unforgettable night of music and poetry in the intimate surroundings of Whelan’s in Dublin.

Music & Performance
First Fortnight, in partnership with Sing Ireland and the Centre for Contemporary Music, commissioned composer Norah Walsh to create a choral piece inspired by its mission to end the stigma around mental ill health. The Art of Mental Health will see the piece performed by the Laetare Vocal Ensemble, conducted by Róisín Blunnie, in St. Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin on 16 January.

Theatre 
With humour and humility, The Tightrope Walker charts Jenny MacDonald’s journey through the chaos and depth of illness and recovery. Written during Jenny’s residency at the Irish Hospice Foundation (2022–2023), it delves into the grief of a serious diagnosis while celebrating the community and characters who share the path. At Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin, 9 – 11 January. Post-show discussions with the artist will follow the Thursday and Friday performances.

On a night like no other, a group of strangers gathers in an old warehouse, drawn by a notice on a lamppost. The mission? To form the oddest band ever and create the greatest album of the twenty-first century. With primitive recording equipment at the ready, the clock is ticking—it’s now or never. Zeitgeist Jukebox is an immersive theatre experience led by Little John Nee’s captivating storytelling. Performances in Sligo, Kildare, Kerry, Wexford and Donegal.

Visual Art
What do you do to mind your mental health? Where’s your head at? is a portrait project in collaboration with First Fortnight and Emily Quinn. A collection of artists and individuals connected to First Fortnight and the wider arts community sat with Quinn for a portrait photoshoot and discussed what they do to support their mental health. The resulting exhibition at The Hunt Museum in Limerick is a reminder that joy can exist alongside the tough conversations, that we can share hope of better days ahead, and that community is one of our most powerful assets.

Don’t Forget to Remember: The National Gallery of Ireland presents a dynamic and inclusive public programme exploring dementia through art from 9-12 January in collaboration with filmmaker, Ross Killeen, and artist, Asbestos.

View the full 2025 programme and ticket information at
www.firstfortnight.ie