At Aonach Mhacha · 74-76 Sráid na Sasanach, Armagh, County Armagh, BT61 7LG
Only the published dates are confirmed for this programme.
Macha Alive Fest brings a one-day programme of music, storytelling, visual art, photography, talks, ceremony and community events to Aonach Mhacha on Saturday, 7 November 2026, running from 1pm to 10.30pm.
The festival takes its name and its themes from Macha, the mythological figure tied to Armagh’s ancient royal site, and uses her story as a way into questions of identity, sovereignty, landscape, femininity and belonging. The day mixes live music with storytelling, visual art and photography, talks and a ceremony element, connecting that older heritage to contemporary work, with community events running alongside through the afternoon and evening.
Aonach Mhacha is at 74-76 Sráid na Sasanach, Armagh, County Armagh, BT61 7LG, in the city centre. Armagh is roughly 40 miles south-west of Belfast and around 85 miles north of Dublin, with the A3 and A28 the main routes in by car.
The festival’s themes lead straight back to Eamhain Mhacha, or Navan Fort, two miles west of the city: the Iron Age capital of the Ulaid and the setting for much of the Ulster Cycle, where a forty-metre wooden temple was built on the summit around 95 BC and then deliberately burned and buried. Armagh’s layering of myth onto history carries into its Christian story too: Brian Boru’s body was laid in state in the city for twelve days after the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, and a plaque on the north wall of St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral marks the spot. It is worth combining the festival with a visit to Navan Fort itself, or a walk between the two cathedrals on their facing hills. More on Armagh and the rest of Co. Armagh.
Heading to Aonach Mhacha in Armagh? Armagh has plenty more to see. Read the Armagh area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.
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