The Last Witch: Bridget Cleary at VISUAL Carlow

What to Expect

Bridget Cleary died in Co. Tipperary in 1895 in a killing so often described as Ireland’s last witch burning that the phrase has stuck to her name for well over a century. This solo storytelling performance, written and performed by Eve O’Mahony, sets the documented history of the case against the fairy belief that was used to justify it, and asks what the pressure of fear and superstition did to the lives of women in rural Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century.

The piece runs to roughly 45 minutes and is followed by a question and answer session with O’Mahony herself, so the evening is closer to 90 minutes in total. It carries a 12+ age rating. A companion podcast on Cleary’s life, death and afterlife in Irish memory sits alongside the show for anyone who wants the background before or after. Tickets are €22 including the booking fee, and the performance takes place in the George Bernard Shaw Theatre, the 335 seat auditorium inside the VISUAL building on the Old Dublin Road.

Good to Know

• Thursday 22 October 2026, 8:00 PM.
• Venue: George Bernard Shaw Theatre at VISUAL, Old Dublin Road, Carlow.
• Price: €22 including booking fee. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.
• Running time about 45 minutes, plus a post-show Q&A with writer and performer Eve O’Mahony.
• Age rating 12+.
• Wheelchair users and groups of more than eight should book directly with the box office on 059 917 2400 or boxoffice@visualcarlow.ie.

Getting There

VISUAL is on the Old Dublin Road on the eastern side of Carlow town, on the grounds beside Carlow College. Coming from Dublin, the M9 takes about an hour to Carlow, and the N80 links the town to Wexford and the midlands. Street parking is available around Old Dublin Road and the town centre car parks are a short walk away. Carlow railway station on Railway Road is on the Dublin Heuston to Waterford line and is about 15 minutes on foot, with Bus Eireann services from Kilkenny, Waterford and Dublin stopping in the town.