Ring of Kerry hosts storytelling festival from 12 to 15 November

The Ring of Kerry is the setting for the Sneem International Storytelling & Folklore Festival from 12 to 15 November 2026. The four-day programme brings storytelling, folklore, music and theatre to Sneem, a village on the scenic route from Killarney through County Kerry.

The festival is presented as its 13th annual celebration and places the village itself at the centre of the programme. It offers a current reason to visit the Ring of Kerry beyond its coastal drive and viewpoints.

Sneem festival brings four days of stories

The Sneem International Storytelling & Folklore Festival runs from Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 November 2026. The festival programme for November 2026 names performances, storytelling sessions, lectures, music and live theatre.

Guests listed by the organiser include Órla Mc Govern, Paddy O’Brien, Killian Burns, Cillian Brennan and Dr Senem Donatan Mohan. Frank Lewis and Jerry O’Grady are scheduled for talks on local history, South West Kerry traditions and the legacy of founder Batt Burns.

The programme also includes story swaps, a storytelling club and sessions at Murphy’s Loft. The South Kerry Rosen Choir is scheduled to perform at St Michael’s Church, while Seamus O’Rourke is named for a performance of J.B. Keane’s The Love Hungry Farmer.

The Ring of Kerry provides a village-based venue

Sneem gives the festival a setting within the route rather than at a single visitor attraction. The organiser places the event in pubs, St Michael’s Church, Murphy’s Loft and other village venues, linking oral tradition with the community landscape of South West Kerry.

Discover Ireland lists the Sneem festival dates and venues as 12 to 15 November 2026. Its description also identifies children’s events, story swaps, lectures, a concert by the South Kerry Rosen Choir and performances by local and visiting artists.

The festival’s connection with the route is practical as well as thematic. A programme based in Sneem adds a fixed cultural stop to a circuit otherwise experienced through coastal roads, mountain passes, villages and viewpoints.

Why Sneem matters on the scenic circuit

The Ring of Kerry is a circular touring route around the Iveragh Peninsula that traditionally begins and ends in Killarney. The official route guide describes Sneem as a stop after the road leaves Kenmare and before it continues towards Waterville.

Discover Ireland describes the route from Killarney to Sneem as part of a circuit through County Kerry. That geography gives the November programme a clear travel context: visitors can combine village venues with the wider road journey, without treating the festival as a separate city event.

Visiting Ring of Kerry: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The festival takes place from 12 to 15 November 2026 in Sneem, on the Ring of Kerry, with events spread across village venues.
• Visitors should expect a mixed programme of storytelling, lectures, music, choral performance and theatre, including an appearance by the South Kerry Rosen Choir at St Michael’s Church.
• The route traditionally begins and ends in Killarney, and Sneem is one of its named villages between Kenmare and Waterville.
• The programme includes indoor sessions in pubs, Murphy’s Loft and St Michael’s Church, alongside walks and storytelling linked to the Kerry landscape.

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Frequently asked questions about Ring of Kerry

When does the Sneem festival take place on the Ring of Kerry?

The Sneem International Storytelling & Folklore Festival runs from 12 to 15 November 2026 in Sneem.

Where is Ring of Kerry and how do you get there?

The route is in County Kerry and traditionally begins and ends in Killarney. Sneem lies on the circuit between Kenmare and Waterville.

What is Ring of Kerry?

It is a circular scenic route around the Iveragh Peninsula, passing coastal landscapes, villages and viewpoints in south-west Ireland.