Ballybunion Bean Festival
22-23 August 2026
The Barna Way, Ballybunion
Tickets on Sale Now
The Ballybunion Bean Festival promises to be gas craic again this year. Last year’s festival was so full of beans that we are back due to popular demand. We look forward to another magical weekend in the beautiful surroundings of The Barna Way, a wildlife sanctuary and organic farm just outside Ballybunion. This unique festival focuses on the potential of beans as the most fun and climate friendly food for the future. The programme is full of dynamic talks, walks, art, workshops and performances as well as delicious, locally grown food.
The day will focus on beans for the planet, community and body moving from the global to the local and personal. There will be music from the wonderful singer songwriter Sailhymn and harpist Niamh O Brien. Artists LIsa Fingleton and Jennie Moran will be sharing creative responses to food and hospitality.
Watch last years bean festival HERE
Front: L to R Lisa Fingleton, Sailhymn O Neart, Minister Martin Heydon, Antoinette O Sullivan, Karen Costello, Councillor Aoife Kennelly, Senator Mike Kennelly, Karen Washington
Back: Amelian O Donnegan, Grainne Toomey,Danny Hoolihan, Patsy Gleeson, Cathy Healy, Patricia Pienaar
Photo: Rena Blake
Billy Jo O Connor from Leagh Farm will show us how to grow beans and Rena Balke will take us on a tour of The Barna Way to show the amazing work in terms of nature restoration, growing food and protecting biodiversity.
Gourmet Offensive are cooking the food for the weekend with ingredients sourced from the Barna Way, Leagh Farm and other local organic producers.
Ali Honour, James De Burca and LIly Toomey will be exploring the importance of beans for the body and the delicious potential of beans in our daily lives.
Comedian Breda Larkin will be full of beans on Sunday sharing her experiences of farming after the Soil Salutations yoga session with Steph Sheahan. Then everyone will head back to town on bikes or the Bean bus for The Bean Expo at The Old Attic on Main Street Ballybunion from 2pm-5pm. This last event is open to the public and does not require a ticket.
The full line up for the festival is:
Billy Jo O’Connor (Leagh Farm Organics)
Breda Larkin (Comedian, Talamh Beo)
Elaine Bradley (Irish Seed Savers)
Gourmet Offensive (Vegan Chefs)
James deBurca (deBurcas Tempeh)
Jennie Moran (Luncheonette)
Lily Toomey (Ballybunion Bean Festival)
Marilyn Catapat-Counihan (Killarney Immigrant Support Centre)
Niamh O’Brien (Harpist, Sound Artist)
Rena Blake (Barna Way, Ballybunion Tidy Town)
Sailhymn (Singer-songwriter)
Steph Sheahan (Rituals of Plate)
Theresa Elumelu (Tralee International Resource Centre)
Thomas O’Connor (Talamh Beo, Manna, Transition Kerry)
According to Lily Toomey from the bean team “The future is beans! Beans are an amazing source of protein, perfect for a plant based or a climatarian diet. Beans fix nitrogen in the soil and help local ecosystems to thrive. Beans also provide an opportunity for a new model of food production – from home and community gardens to small and big farmers alike. Growing beans can happen at any scale”.
The Ballybunion Bean Festival was born out of Brilliant Ballybunion, a Creative Climate Action Initiative, supported by Creative Ireland. While growing food, nurturing nature, and creating art together, the newly formed bean team began to imagine a new future for local food production and community resilience in the face of the climate and biodiversity crises.
According to Grainne Toomey from Ballybunion Community Forum, ‘The Ballybunion Bean Festival is a blueprint for what is possible – by bringing together local artists, collaborators, chefs, and businesses, it demonstrates how community action can be intentional, meaningful, and fun!’.
Rena Blake, co founder of The Barna Way and Chair of Ballybunion Tidy Towns, says, “We are so happy to have the The Ballybunion Bean Festival taking place at The Barna Way, 19 acres of wild meadows and woodland on the doorstep of Ballybunion”.
For the last year, the community have been growing beans and saving seeds for the festival. Karen Costello is now a passionate bean grower and says, “Last year was my first time togrow beans and it has been an eye opening journey. I couldn’t believe how challenging and inspiring it has been to grow my own food”.
Lisa Fingleton, the artist with the project says she is very excited about the festival. “I believe very much in the power of creativity and imagination. It can be quite overwhelming to think about all the impacts of climate change. It is really important for communities to create a vision of how we would like the world to be in the future and how we can do this in a way that ensures a just transition for everyone”.
Come join this truly slow food feast. This brand new festival will be gas craic, full of beans and other corny puns.
We are grateful for support from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
