Drogheda Songwriting Festival 26th - 27th Sept 2026
Collaborate & Create something new with top class mentors.
About this Event
Bigger and better than ever!
- This year we've expanded the festival to a 2 day event, giving participants even more opportunities to meet, collaborate and create incredible new music!
- Our mentor team has expanded, with the addition of some world-class talent providing workshops on The Art of Writing to Pitch, Write To Rise, Transforming Real Life Stories into Powerful Songs and Finding Fun in Creativity. See below for more details on our brilliant mentors.
- Two of our most experienced mentors, SJ McArdle and Keith Burke, will be on hand during the Sunday in their Song Surgery to help songwriters polish their songs till they sparkle.
- Participants will get the chance to perform their new creations at the festival's closing event – the Gala Concert, where one song will be chosen to be professionally recorded for a day in Jejune studios with Daniel De Burca.
- This year we will based exclusively in the Barbican Centre in Drogheda, where we will have multiple rooms available to provide space for participants to team up, find a spot to work and develop their brand new songs.
- Reflecting the feedback from our participants at previous events, the festival will take place over two days in order to provide a lot more time for participants to work on their songs - especially on the Saturday, when collaborators will be in the early stages of developing their new creative partnership.
- Even though the event is now over a weekend, we've worked very hard to make sure the tickets are still very affordable, with no additional ticket being needed for the second day. So, even if you can only make it for the Saturday, you'll still have a great experience!
A whole weekend of creativity!
Saturday:
- Registration will take place on Saturday morning, followed by the workshops, which will continue into the afternoon, with ample time allowed between the events for participants to start their creative process.See the daily schedule for details
- As always, attendance at two different workshops is included in the ticket cost.
- On the day, make sure you’re early to ensure prompt commencements of the various workshops you have chosen on your ticket.
- Differently from last year's schedule, everything will be accommodated within the Barbican building with more spaces available than ever before.
Saturday's official events will culminate in the Mentors' songwriters-in-the-round event,
held in the Barbican main theatre, which has always been an incredibly inspirational
part of the festival.
- This will also mark the end of official events for the day. It is the organisers' intention that this will end at around 6pm, in order to give everyone the chance for a well deserved break after all their efforts on the day.
- For those who haven't yet had enough music for the day, we will also be organising an informal meetup in Peggy Moores later in the evening. Here, participants will be able to relax, chat with the mentors and also continue to network with the rest of their fellow festival goers. There might even be a tune or two shared!
- Parking will be available in the underground car park next to the Barbican. The daily cost of parking there is 7.50 euros per day or 15 euros for both days. Please note this car park closes at 6.30 pm sharp.
- If you play an instrument and use it as part of your songwriting process, be sure to bring it along! For the piano/keyboard players amongst the participants, the festival is making efforts to ensure there are a couple of rudimentary keyboards available. However, it would still be more advantageous for participants to bring their own if they rely heavily on their instrument for writing.
Sunday:
- On Sunday, participants will have multiple spaces in the Barbican to meet up with their co-writers to finish off the work begun the day before.We will have additional rooms & spaces available to facilitate co-writing.
- Mentors Keith Burke and SJ McArdle will be holding their Song Surgery from 2pm to 4 pm, where they will provide a fresh ear and advice to help the new songs become the best they can be.
- Radio presenter & legendary DJ Ian Shipply will conduct in person interviews with participants throughout the afternoon on sunday.
- The Gala Concert event commencing at 4.15pm in the Barbican main theatre on Sunday evening, where participants will get the opportunity to perform their new creations to their peers, has proved to be the highlight of the festival in previous years – at once both an exciting and a moving experience.
- At the end of the Gala Concert one song will be awarded the "Clare Corrigan Award" to go forward for professional recording in Jejune recording studios with Daniel De Burca.
Song Surgery
On Sunday afternoon experienced, veteran mentors Keith Burke and S.J. McArdle will help participants to polish their new songs up to a shine with brief feedback sessions for individual songs where they will share their insights into the songwriting process.
Ian Shipley interviews
Radio presenter & legendary DJ Ian Shipley with conduct in person interviews with participants throughout the afternoon on Sunday.
Accommodation
This year our accommodation partners will be:
- The Marcy Hotel
- Peggy Moores Hostel.
Accommodation in Drogheda can be somewhat limited at times. We have worked closely with both of these providers to obtain discounts for festival goers. We would encourage you to take advantage of our partners discounts quickly as both providers have limited availability. Please be advised you need to mention the Drogheda Songwriting Festival when booking to obtain the discounts offered.
Peggy Moore's
Peggy Moores is a brand new state of the art hostel based just 3 mins walk from the festival venue. We have secured a festival discount rate at Peggy Moores so please quote the Drogheda Songwriting Festival when making a booking
https://www.peggymoores.ie
The Marcy Hotel
The Marcy Hotel is situated in the centre of Drogheda town and five minutes walk from the festival venue. It provides exclusive parking for guests. There is a very limited number of rooms available so if you are thinking of booking do so early. Please quote the Drogheda Songwriting Festival when making a booking.
https://www.themarcy.ie
The Barbican ( Festival venue )
The Barbican Centre (St. Peter’s Parish) is located on William Street in the heart of Drogheda adjacent to the Laurence Town Shopping Centre. The Barbican Centre is a multi-functional building equipped for Entertainment, Education and Enterprise. The Barbican Centre comprises of the following: 500 seat theatre with state-of-the-art lighting & sound systems and multiple rooms for meetings & workshops.
https://www.thebarbican.ie/
Recording
JeJune studios
https://jejunestudios.ie
Daniel de Búrca is an Irish record producer and the owner of Jejune Recording Studios, an independent recording space known for working with emerging and alternative artists. Operating outside the traditional major-label studio system, he represents a newer wave of Irish producers who prioritise artist comfort, authenticity, and a collaborative studio atmosphere over high-end commercial polish.
https://danieldeburca.com/
Other things to do in and around Drogheda
If you feel like a short break to recharge your creative batteries, or indeed if you're going to be travelling with a significant other who's worried they might be at a loose end while you write your magnum opus, never fear! Drogheda and its hinterland are both stuffed to the gills with activities, such as:
Wellness at the Coach House Day Spa
A serene day spa nestled just five minutes from the M1 motorway with a unique vision to redefine wellness, creating a haven where nature, animals, and personalised treatments converge to nurture your mind, body, and spirit.
https://wellnessatthecoachhouse.com
Baltray Golf Club
Baltray is one of Ireland's finest links courses. With a spectacular layout and superb practice facilities the course regularly ranks in top 10 links courses in Ireland.
https://www.countylouthgolfclub.com
Seapoint Golf Club
Seapoint Golf Links is one of the worlds youngest links golf courses, though it offers a golf experience that gives testament to the quality of the challenge presented by its designers. Opening in 1993, the course has hosted European Tour and Irish PGA Tournaments, as well as the Irish Amateur Championship, the country’s pre-eminent amateur event.
https://seapointgolflinks.com/visitors/
Funtasia
Funtasia offers non-stop indoor fun with waterpark, laser tag, bowling, crazy golf, soft play and more. Perfect for families.
https://www.funtasia.ie
Visit Louth
https://www.visitlouth.ie
Drogheda.ie
https://www.drogheda.ie
The Historic Boyne Valley
The Boyne Valley is renowned for its rich heritage. Visit the majestic Anglo-Norman castle at Trim or the 5,000 year old UNESCO World Heritage Site of Brú na Bóinne. Roam through the monastic site at Kells in the footsteps of St Colmcille or visit historic Drogheda, Gateway to the Boyne Valley.Discover Boyne Valleyhttps://www.discoverboynevalley.ie
And much more!
Maria McCormack - Workshop -
Maria McCormack facilitates songwriting workshops centred on transforming real-life stories into powerful songs. Through guided conversation and structured writing exercises, she helps participants uncover meaningful memories, emotions, and key moments that form the heart of authentic lyrics. Writers learn how to shape lived experience into strong verses, craft memorable choruses, and build clear song structure. Maria’s process is practical and supportive, showing how honest storytelling can become compelling music while giving participants the tools to continue writing from their own lives.
More about the artist:
Maria McCormack is a singer-songwriter from County Donegal. She has released two acclaimed albums, I Choose to Love (2019) and Matters of the Heart (2023), both of which received national and international radio airplay. Known for her honest storytelling and distinctive voice, Maria writes across folk, country, and contemporary genres. She is a core member of the Wild Atlantic Women collective and the founder and host of the Go West Songwriting Retreat - Donegal.
Colm Gavin - Workshop -
Colm will explore the art of writing to pitch, be it for a Television/Radio advertisement campaign or for a contemporary artist, writing in all manner of genres and the art of collaboration
Colm Gavin has written for a number of contemporary Artists including Eurovision Legend Charlie McGettigan, Britain’s Got Talent Finalist Leah Barniville, Country Music Sensation Claudia Buckley, Kiera Dignam and many more.
More about the artist :
Celebrated Dublin Singer/Songwriter, Colm Gavin, signed to BEO Records (Home to the First Lady of Celtic music Moya Brennan R.I.P.) Has toured extensively internationally. Gavin’s records have reached the top of contemporary charts across Europe and the Billboard 100 in the USA
David Hope workshop :
“A relaxed, hands-on songwriting workshop for adults, built around finding fun in creativity, co-writing, and just getting started. We’ll look at simple ways to get past the dreaded blank page, play with words, and lean into keeping things simple. There’ll be a mix of prompts and shared ideas, with a chance to write together. We’ll also touch on how songwriting can be a really useful way to reflect, process things, and support your mental health. No experience needed”
More about the artist:
David Hope is an independent Irish singer-songwriter who has spent more than two decades on the road, quietly building a reputation as one of Ireland’s most compelling modern troubadours. Armed with a road-worn acoustic guitar, a weather-beaten voice and a sharp, self-aware wit, he has toured relentlessly across Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe, earning his stripes in pubs, theatres and arts venues alike. Rooted in rural County Clare, his songs carry the grain of lived experience and the restless instinct of an artist who has always done things his own way.
For Hope, this work sits naturally alongside life on the road. The same instincts drive both: listening closely, telling stories honestly, and believing that every life contains something worth singing about.
“…The Irishman from rural County Clare is easily right up there with his contemporaries and compatriots such as Mick Flannery and Declan O’Rourke…” — Folker Magazin (DE)
“…With a rough-hewn voice somewhere between that of Tom Waits and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy… his songs are strong and have an authentic, almost sepia-toned feel…” — Hot Press (IRL)
“…the potent mixture of gritty, hard-edged folk-tinged pop and heartfelt acoustic balladry is a tribute to Hope’s versatile song-crafting skills…” — Whisperin’ & Hollerin’ (UK)
Aine Tyrrell workshop :
WRITE TO RISE - A songwriting workshop offered as medicine for these times.
Áine Tyrrell has been holding WRITE TO RISE Decolonising Workshops for over 8 years, across many lands, with diverse communities. At the heart of this space is something deeply human, the need to express, create, and share our stories.
We are living through a time of reckoning.
Across the world, there are rumblings. Seeds being planted. Truths rising.
The pen, in our hands, becomes a kind of sword for shaping, witnessing, and growing something more honest in our collective humanity.
Áine has her deep cultural ways of being in community together and sharing in ways that are not top down, but more reciprocal, in circle. If you are looking for more doorways in, need a nudge, yearn for a community feeling the same, WRITE TO RISE is just that.
More about the artist:
ÁINE TYRRELL is a force, An artist arriving at the precise moment we need.
Some artists fill a room. ÁINE TYRRELL rewires them.
She came home to Ireland with a bang and Rhiannon Giddens, HotPress, Electric Picnic and 130,000 strangers can confirm it.
Her single BITSEACH dropped and the internet responded before the industry could figure out which genre box to tick. Irish audiences claimed her immediately, coining names like “MackleMáire” and “the love child of Enya and Kneecap.” When Rhiannon Giddens shared the video it hit 130K views with extraordinary company in the comments. No PR manufactures that. The Cumann na mBÍTSEACH has been gathering in fierceness at festivals and rooms across the island ever since.
Rhiannon Giddens wrote of her upcoming album: “It stands out for its clarity of purpose and refusal to soften difficult truths. MISE ÉIRE carries an integrity that is often missing within the fast-paced pressures of the music industry.”
Daughter of revered Galway traditional singer Séan Tyrrell, she carries that lineage in her bones with the fearlessness to blow it wide open. An award-winning fearless multi-instrumentalist, storyteller + community builder, Áine weaves culture, resistance + social change into a living sonic practice. Her unmistakable voice is electric, intimate and impossible to ignore. Live, she is compelling + unforgettable, blending spoken word, hip hop, acoustic guitar and ancient melody, moving seamlessly between power and vulnerability, leaving rooms charged, transformed and remembering our humanity.
A festival favourite across continents from Electric Picnic, Woodford Folk Festival to Shrewsbury Folk Festival
“Tyrrell’s incredible journey is one you’d be well advised to follow.” The Australian
Keith Burke - song surgery -
Keith Burke has been at the forefront of the Drogheda songwriting festival mentoring programme from the very beginning.
This year Keith will hold an informal "song surgery" with Participants on the Sunday afternoon to help with positive feedback & mentoring prior to the gala concert
S.J. McArdle - song surgery -
S.J. McArdle has been at the forefront of the Drogheda songwriting festival mentoring programme from the very beginning.
This year S.J. will hold an informal "song surgery" with Participants on the Sunday afternoon to help with positive feedback & mentoring prior to the gala concert
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
EUR 54.60
