The Galway Film Fleadh
Every July, in the week before the arts festival, the cinemas of Galway fill with premieres for the Galway Film Fleadh, the festival that calls itself Ireland's leading and that a MovieMaker magazine panel in 2022 counted among the fifty film festivals worth the entry fee. It was born in 1989 as part of the arts festival and has become the place where Irish films are first seen.
Checked against the source on 2026-09-19.
Galway Film Fleadh, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Róisín Dubh, Eyre Square on the 3D model; tap a pin for its page and directions.
From the Claddagh Palace
The fleadh, the Irish word for festival, was founded in 1989 inside the Galway Arts Festival and screened at the Claddagh Palace until that cinema closed in 1995. It grew into the venue for the premieres of Irish films while keeping an international programme. In 2006 John Carney's Once had its first screening here, before it went on to an Oscar.
Alongside the screenings runs the Galway Film Fair, a market where filmmakers with projects in development meet producers, financiers and distributors. Since 1995 there has also been a festival for young audiences in November, first the Junior Film Fleadh and now Generation Fleadh.
Recent editions
The 35th festival in July 2023 opened with the world premiere of Stephen Wallis's The Martini Shot, with Matthew Modine, John Cleese, Derek Jacobi, Stuart Townsend and Fiona Glascott. The 37th, from 8 to 13 July 2025, showed 96 features from 44 countries, among them 31 world premieres, 11 international or European premieres and 46 Irish premieres, and closed with Mike Flanagan's The Life of Chuck. Paul Andrew Williams's Dragonfly took best international feature and Trisha Ziff's Gerry Adams – A Ballymurphy Man best international documentary.
Questions people ask
When is the Galway Film Fleadh?
What is the Galway Film Fair?
Which famous film premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh?
Written from Wikipedia, "Galway Film Fleadh" (CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2026-09-19, and from the OpenStreetMap places on the model. Nothing has been added from memory; follow the source for its footnotes.