The Mother Tongues Festival is the largest festival celebrating linguistic diversity through the arts in Ireland. Originally devised to celebrate the first birthday of its founding organisation and UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day on 24 February, the Mother Tongues Festival has hosted events in over 20 different languages since its inception in 2018.

Its mission is to showcase Ireland’s rich artistic and cultural tapestry through the use of the many languages spoken in the country, enabling people to connect through language and diversity and illustrating how multilingualism is not a barrier, but rather a reason to get together and celebrate.

Now in its third year, the festival aims to shine a spotlight on international artists now residing in Ireland, and to connect audiences with their respective mother tongues. The festival features a dynamic programme of performances from across the arts and offers audiences the best in contemporary theatre, poetry, dance, music, literature, visual arts, scientific workshops, and more.

The festival is the only one of its kind, offering audiences an opportunity to be immersed in a multilingual experience while enjoying a varied and engaging programme, and was shortlisted for the EFFE Label Awards in 2019. Organised by Mother Tongues with the support of the Arts Council and the South Dublin County Council, this year’s festival will take place in Tallaght, Dublin, on  22 – 23 February 2020 and Blanchardstown, 21 – 22 February and will see a focus on language and identity with a number of events through English exploring these themes.

There will also be a wide variety of workshops and shows in different languages to give participants the opportunity to use their own language and to showcase the linguistic diversity of modern Ireland. It promises a wealth of entertaining wonder for all ages to enjoy, so join us for more multilingual fun in 2020!

23rd February/11.00am (All day)
Rua Red Arts Centre, Tallaght & Civic Theatre, Blanchardstown, Dublin
Tickets