Tread Softly 2026

Tread Softly is a biennial festival programming new work from artists living in the North West of Ireland. For this festival we have commissioned exhibitions, an installation, a live art event, a series of podcasts and talks, and two public engagement events.

Shifting Borders of Memory explores the fate of the small farmer and small farming culture in rural Ireland from the squaring of the land, the Famine and the land wars through the creameries to their legacy today. Fleshing out the bare bones of history, they consider how things were and what they have become in and around Sligo. The importance of remembering and understanding the past as an inspiration for solving the problems of the present.

The Podcasts

Cathy Jordan in conversation with Seán Golden: on folklore and folk songs
Harry Keaney in conversation with Seán Golden: on local names and history
Gregory Daly in conversation with Seán Golden: on society and politics in trad music
Heather Laird in conversation with Seán Golden: on land wars and social change