2025 First Thought Talks On Sale Now!

Guests this July will include Congresswoman Parmila Jayapal; journalists and broadcasters Fintan O’Toole, Róisín Ingle, Lara Marlowe, Ciaran Murphy, Máiría Cahill, and Eman Mohammed; historians Phillips P. O’Brien, Diarmaid Ferriter and Gearoid O’Tuathaigh; Gillian McNamee from COPE Galway, and Catriona Crowe, First Thought curator amongst a host of others. Topics will include the Trump presidency; Gaza and Ukraine; kindness in our health system; the growth of conspiracy theories, crisis in the GAA, political trauma and injustice; autism and talent; the challenge of climate transition, and creativity.

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has represented Washington’s 7th Congressional District, which encompasses most of Seattle, since 2017. Having come to the United States by herself at the age of 16, she is the first and only South Asian American woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

She serves on the U.S. House Budget, Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, and Steering and Policy Committees. She is Chair Emerita of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a leading opponent of Donald Trump and oligarchic attacks on democracy.

She has spent over 20 years leading organizing and advocacy efforts for women’s and immigrant rights and racial and economic justice.

She is the author of the Medicare for All Act, the landmark universal healthcare legislation in the United States, and is a forceful proponent for peace, taxing the rich, and protecting poor and working people.

David Mach, the Scottish artist renowned for his large-scale installations, has a strong connection with the Festival for almost 20 years and his new installation Burning Down the House features at GIAF this year.

Mach’s work often critiques societal structures and power dynamics, reflecting his belief in the necessity of change.

Mach offers insight into his creative process, his use of mass-produced materials and the themes that drive his provocative art in conversation with GIAF’s Artistic Director Paul Fahy.

Climate transition is a concept we are all too familiar with. It is simply the biggest challenge facing the planet in the 21st century. It is something we all agree must be achieved and we are all aware of the grave need to progress it quickly.

So Where Are We Now and what needs to happen next? Prof. Annela Anger-Kraavi, who leads the Climate Change Policy Group at the University of Cambridge, will share insights on the current state of play and on what needs to happen next to drive meaningful climate transition.

Vinyl Hours is a series of talks with Festival artists in conversation with music maestro Tiernan Henry. Spend an hour on an aural journey of treasured musical memories with special guests, who reveal their go-to playlists, the soundtrack to their lives and explore what exactly it stirs within them; fun, heartbreak and revolution.

Playlists available on Spotify.

Guests include singer-songwriter Josephine Foster, 16 July; Faye O’Rourke from Soda Blonde, 23 July; and Nora Staunton from Shark School, 26 July.

Eman Mohammad is an award-winning Palestinian photojournalist whose work reflects not only the trauma and pain of destruction and constant killing in Gaza throughout its many conflicts with Israel, but also the resilience and ingenuity of a persecuted population.

As the first female photojournalist in Gaza, Mohammad’s work was met with prejudice from her male colleagues. She is a dedicated witness to the suffering of her people.

Her extraordinary photos are more important now than ever. She will be in conversation with journalist, podcaster and feminist Roisin Ingle.

Why are special abilities in music, maths, memory or art so much more common in autism than in other groups? While not every autistic person will have a striking talent, recognising special abilities [in individuals at all levels of support needs] can provide routes to employment, self-esteem, and joy!

Professor Francesca Happé will talk about how an exquisite eye for detail, and a mind untrammelled by others’ ideas, may contribute to beautiful and original contributions.

Followed by a discussion with Jody O’Neill, a writer, actor, and autism advocate, and Lorraine Tuck, an artist whose work explores neurodiversity and family life.

A recent report from the GAA finds a crisis in rural clubs and a surge in their urban equivalents. Are we returning to the grim days of the 1950s when emigration decimated rural GAA teams?

Are urban superclubs sucking up resources and providing a less focused service? If so, what can be done about it? Join Second Captain Ciaran Murphy, sports historian Paul Rouse, and Editor of thejournal.ie Sinead O’Carroll for a well-informed and lively discussion on the future of the organisation which has been the glue of Irish society for many decades.

Over the last 10 years, Fintan O’Toole, awardwinning Irish journalist and author, has written some of the best commentary on Donald Trump, mainly in long pieces in the New York Review of Books.

He combines astute political analysis with acute psychological observation of this most infuriating personality. He has also looked at the wreckage of the Republican Party, and why people keep voting for Trump. He will be in conversation with Catriona Crowe, curator of First Thought Talks.

Máiría Cahill was born into the highest echelons of Sinn Fein and the Provisional IRA. She was raped by a republican when she was 16, and subjected to a traumatising ‘investigation’ by the IRA.

She was subsequently badly treated by the Northern Ireland justice system. With great courage, she waived her anonymity to tell the story of what happened to her, hoping to empower other women who might have suffered the same fate.

She is now a journalist who continues to highlight injustice, regardless of its origins.

Ukraine faces a bleak situation as both Russia and the U.S. appear increasingly aligned against a nation that has bravely resisted an unprovoked invasion for over three years. The conflict carries serious implications for European security, unchecked Russian aggression, and a dramatic shift in U.S. foreign policy influenced by presidential admiration for autocrats.

Historian Phillips P. O’Brien, widely regarded for his expert analysis of the war, will discuss these issues with journalist and author Lara Marlowe, author of How Good It Is I have No Fear of Dying: Lieutenant Yulia Mykytenko’s Fight for Ukraine.

The recent TV series, Adolescence, brought home the frightening amount of misogynistic poison pouring into young people’s phones, and the potentially horrific consequences of doing nothing about it.

Teacher Eoghan Cleary has been working with his own adolescent students and publishing vital support material for other teachers for many years.

He will be joined by Professor Debbie Ging, DCU, whose research focuses on these phenomena, and Patrick Freyne, Irish Times journalist whose writing presents a very different model of young Irish masculinity.

Roisin Ingle, journalist, author and podcaster, wrote a column just before Christmas last year in which she described the kindness she constantly experiences from the staff in the chemotherapy day ward in the Mater Hospital who treat her cancer.

The piece had a huge response, and got many people thinking about the therapeutic value of kindness in healthcare. Roisin will be joined by Professor Brendan Kelly, of TCD and Tallaght Hospital, psychiatrist, historian of mental health and author of many books, including, most recently, Resilience; Lessons from Sir William Wilde in Life after Covid.

Endless conspiracy theories flood our phones in conversation with Saoirse McHugh every day, straining credulity, but with an increasing number of enthusiastic followers. In the absence of any serious controls by the obscenely rich tech companies who allow this dangerous misinformation to be disseminated, we must equip ourselves with defences against it.

Ciaran O’Connor has written a number of reports for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue on Irish right-wing conspiracies and misinformation. Cian O’Mahony is studying new approaches to critical thinking to enable people to distinguish between baseless non-evidential stuff and something approximating the truth.

When Gerry Godley [Breadman Walking] last came to Galway, the audience received delicious bread and a bag of organic flour to take home. He’s back this year to talk about Irish food in all its glorious and not-so-glorious varieties.

He will be joined by Professor Norah Campbell of Trinity College, Dublin and Ruth Hegarty, Lecturer at University College Cork, experts on food policy and development, and there will be grub for the audience again!

You won’t be getting ultra-processed food, although it will be discussed. Save your appetite for a treat.

Eoghan Daltun has written the story of how he saved a dying rain forest in the Beara Peninsula in his book An Atlantic Rainforest [A Personal Journey into the Magic of Rewilding], an enchanting story about a fascinating subject. His observations on this regenerative project have implications for both Irish rewilding attempts and the management of our national parks.

He is also a sculptor and conservator. He will be in conversation with Saoirse McHugh, environmental activist and former Green Party politician.

100 years ago, the Boundary Commission, believed by many to be the solution to partition, produced its report recommending very little change to the already established border between Northern Ireland and the Free State.We have been living with the consequences ever since.

First Thought favourites, Professors Diarmaid Ferriter of UCD, and Gearoid O’Tuathaigh of the University of Galway, will enlighten us on this turbulent period and a fateful decision which had many consequences.

Cope, Galway’s wonderful service for homeless people, is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. COPE Galway, Galway's homeless, domestic abuse and senior support service, is commemorating it's 60th anniversary this year.

Members of COPE Galway's team will discuss one of the most pressing issues in Ireland today – domestic abuse. Gillian McNamee, Head of COPE Galway's Domestic Abuse Services, and CEO Michael Smyth, will discuss how society's response to gender-based violence has evolved since COPE Galway's refuge first opened its doors in 1981. This talk will also feature the unfiltered voice of a victim/survivor.

Rebecca Braun, Executive Dean, College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies at the University of Galway, is an enthusiastic sea swimmer, like many people who took it up during Covid and have remained in thrall to the waves.

She has translated a book on the subject by a German author, Ulrike Draesner, a novel in which the central character decides to swim the English Channel. She will be joined by Dee Newell, an accomplished sea swimmer who has swum the Galway Marathon and the English Channel.

Galway International Arts Festival is an annual celebration of the arts, featuring a diverse programme of events, including music, theatre, visual arts and more. It brings together local and international artists to showcase their talent, creating a vibrant cultural experience for audiences of all ages.

Galway International Arts Festival would like to acknowledge the support of its principal funding agencies the Arts Council and Fáilte Ireland; its Drinks Partner Heineken; and Education Partner University of Galway.

Now booking online at giaf.ie

Or in person from Wednesday 25 June at the Festival Box Office, 31. Eyre Square