A weekend celebration celebrating the power, spirit and legacy of St Gobnait takes place in Ballyvourney this weekend with plenty of events taking place including road bowling for Gobnaits only.

Féile Ghobnatan 2026 which is  organised by Gaeltacht Mhúscraí, takes place from Friday February 6th to Sunday February 8th and is a weekend celebration rooted in the life, power, healing and heritage of St Gobnait, a healer and patron saint of bees. The festival honours the Irish language, culture, nature, craft, community and spirituality.

The festival kicks off with a welcome gathering at the Mills Inn at 7pm while keynote speaker Éimear Caomhánach, author of The Keeper of Bees draws from her own experience as a beekeeper and the wisdom taught by her father. Her talk explores deep connections between beekeeping, folklore, healing and community life.

Other events taking over the weekend include Nature, Craft and Super Céilí, while Sunday's festival highlight will be the Gobnait-only Road Bowling Competition held in association with local Bólcumman Ghobnatan, in honour of the saint's legendary 'bolla' which was a spherical ball she used in stories told, which cured animals and protected her community. Competitiors will compete for the Gobnait Ní Tuama Perpetual Trophy and this year there is a specially commissioned prize for the overall winner.

Meanwhile, St Gobnait's Feast Day is celebrated on Wednesday February 11th and St Gobnait's parish church in Ballyvourney will host its annual exhibition of the ancient oak statue of St Gobnait. This sacred status will be on display for the ancient tradition of 'Tomhas Ghobnatan' where people take her measure with a ribbon as an act of blessing and connection, a living tradition in Ireland dating back many centuries. The statue will be available for all masses on her feast day, continuing this local treasured tradition.

Féile Ghobnatan invites visitors of all ages — whether fluent in Irish or with a cúpla focal — to share in the rich heritage, devotion and warm hospitality of Gaeltacht Mhúscraí.

For a full programme of events see https://gaeltachtmhuscrai.ie/thingstodo/feile-ghobnatan/