The late Paul Kavanagh beaming after riding a winner in JP McManus' famous silks
Search
29 Dec 2025
Search
29 Dec 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Italian artist Hermes Mangialardo is bringing the pictured art piece to Longford, called Oculucus – which consists of two giant inflatable human eyeballs
Caroline Conway once again takes the helm as artistic director for the 2026 Longford Lights festival.
The appointment of the artistic team creating Longford Lights 2026 has been announced by Longford County Council and Mide Arts Group.
The festival returns to Longford Town and runs across four days from Thursday to Sunday, February 19 - 22.
PICTURES | Glorious sunshine and a fabulous crowd on Christmas Day for Longford GOAL Mile
Caroline, who comes from Birr in County Offaly was the artistic director for the 2025 festival which saw thousands of people come from all over the midlands.
Speaking on the announcement of her reinstatement as artistic director for the fourth and final year of Longford Lights, Caroline said “I love working in Longford. There is such a great energy and enthusiasm here. The artists and community groups are really interested in getting involved – I think it is what makes Longford Lights so special, and we are determined to make our grand finale the greatest spectacle yet.”
Tommy Casby is also returning as assistant artistic director. A lead artist in Macnas, Galway’s internationally renowned spectacle theatre company, Tommy will bring his extensive 25-year experience to Longford Lights 2026. Tommy will be designing artworks, as well as mentoring local artists, makers and volunteers who help to bring the festival to life.
Tommy talked of his love of working in Longford. “There is a wealth of untapped talent in County Longford. There is also a growing number of local artists that are well on their way to becoming talented spectacle and street artists. What they produced for the Halloween Dead of Night festival in October was amazing. I can’t wait to see what they design for Longford Lights 2026”.
PICTURES | 'The Light Fantastic': Stunning gallery of images from magical Longford Lights Festival
New members to the team are Finish artist Veikko Lappalainen and Italian artist Hermes Mangialardo. Veikko is world famous for creating large nighttime illuminous art installations called ‘Flowers of Life.’ He is set to teach local artists how to create a giant ‘Flowers of Life’ installation in Breaden’s Lane in the heart of Longford Town. Speaking ahead of the festival Veikko said, “I live in a small town outside Helsinki, similar to Longford. It’s wonderful to see such ambitious imaginative work taking place outside big cities".
Hermes is a digital artist who worked for MTV for many years creating spectacular projections onto iconic buildings throughout Europe. This year he is going to produce a projection that covers the entirety of the main Connolly Barracks building.
Hermes Mangialardo said, “It’s such a wonderful place, such rich history. My art piece will be a homage to the building’s past, present and future.” Hermes is also bringing a second art piece to Longford, called Oculucus – which consists of two giant inflatable human eyeballs.
Longford County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Garry Murtagh said, “It is great to have such a professional team involved in Longford Lights and we can rest assured that this much-loved festival is in their capable hands. It is great to see Longford Lights attracting such nationally and internationally recognised artists to Longford to share their experience and talent.”
Also read: The perfect Christmas gift: Longford Lights 2026 tickets are now on sale
Longford County Council Chief Executive Paddy Mahon added, “The appointment of the 2026 Longford Lights artistic team is great to see as planning is progressing. Our local community groups, schools and local artists will benefit greatly from working with Caroline and her team. The Council is proud to support this festival and we cannot wait to see their creations in February 2026.”
The newly appointed Longford Lights 2026 artistic team are busy preparing the festival and contacting local community groups and schools interested in getting involved. For those interested in finding out more about the festival or booking tickets visit LongfordLights.ie or Ticket Tailor
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
