Marine Institute to host ocean-inspired Culture Night

The Marine Institute in Oranmore, Co Galway will open its doors to the public on Friday September 19th for A Night to Sea, a programme of music, visual arts, talks and exhibitions inspired by the ocean and Ireland’s maritime heritage.

Running from 6.30pm to 9.30pm, the free event forms part of Culture Night 2025 and will feature contributions from local and national artists alongside Marine Institute staff.

Highlights include a performance by the Marine Singers Choir, which has been performing together for more than a decade, and The Achill Island Basking Shark Fishermen, a multimedia project blending oral history, archival film and music to recall Achill’s mid-20th-century basking shark fishery.

Noël Wilkins, professor emeritus of genetics at the University of Galway, will give a talk on the history of the Galway Bay oyster fishery and on early marine ventures along the west coast.

Photography exhibitions from staff members Mick Mackey and Felix Sproll will be shown alongside work from Oranmore’s Solas Photography Club. Visual artists Aoife O’Sullivan, Gerry Fogarty and Tom Coleman will also exhibit pieces, with Coleman using real fish prints to depict marine life.

Crafts, knot-tying demonstrations and marine-themed displays by Institute staff and community groups will complete the programme.

Dr Rick Officer, chief executive of the Marine Institute, said the event would “celebrate our shared connection to the ocean” while reflecting “the inspiration, heritage and wonder that the sea brings to our lives”.

A Night to Sea is free to attend and open to all ages. Full details are available at www.marine.ie