Charleville is set to step back through the pages of its past this week as the Charleville Heritage Society launches its 2026 Festival of History.
The four-day festival gets underway on Thursday, August 27, and will run until Sunday, August 30, bringing together talks, exhibitions, a historical walking tour and a special celebration of one of the most iconic tractors in agricultural history.
The festival will open at noon on Thursday at the Charleville Park Hotel with the launch of an exhibition featuring storyboards charting the history of Charleville. The exhibition will be officially opened by Conor Neligan, Heritage Officer with Cork County Council, and will remain on display throughout the weekend.
The first evening event will focus on one of the most significant figures in Charleville’s history, with Professor Liam Irwin, formerly of the University of Limerick, delivering a talk on “Aspects of Roger Boyle”. Boyle was the founder of Charleville town.
On Friday evening, the festival will turn its attention to the political history of the area when Eamon Ó Cúiv, grandson of former Taoiseach Eamon de Valera, gives a talk on “The Influence of Bruree and Charleville on Eamon de Valera and Fianna Fáil in North Cork.”
Saturday afternoon will see history brought out onto the streets of Charleville with a town walking history tour led by genealogist and local historian Evelyn O’Keeffe.
Beginning at Holy Cross Cemetery at 2.30pm, the tour will explore Charleville’s past, with a particular focus on the people and buildings that have helped shape the town.
The Saturday evening programme will continue with a look at Charleville’s role during the First World War. Historian Neale Rooney will deliver “Charleville to Gallipoli”, examining the stories of men from Charleville and the surrounding area who enlisted in the British Army during the Great War between 1914 and 1918.
The festival will conclude on Sunday with a special event marking the 80th anniversary of the launch of the Ferguson 20 tractor in 1946.
Around 20 Ferguson tractors are expected to be on display at the Charleville Park Hotel, alongside an afternoon of music and singing featuring Billy O’Brien and friends.
The Festival of History is the opening event in what the Charleville Heritage Society says will be a busy 2026/2027 schedule of events.
With four days covering everything from the town’s foundation and political history to its wartime past, local people and iconic agricultural machinery, the festival promises a packed celebration of Charleville’s heritage.
