The 2026 summer school has a social, cultural and academic programme informed by the theme:
Myths, Legends and Laws
Miotais, Finscéalta agus Dlíthe”
Dr Niall Muldoon to open the 2026 Mícheál Uí Cléirigh Summer School
We are pleased to announce that Dr Niall Muldoon will formally open the 2026 Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Summer School on the evening of Friday 8th May in the Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Hall, better known as the Friary Hall, in Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal.
Dr Niall Muldoon is a Counselling and Clinical Psychologist with over 20 years’ experience in child protection and Ireland’s Ombudsman for Children. In 2012, he joined the Ombudsman for Children’s Office as Director of Investigations. Three years later he was appointed Ombudsman for Children. Throughout his tenure as Ombudsman for Children, he has championed the rights and needs of children, focusing on issues including access to health services, family justice reform and school places for children with special needs.
His office is calling for the incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Irish law, with Dr Muldoon describing this as “the most important thing we can do to protect and safeguard the rights of all children in Ireland.”
Afterwards he will present the Art prizes to the children whose art excelled in the Primary Schools’ Art Competition.
Once Upon a Time
Once upon a time …so begins all the best of stories. And it’s this idea of beginning that draws us in now, to wonder, to dream, to imagine…what must the world have been like some 400 years ago?
In words that connect us across time, 400 years ago this year, a man born and bred in Kilbarron began work on compiling what was to become the most comprehensive chronicle of Irish history; The Annals of the Four Masters. A momentous work, it captured stories from sources that are now lost to time, blending myth, tradition and history. Ambitious in scope and scale, its contribution to capturing a nation’s heritage was unprecedented. His journey began here, on our shores, looking out at our ocean.
Mícheál O Cléirigh was a man of God, a Franciscan friar who was rooted in Donegal yet boundless in his quest to know, to see, to document. His legacy endures and is celebrated annually near the place of his birth, in a weekend that invites you to enjoy music, readings and guest speakers, all drawn together by the stories. This year, Myths, Legends and Laws are in the spotlight, so it’s sure to be an interesting summer school.
This year, we’re inviting you to come to the Franciscan Friary in Rossnowlagh on the weekend of the 8th-10th of May. Share some stories with us, look out at the Atlantic and take a moment to just be. Let this be your Once Upon A Time.
; On Sunday morning there will be a field trip to the Cavan Burren stopping off at various historical sites an the journey.
For more information on all the speakers see: Home – Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Summer School