Celebrating Food And Culture At The Ballybunion Bean Festival

THE Ballybunion Bean Festival was a big success last weekend, with guests enjoying the beautiful sunshine in the woodlands and gardens at The Barna Way just outside Ballybunion.

The programme celebrated food and culture, including comedy, live music, art, conversation and yoga as well local, organic and vegan food.

Panels explored the potential of beans for the planet, for creative communities and for the body. All speakers emphasised the interconnectedness of the issues in the context of the many crises in the world such as climate change, biodiversity loss and forced migration.

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Lily Toomey, chef and member of the Bean Team, stressed “the importance of beans as a protein source especially in the context of the climate crisis. We need more sustainable food systems that support communities and are good for our health. Beans fix nitrogen in the soil and help local ecosystems to thrive. Beans also provide an opportunity for a new model of food production – from home and community gardens to small and big farmers alike. Growing beans can happen at any scale”.

Lisa Fingleton, artist, said; “This really is a radical festival. Radical comes from the work radix, meaning to the get to the root of things. The festival is about literally supporting the soil and growing organic beans and food without the use of toxic chemicals. It’s about supporting local growers and connecting them with world class chefs to produce delicious and nutritious food. It is also about bringing back the culture in agriculture and connecting with artists and musicians in creative and nourishing space, surrounded by nature”.

Rena Blake co- founder of The Barna Way said; “it is great that the festival was funded this year by the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine. We need to find new ways to support agri-food initiatives that are based on farms”.

Speakers included Elaine Bradley from Irish Seedsavers — who emphasised the importance of saving seeds and ensuring that farmers and growers are supported to save seeds for the generations to come — and Theresa Elumelu from Tralee International Resource Centre spoke about the global importance of beans around the world and also the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees coming to Ireland.

Thomas O Connor (Manna Organics / Talamh Beo)  and Ruth Hegarty shared their work on school lunches, protecting soil and saving seed.

Sunday morning started off with Soil Salutations yoga session with Steph Sheahan. Then comedian Breda Larkin jumped onto the stage for a show called Diary of a Bean Queen.

Then everyone headed back to town on bikes or the Bean bus for The Bean Fair and nature walk at The Old Attic on Main Street Ballybunion.

The beans and other food was grown locally and will be cooked by The Gourmet Offensive and Lily Toomey.

Artists included Kerry Visual Artist in Residence Lisa Fingleton, Jennie Moran (luncheonette), Stephanie Sheahan (Rituals of Plate), Sailhymn (singer /songwriter), Niamh O’Brien (harpist) and Breda Larkin (Comedian).

The festival ran from  August 22–23, 2026 at The Barna Way and in Ballybunion town.