From talks on culture and tours of ancient artefacts to hands-on experiments in the latest emerging technologies, this year’s UCD Festival promises something to inspire everyone.
Now in its ninth year, the UCD Festival is a free fun-filled day showcasing the best of UCD through performances, engaging talks, hands-on science, interactive exhibits, and much, much more.
The festival, which takes place this Saturday, June 7th, sees University College Dublin’s Belfield campus host over 100 free events as part of a jam-packed programme bringing together students, researchers, educators, thinkers and the local community for a day of celebration, discussion, and learning.
With events ranging from creative workshops to live performances, this year’s line-up features demonstrations by aerospace engineer and baker Andrew Smyth, creator of the Netflix series Baking Impossible, as well as a keynote talk on the power of representation by disability advocate Sinéad Burke.
Also this year, for the first time ever, the festival will feature an educational UCD Lyons Farm showcase, with an opportunity to meet ewes and their newborn lambs while learning about the latest advances in Agricultural Technology, including self driving tractors and farm robots.
As an added bonus, music fans can look forward to a special reunion performance by past members of the UCD Orchestra while a massive family fun fair will take place alongside a number of sensory activities.
Meanwhile, the festival’s Literary Curator, RTÉ broadcaster Rick O’Shea, presents an eclectic lineup of talks including contributions from authors Paul Perry, Jan Carson, Roisín O’Donnell, Claire Coughlan, and Karl Geary.
Getting to the UCD Festival
Over 20 bus routes serve the Belfield campus, linking UCD to the city centre and suburban areas. The Belfield campus is served by the S2, S4, 145, 39a. The 155 and S6 routes also provide great connectivity from north and south-west Dublin. The 11 and 142 buses stop on the Clonskeagh side of campus and serve areas including Ranelagh and Rathmines. UCD is also located within walking distance of the Sydney Parade Dart Station.
The UCD Festival 2025 will take place on Saturday, June 7, from 12pm until 6pm. All events are free, but some may require advance booking. The full festival programme is available here.
Words: Martina Murray
Images: Marc O’Sullivan
