Ireland named country partner for Hornbill Festival 2025

Irish folk music, theatre, and legacy of peace at centre stage this year

DIMAPUR — Ireland has been announced as the official Country Partner for the Hornbill Festival 2025, Nagaland’s flagship international cultural event.

The announcement was made jointly by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and Ambassador of Ireland to India, Kevin Kelly, at the Naga House in New Delhi on Tuesday.

As Country Partner, the Embassy of Ireland will present a diverse showcase of cultural and intellectual engagements, including investment roundtables, music performances, theatre and literary collaborations, public arts installations, and a dialogue series on “Ireland, India and Empire.”

According to a press release, Bóinn, a newly formed Irish music ensemble comprising members of the acclaimed folk group The Mary Wallopers—Andrew Hendy and Finnian O’Connor—joined by musicians Méabh Mulligan and Caoimhe Ní Mhaolagáin will perform at the opening. Hailing from Dublin and Dundalk, Bóinn draws inspiration from Ireland’s traditional ballads and rare folk music, reimagined for a contemporary audience, it said.

A highlight of Ireland’s participation will be a public lecture by Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, MRIA, Chair of the Irish Research Council and one of Ireland’s leading historians. She will discuss shared experiences of colonisation and lessons of reconciliation between Ireland and Nagaland.

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Ambassador Kevin Kelly said the partnership reflects the growing depth of Ireland-India relations and a shared commitment to cultural collaboration and peacebuilding dialogue. “We hope that people of Nagaland enjoy the best of Irish art, culture, and theatre and that the connections we make at Hornbill 2025 lead to even greater collaboration in the future,” he said.

Chief Minister Rio expressed gratitude, calling the partnership meaningful and special. “Nagaland is honoured to welcome Ireland as our Country Partner for this year’s Hornbill Festival. Ireland’s rich culture, heritage, and artistic traditions resonate deeply with our own,” he said, highlighting the scope for cooperation in culture, tourism, education, creative industries, and youth exchange.

Adding a multidisciplinary layer to the collaboration, Delhi-based theatre collective Kaivalya Plays will stage dramatised readings from James Joyce’s Dubliners as part of the Year of Joyce celebrations, alongside workshops for local theatre enthusiasts.

In a visual highlight, the Embassy of Ireland, in association with its Honorary Consulate General in Kolkata and Keventers Agro, will unveil a large-scale public art installation depicting the Irish pagan goddess Danu, created jointly by artists from Ireland’s Macnas and India.

Organised annually by the Government of Nagaland from December 1 to 10, the Hornbill Festival celebrates the state’s rich tribal heritage and has evolved since 2000 into a major international platform for cultural unity, tourism, and artistic exchange.