ISLA Festival

Organized by the Athy Sign and Sign Club, the ISLA Festival is an annual event dedicated to promoting Irish Sign Language, which is Ireland's third official language, and celebrating Deaf culture within the wider community. The festival will be held from 11am to 6pm at the Dreamland Ballroom in Athy.

This year's festival is particularly notable for its headline act, Finnish Deaf rapper SIGNMARK, who previously represented Finland at Eurovision. His participation came about after representatives from the Athy Sign and Sign Club met him at the inaugural European Deaf Youth Games in Germany, leading to discussions that brought him to perform in Ireland.

The festival offers a diverse program of entertainment and activities designed to be fully inclusive for Deaf, hearing, and DeafBlind attendees, as well as Children of Deaf Adults (CODAs), families, and the wider public. These include spectacular aerial performances, interactive art and music workshops, signed performances, and family-friendly games. A "Sing and Sign" session with Sarah Jane will also precede SIGNMARK's main performance, aiming to provide a fun, welcoming environment to experience ISL and Deaf culture.