MORE than 1,000 events celebrating Culture Night were held across the island of Ireland last night.
It marked the first time that it was fully able to return since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Live music, dance, guided tours and readings were among the numerous events which took place at museums, galleries, cathedrals, libraries and parks.
Workshops, exhibitions and performances were also held at various locations in a bid to "connect people with cultural activities locally and nationally".
More than 30 local arts and cultural venues hosted events to mark Derry and Strabane’s Culture Night.
Free entertainment featuring music, dance, visual arts, literature, carnival, talks and exhibitions were held throughout the district.
Sandra Duffy, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane district council, said Culture Night was a "wonderful opportunity for audiences, young and old, to explore our cultural venue and experience something new and different and for free".
In Co Offaly, there was music, guided tours and a live television show from Lough Boora as part of this year's Culture Night, while in Dublin people were able to travel back in time to the Edwardian Period by taking a tour of Farmleigh House in Phoenix Park.
An interactive live digital art display allowed visitors to experience Medieval Dublin and the vikings in Christ Church, while the Gorey Polish Cultural Association held a night of Polish history, geography and art in Wexford.
However, the annual celebrations were not held in Belfast as the team behind the events had decided to take a "year out" amid plans to scale down the annual event.
The Cathedral Quarter Trust has undertaken a review of the city's contribution to Culture Night and concluded that a "complete rethink" is required in order to address issues raised by those involved.
Since it began in 2009, Culture Night Belfast has grown to become one city's biggest free events, with attendances of around 100,000 in 2019.
