We were delighted to welcome Uachtarán na hÉireann Catherine Connolly, TD Mary Lou McDonald and TD Richard Boyd Barrett to the opening night of Return to Palestine on Wednesday 28 January 2026.
President Catherine Connolly is welcomed to the Project Arts Centre for the Opening Night of Return to Palestine
The work was presented by The Freedom Theatre and Cairde Amharclann na Saoirse in Éirinn / Friends of The Freedom Theatre in Ireland as part of Seachtain Saoirse don Phalaistín.
The opening of Return to Palestine marked the first time that legendary Palestinian theatre company The Freedom Theatre performed in Ireland. Based in Jenin Refugee Camp, The Freedom Theatre is a cultural hub dedicated to fostering artistic expression and cultural resistance. It engages particularly the young generation, providing them with theatre tools to navigate the challenges of life under occupation.
Led by Palestinian-Irish artist Gráinnemir Abualrob (a graduate of The Freedom Theatre), Cairde Amharclann na Saoirse, in Éirinn / Friends of The Freedom Theatre Ireland exists to support and promote the work and repertoire, vision, legacy and ethos of The Freedom Theatre by creating common spaces in Ireland through the practice of cultural resistance for cultural exchange, skill sharing and using cultural resistance as an empowerment tool for the Oppressed.
Seachtain Saoirse don Phalaistín kickstarted their 2026 programme with a curated week celebrating cultural resistance at Project Arts Centre and was an opportunity for audiences in Ireland to engage deeply with Palestinian art and culture. The wider festival programme included comedy and live music performances in The Space Upstairs, as well as workshop and visual arts programmes, featuring artist Tuqa Al-Sarraj. Find out more about the full festival programme here.
We were honoured to have them in the building.
Photography by Baraa Albayari
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