A remote island on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way will become the home of what is believed to be Ireland’s first public mead-making experience when visitors gather on Inishturk Island on Saturday, July 11, to discover, taste and create one of humanity’s oldest alcoholic drinks.
Limited to just ten participants, the immersive experience will combine Irish history, traditional craftsmanship, premium Irish honey and hands-on fermentation, with every guest creating and taking home their own one-gallon (4.5 litre ) batch of mead.
The event is being delivered as part of the Taste of Inishturk Festival 2026 in conjunction with Wild Atlantic Mead and the Inishturk Native Irish Honey Bee Sanctuary. The festival celebrates the island’s unique culture, heritage, food, community and natural environment, bringing visitors to one of Ireland’s most spectacular offshore destinations.
The mead-making experience forms one of the festival’s flagship activities and offers visitors a rare opportunity to discover, taste and create Ireland’s oldest drink while experiencing life on a remote Atlantic island.
Places are strictly limited to just 10 participants, and advance booking is essential. Tickets are priced at €135 per person and include return ferry travel, a two-course lunch, honey and mead tastings, all workshop materials and ingredients, and a one-gallon (4.5 litre ) batch of mead to take home.
Bookings can be made via https://inishturkisland.com and participants must be aged 18 years or over.
Mead, often known as honey wine, predates both beer and wine and is believed to have been consumed for more than 9,000 years. In Ireland, mead was associated with kings, warriors and hospitality, with references appearing throughout Irish mythology and early medieval history.
Ancient Irish kings are said to have celebrated with mead in the halls of Tara, while honey wine featured prominently in feasting, hospitality and ceremonial occasions throughout Irish history.
The drink is also closely associated with weddings and is widely believed to have contributed to the origin of the term “honeymoon”, when newly married couples were traditionally gifted honey wine following their wedding.
The experience will be led by Sean O’Connor, founder of Wild Atlantic Mead, founder of the Inishturk Native Irish Honey Bee Sanctuary, a member of the European Mead Makers Association and the Institute of Brewing & Distilling, and a long-time Irish beekeeper.
Participants will sample a range of premium Irish honeys and discover how different floral sources influence flavour, aroma and fermentation. Guests will learn the science behind mead-making, taste different styles of honey wine and gain practical hands-on experience creating their own batch using premium Irish honey.
By the end of the workshop, every participant will leave with their own one-gallon (4.5 litre ) batch of mead and the knowledge required to complete the fermentation process at home.
Sean O’Connor said Ireland has an extraordinary mead-making heritage, yet most people have never tasted mead, let alone made it themselves.
“This experience is about reconnecting people with an important part of our history while showcasing the incredible diversity of Irish honey and the importance of our native honey bees.
“By the end of the day, every participant will have made their own batch of mead, gained an understanding of fermentation and taken home a unique product that they can enjoy months later. We believe there is nowhere better to do that than on a remote Atlantic island surrounded by nature,” he added.
The event also supports the work of the Inishturk Native Irish Honey Bee Sanctuary, established on World Bee Day 2026 to promote awareness of Ireland’s native black honey bee (Apis mellifera mellifera ).
The sanctuary forms part of a pioneering three-location monitoring project involving colonies in County Wicklow, County Mayo and Inishturk Island. Using BroodMinder hive-monitoring technology, researchers and beekeepers can compare colony performance across dramatically different Irish environments while sharing live hive data with the public.
Visitors attending the mead-making experience will also learn about the vital role honey bees play in biodiversity, food production and sustainable rural communities.
