Mácnas (pronounced mock-ness) is (Irish for 'frolicking'[1]) is a performance company based at the Fisheries Field in Galway, Ireland. Its public performances are noted for being "pioneering, inventive and radical" in style.[2] The company has been credited with changing the nature of public entertainment in Ireland and is regarded as highly influential within the field of spectacle performance.[3]
Founded in 1986, the company has performed in over 20 countries across the globe. Its parades have been a centre-point of Halloween, St. Patrick's Day and formerly Galway International Arts Festival festivities in Galway city, drawing crowds of up to 50,000 people on to the city streets.[4]
Mácnas toured alongside U2 as part of the Zoo TV Tour in 1993.[5] The company simultaneously helped to ring in the new millennium in three cities: Galway (Eyre Square), Dublin (Merrion Square) and New York City (Times Square).
In March 2016, Mácnas performed at the opening ceremony of SXSW in Austin, Texas.[6] [7] In November 2017, Macnas performed as the closing act in the Land of Green Ginger programme at Hull UK City of Culture 2017.[8] [9]
Mácnas offices are spread across two locations in Galway city. Administration and rehearsals mainly take place in Fisheries Field. Large-scale construction primarily takes place at a warehouse in Liosban.
The Liffey Press and Macnas have published Macnas: Joyful Abandonment, a 250-page history of the company.[10]