Kevin Toolis: How the Irish teach us how to live, love and die
Kevin Toolis is an Irish filmmaker, journalist, poet, and author who explores deep questions about life and death.
He has reported from war zones, famine-stricken regions, and places of extreme human suffering, always probing how people face mortality.
He sees the traditional Irish wake as a beautiful human ritual that embraces death.
In this tradition, family and community stay with the dying person, keep vigil, care for the body, speak openly about loss, cry, laugh, and share memories.
This communal approach, he says, teaches us how to live, love, and die together, rather than in isolation.
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Kevin’s talks are always deeply impactful and thought-provoking, his approach to death isn’t just philosophical, it encourages a cultural shift that is supportive, collaborative, and normalises death and grief.
You’re invited to a night with Kevin Toolis
A unique event that explores the importance of seeing the dead and sharing their company. Drawing on his childhood on a remote Irish island, where death was a natural part of everyday life, and his later years reporting from warzones, Kevin weaves together the philosophical and the practical.
He describes how the ancient rite of the Irish wake can be a roadmap for our most existential questions. Don’t miss this chance to learn about a more courageous way to live, and die.
- Wednesday 8th April 2026
- 6pm – 7.30pm
- The Atrium Café and Conference Centre, Otumoetai, Tauranga
- Light refreshments provided
- $30 per person
Limited tickets available, grab yours today!