Festival season: 30 weekend events to get to this summer
Performing Jusztina At Cairde Festival Sligo's Zoja And Dravai Arts Herrmann,
Hazelwood in Sligo is the setting for a boutique festival combining contemporary music, performing arts, and adventure activities. Mix up a weekend of dancing to headline acts such as Rudimental, Sasha and John Digweed, The Zutons and Pillow Queens, with kayaking and comedy, hot tubs, and ice baths.
Pack your surfboard and make for Bundoran where Kasabian, The Coronas, and King Kong Company will be making waves at this summer’s Sea Sessions. The diverse line-up is growing with Becky Hill and Girls of the Internet alongside plenty of barefoot beach sports.
Back for a second year in the majestic setting of Glendalough Estate, the three-day Beyond the Pale festival combines music, arts, and food. The eclectic bill of over 150 acts includes headliners Grace Jones, Hot Chip, Thundercat, Leftfield, and For Those I Love alongside DJ sets by Maribou State and Flight Facilities.
Music, culture, art, and wellbeing collide in the world of Body & Soul for another colourful summer session. Ballinlough Castle Estate in Westmeath will be flamboyantly decorated to welcome acts including Moderat, The Murder Capital, and Denise Chaila alongside a hip-hop celebration.
After a sell-out launch last year in Clonalis House in Castlerea, Co Roscommon, Night & Day is moving dates and location.
Lough Key Forest Park in Boyle is the new home, with acts such as Mercury Rev, Pillow Queens, God Is An Astronaut, and Gruff Rhys on the bill.
Lough Key Forest Park’s zip-lining, tree-top walks, kayaking, and boat tours are all free to festivalgoers across the weekend.
Promising “magic, mischief and connection” at Slane’s Rock Farm, Otherside Music and Arts Festival is an intimate boutique festival bringing together new bands and favourites like CMAT and Bombay Bicycle Club. From DJ sets to trad sessions, a banquet hall to comedy sets and swimming, it promises a fun and chilled festival experience.
Bell X1, Suede, and Suzanne Vega are all heading to Emo, Co Laois, to headline the grown-up and intimate forest festival.
After last year’s successful launch, guests can expect a repeat of the relaxed and family-friendly vibe. A Forest Fleadh includes Sharon Shannon, Paul Brady, and Kíla, with a quality kids' programme overseen by the creative Port Art Collective.
Overlooked by the Galtee Mountains, Indiependence festival welcomes The Coronas, Anne-Marie, Two Door Cinema Club, Editors, Annie Mac, and Inhaler to its tree-lined setting in Mitchelstown for another lively summer line-up.
Featuring 18 stages of music, spoken word, comedy, theatre, debate, art, workshops, wellness and food (The Grub Circus programme is curated by our restaurant critic Joe McNamee), All Together Now is a fun festival with grown-up vibes at Waterford’s Curraghmore Estate.
This year Iggy Pop, Jamie xx, Caribou, Villagers, Max Richter & RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and Billy Bragg are all on the bill.
Ireland’s newest festival, and, promising to be Mayo’s biggest part, Far West Fest 2023 has signed up Gavin James, The Academic, Basement Jaxx, Lyra, and DJ Jenny Greene on an ever-growing bill. The new music festival It takes place by Geesala village, with the Achill Islands as its backdrop. The dates dovetail nicely with the 30th anniversary of the Geesala horse racing festival which takes place on nearby Doolough Beach on Sunday, August 20.
Dubbed the Flowers, Food & Family Festival, Bloom has evolved from a garden show to a celebration of the best of Irish horticulture, food, and drink in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. You don’t need to be green-fingered to enjoy the show gardens, and there’s great Irish produce, food trucks, music, and kids’ activities for a fun intergenerational day out.
The Wailers and BellX1 are headlining Northern Ireland’s biggest music and arts festival this year at Ballymully Cottage Farm in Limavady. The Derry favourite has an eclectic line-up matched by a strong family programme for children and families of all ages.
Originally known as the Dalriada Festival of Music & Food, Camp Dalfest’s fresh name reflects its vibrant line-up on the grounds of Glenarm Castle in Co Antrim. Created for families by families, The Vamps, Blue, and Sophie Ellis Bextor headline while a fun family itinerary includes Diaper Derby, Raver Tots, the family-friendly rave, and YouTube star Blippi.
Introduce the kids to the olden days at Tubbercurry Old Fair Day Festival, a free five-day festival celebrating traditional skills. The family-friendly event carries on the tradition of the country fair, with a craft village where heritage skills such as thatching, weaving, and butter-making can be enjoyed. Expect live music, vintage cars, animals, kids zones culminating in Old Fair Day on August 9.
Home of the 2023 All Nations Shearing and Wool Handling Championships, The Clonmany Agricultural Show at Ballyliffin is celebrating its 54th year. Farmers and young families will find a mix of agriculture, livestock, and sheepdog trials alongside kids entertainment, horse jumping, and A Taste of Inishowen Food Festival at Donegal’s biggest agriculture show.
The secluded Iveagh Gardens in Georgian Dublin provide an intimate summer setting for Taste of Dublin. A sociable set-up with live music and cookery demos, the real draw are the chefs and Irish restaurants plying festival-friendly menus from pop-up kitchens. Family-friendly by day, it turns into a grown-up garden party after dark.
A fun food festival based around music, Enniscorthy’s streets will once again buzz with rock ‘n’ roll beats over the August bank holiday weekend. Irish and international acts are still being confirmed, while a food, drink, and craft market will focus on cookery demos and delicious local produce, including Wexford’s prized strawberries. Pack your bobby socks and Brylcreem!
Cork City’s five-day food festival returns for a second year, even bigger and better. A celebration of the county’s finest foods, Cork on a Fork sees local chefs, bakers, restaurateurs, brewers, and distillers come together to offer a line-up of exciting food experiences. Expect special dinners, food trails, tasting masterclasses, street events, cooking demos, food talks, and lots of tasty family fun.
Herbert Park in Dublin 4 welcomes back the Big Grill for a festival of fire, food, and fun. Europe’s biggest BBQ festival, the well-run event attracts the world’s top pitmasters alongside Irish talent. Snap up tickets to the Offside dining experience, a seated tasting session under canvas teaching guests about the stages of the dry-ageing process, accompanied by some Jameson Irish Whiskey.
A celebration of emerging visual and performing artists, Killorglin’s K-Fest turns this Co Kerry town into a creative hub with over 60 events taking place including workshops, music events, and craft markets.
This annual arts festival transforms Carlow town with a lively five-day programme of music, theatre, dance, visual art, and street art, with the Carnival of Collective Joy, a creative collaboration by local secondary school students.
Cork City’s the stage for an indulgent culture fest of drama and dance, art and music, circus and song. The Cork Midsummer Festival’s impressive and extensive programme caters to all tastes, with world premieres, international shows, performances, and installations.
The brilliant Dalkey Book Festival showcases the best of Irish and international talent in an intimate setting. Founded in 2010 by Sian Smyth and David McWilliams, it celebrates great literary talents and attracts many of the world’s leading writers and thinkers. Just 30 minutes from Dublin City, sign up to the newsletter to see this year’s line-up, as events sell out in seconds.
Borris will be abuzz again this year at a weekend gathering of literary stars in the grounds of Borris House, Co Carlow. Speakers include novelists Bernadine Evaristo, Ian McEwan, Dawn O’Porter and Michael Ondaatje, historians William Dalrymple and Manchán Magan and musicians Adam Clayton, Bill Whelan, Liam Ó Maonlaí, and Dónal Lunny, and comedian Ruby Wax.
Ireland’s biggest and most prestigious chamber music festival returns with six concerts a day and a multitude of masterclasses. Headline violinists Aline Ibragimova, Viviane Hagner, Nurit Stark, and Mairéad Hickey are complemented by international string quartets. Performances take place in interesting venues including the historic Bantry House.
A multidisciplinary festival, Clonmel’s exciting Junction Arts line-up draws on drama, performance, art, and music with a host of creative talents. Premieres, piano sessions, new compositions, modern Irish dance, a music trail and workshops make this an immersive cultural offering.
A celebration of exceptional arts activity played out against Sligo’s venues, streets, and public spaces, the nine-day Cairde Sligo Arts Festival connects audiences of all ages and backgrounds. The 2023 programme is yet to be released but promises another packed festival of innovative, inspiring, and engaging art and culture through music, theatre, dance, literature, visual art, circus and street art.
This Bantry-based festival offers a programme of Irish and international writers and commentators with a week of readings, workshops, and masterclasses. Graham Norton and John Banville headline, philosopher Richard Kearney will read from his new novel, Catherine Ryan Howard teaches a crime-writing workshop, and a strong children’s programme is aimed at ages 4-14.
A true street party, Waterford’s Spraoi is a fun and free outdoor festival welcoming international street performers, musicians, and artists each August. Performing on the streets, interacting with audiences and engaging spectators around Waterford city’s medieval streets, the city is a riot of sound and colour, culminating in a parade and quayside fireworks.
For almost 50 years, Kilkenny Arts Festival has been one of the leading festivals in Ireland, its eclectic and electric programming sparking joy, excitement, and debate. A mix of free and paying events, indoors and outdoors, the 10-day programme is being finalised, but promises unique collaborations and new commissions, as well as exciting exhibitions and performances.