In a busy summer of cultural festivals, this must be the peak weekend. Cork Midsummer Festival is in full flow, Body & Soul is shaking its booty in Ballinlough Castle Estate, Westmeath, while literary heads are zig-zagging between Dalkey, Borris and Bloomsday celebrations. There’s Sea Sessions, a music and surf beach party in Bundoran, Co Donegal, and Beyond the Pale in Glendalough, Co Wicklow. Plus Folks’ Music in Co Louth and in Galway, both a Folk Festival and a Ukulele Festival.
Here’s at least some of what you need to know for what’s happening all around the country this weekend.
Bloomsday Festival
Various venues, Dublin, Jun 12-18
The six-day festival is in full flow, celebrating Ulysses and Joyce. Organised by the James Joyce museum and cultural centre on North Great George’s Street, Dublin 1, Bloomsday itself, Friday June 16th, and the weekend beyond boasts a multitude of events. Check out the website for details but some of the events this weekend with availability include:
Bloomsday, June 16th
Forêt restaurant review: A masterclass in French classic cooking in Dublin 4
Charlene McKenna: ‘Within three weeks, I turned 40, had my first baby and lost my father’
Restaurateur Gráinne O’Keefe: I cut out sugar from my diet and here’s how it went
Ireland’s new dating scene: Finding love the old-fashioned way
Bloomsday Readings and Songs Imelda May reads Molly Bloom, with a host of actors, writers, musicians and poets performing music and extracts from Ulysses. Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, 3-6pm, Adm free.
Bloomsday at Glasnevin Cemetery Re-enactment of the Hades Episode of Ulysses. 11am, Adm free.
A Musical Celebration of Joyce’s Ulysses National Concert Hall, 1.05pm, €20.
Bloomsday Walking Tour Leaving from James Joyce Centre, 3pm, €15.
Counterparts A reading of James Joyce’s short story from Dubliners with live musical score. James Joyce Centre, 4pm, Adm free.
ReJoyce! A glorious concert of the Sacred Music from Ulysses with the Palestrina Choir. St Mary’s Pro Cathedral, 7.30pm, €15.
Bloomsday Garden Party MOLI, 7pm, €24.
Saturday June 17th
The Cat and The Devil A musical performance of Joyce’s children’s story. James Joyce Centre, 2.30pm, €5
Heaventree of Stars Bloomsday at Dunsink Observatory. Dunsink, 6pm, €5
Nora and Jim A one-act play by Nora Connolly. James Joyce Centre, 7.30pm
Sunday June 18th
Nora and Jim A one-act play by Nora Connolly. James Joyce Centre, 7.30pm
Bloomsday in the Barn With prizes for the best-dressed man and woman. Our Lady of Dolours Church, South Circular Road, 2pm-4pm, Adm free.
Go to Blazes – CoisCéim Choreographer David Bolger’s evocative response to Ulysses Episode 4. CoisCéim Studio, Fairview Strand, Dublin 3. Limited tickets available (recommended price €23)
Body & Soul
Ballinlough Castle Estate, Co Westmeath, June 16-18
The independent festival promises three days and nights of creativity, celebration and surprise underneath the solstice skies in the grounds of Ballinlough Castle Estate.
What’s on
Highlights include Moderat, The Blaze, Fever Ray, Alison Goldfrapp, The Murder Capital, MEUTE, Kurt Vile & The Violators and Kneecap, as well as Hennessy Hip Hop Music Trail artists Kojaque, Fabio & Grooverider and The Outlook Orchestra and Denise Chaila. Plus immersive art, indulgent gastronomy experiences, thought-provoking discussions, glittering woodland discos, pagan raves, drag brunches.
Food On Board, Ireland’s first Circular food court, has a new stage, Breaking Bread. The Sanctuary is Body & Soul’s cornerstone wellness space. Plus the quieter space is the new Solas stage.
Tickets
A very limited number of weekend and Sunday tickets remain, and some additional camper van tickets have been released due to demand. Ensure your ticket is downloaded on to your phone/printed from the pdf (ensure that your name is on your ticket; If you bought a ticket from someone else they need to sign into their Ticketbooth account and change the name for €10 fee; any issues contact: support@ticketbooth.eu). There’s still time to reserve Boutique Camping, Wellness Experiences, Woodfired Sauna & Hot Tubs and Food & Immersive Experiences (including the Feast over Fire dining extravaganza).
Getting to and from the festival
Driving Driving directions here; do not follow sat nav devices – follow festival signage. All ticket holders enter through gate A, accessible from the L5525.
Buses Body & Soul and Bus Éireann have bus services from Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. The festival urges people to take the bus as it’s the safest, most sustainable and most traffic-friendly way to get there. Book bus here.
Shuttles Operating every hour on the hour from 12pm to 3am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to and from Mullingar Train Station. Tickets on the Bus Éireann website for €5 or purchase on arrival.
Camping
Body & Soul has increased capacity of its Leave No Trace Campsite to 100 per cent. All Body & Soul campers commit to a Leave No Trace policy, meaning you bring all of your camping gear home with you and separate your rubbish while at the festival. There is an area designated for families and quiet camping (follow signs in the campsite). Book to reserve Boutique Camping if available.
Map & stage times
Here are the stage timetables for the line-up of musicians, talks, workshops, performances, rituals and surprises, plus a festival map here.
Soul Kids – family friendly fun
There’s a schedule of family-friendly acts, performances, creative workshops and adventures in the forest, lakeside, walled gardens and hidden pathways of Ballinlough Estate to explore each day. Follow the Soul Kids Trail around the woodland site. Children must be accompanied by a guardian for all activities.
Opening & closing times
Car park Friday 12pm-11pm, Saturday 10am-10pm, Sunday 10am – 6pm, Monday – no entry, closes 2pm.
Campsites 1pm Friday until Monday 1pm
Box office & wristbanding Friday 12pm-10pm, Saturday 10am-10pm, Sunday 10am-6pm. Please note entry to the festival is not permitted outside of these times.
Arena opening times Friday at 3.30pm, Saturday at 10.30am and Sunday at 10.30am.
Arena closing times Friday: 2am – Main Stage, Saturday: 2am – Main Stage, Sunday: Midnight – Main Stage (Ancillary Entertainment – 4am Friday & Saturday / 2am Sunday)
Sanctuary Friday 6-9pm. Saturday/Sunday 11am-8pm
What to bring with you
Cash – Bars are contactless but most traders accept cash. Bring some cash as there’s no ATM on site (backup tills available in case of contactless issues).
Phone and extra battery power
Acceptable photo ID – passport, driving licence or Garda age cards. Body & Soul 2023 is strictly over-21s; photo ID will be required for entrance.
Tickets, either downloaded or printed pdf – otherwise you have to join a long box office queue on arrival.
Appropriate clothing – the festival is outdoors so dress appropriately for all weather conditions.
Reusable water bottle to fill up regularly.
Sunscreen, a hat, a rain jacket, suitable footwear, warm clothes, clothes for the sun, a party frock and an infectiously positive mood.
What not to bring with you
Glass (of any kind), offensive weapons or anything considered potentially harmful, drones and professional recording equipment, generators, gas canisters and fires, gazebos, petrol, flares, fireworks, spray cans, megaphones, air horns, unofficial high-vis or reflective jackets, pets.
Alcohol policy
Each weekend ticket holder can bring: 24 X 500ml cans of beer, cider or 1 X 750ml bottle of spirits or 1 litre wine box or wine decanted into a 1 litre plastic bottle. (No glass allowed on-site; decant your personal allowance before arriving.) No outside alcohol permitted with day tickets; you will be checked at the point of wristbanding. No re-entry with alcohol once wristbanded. No alcohol permitted with Sunday day passes.
Dalkey Book Festival
Dalkey, Co Dublin, Jun 15-18
A hundred of the world’s finest authors and sharpest intellects are descending on the historic seaside town of Dalkey this weekend in a wildly varied programme of 72 events.
Who’s on?
The festival brings together thinkers from the worlds of literature, history, politics, journalism, comedy and science including Tom Hanks, Bono, Brian Cox, Ruby Wax, The Edge, Dylan Moran, Masha Gessen, Peter Frankopan, David Brooks, John Banville, Ramita Navai, Sebastian Barry, Jeff Goldberg, Dan Ariely, Richard Ford, Linda Yueh, Liz Nugent, Roddy Doyle, Lea Ypi, Barry McGovern, Mariella Frostrup, Helen Lewis, Jan Carson, Sally Hayden, Oliver Jeffers, Joseph O’Connor, Simon Kuper, Robert Shrimsley, Deirdre O’Kane and many more.
Getting there
...is easy on public transport, with the Dart stopping in the village, and many bus routes serving Dalkey.
Highlights
On Bloomsday, Friday June 16th, Hollywood legend, actor and author Tom Hanks talks about his debut novel The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece and his path from film to fiction (each ticketholder gets a copy of his book). To close the festival, Bono and Fintan O’Toole sit down together to talk about their very different but overlapping memoirs, Surrender and We Don’t Know Ourselves. Both of these events are sold out; if you haven’t a ticket the only option is to beg, borrow or steal one. While many events have sold out, some have been moved to larger venues, so there is limited availability for some events; check www.dalkeybookfestival.org and follow @dalkeybookfest for details.
Beyond the Pale
Glendalough Estate, Co Wicklow, Jun 16-18
Following its first year, the boutique music and arts festival returns to the surrounds of Glendalough Estate.
What is it?
Music, art, food village, bars on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Glendalough Estate in Co Wicklow. There’s a low-ticket-availability warning on this, and organisers say if you haven’t bagged your tickets yet, do so now at ItsBeyondThePale.ie
What’s on
Line-up includes Jon Hopkins, Thundercat, Hot Chip, Leftfield, Grace Jones, Morcheeba, Candi Staton, Pillow Queens and more. The arts programme includes installations, and a comedy stage featuring Deirdre O’Kane, Emma Doran, Gearóid Farrelly. Food village and food demos. Plus a wellness programme with yoga, massages, saunas, meditation.
Getting there
Glendalough Estate is about an hour from Dublin city centre, or 30 minutes from South Dublin.
Marathon coaches have a bus from Custom House Quay in Dublin city centre, from 11am on Friday June 16th, returning Sunday night at 11pm, Monday morning at 1am and from 11am. Return tickets €35 from marathongroup.ie
For those driving, there’s a new festival entrance this year. Enter Roundwood, Co Wicklow into your sat nav and follow the festival signage. Entrance is via Oldbridge.
Parking is as close to the entrance as possible, and a 10-minute walk from the campsite. Parking is free. Carpooling is recommended where possible.
Alcohol
Campers can bring one case of beer (24 cans) or two bottles of wine, one litre of spirits.
Glass bottles and mirrors are not allowed and there will be checks at the entrance to ensure the allowance is adhered to. Photos are only with a smartphone or small camera; professional cameras and recording equipment are banned.
Times
The festival site opens at 12pm on Friday, with music starting in the main arena at 4pm. The campsite will close at 12pm on Monday June 19th. The stage times and day-by-day breakdown are on https://www.itsbeyondthepale.ie/stagetimes The festival app by WOOV is now live (Apple Store, Google Play), with set times, act planners, site map and to connect with other festivalgoers.
Is it family-friendly?
Beyond The Pale is an over-21s event; there’s family camping where under-12s are allowed.
Food and drink
Food on-site over the weekend includes Happy’s, Órale, Bish Bosh, The Big Blue Bus, Little Dumpling, Kerala Kitchen. There’s craft beer from Whitehag and crafty cocktails. Bars are card only.
The weather
The forecast is for humid, warm weather with sunny spells with temperatures of 19-22 degrees. Organisers warn “this is Ireland – the festival will happen rain or shine! So wear decent outdoor footwear, waterproofs and bring sunscreen too.”
More information on itsbeyondthepale.ie
Borris House Festival of Writing and Ideas
Borris House, Co Carlow, Jun 16-18
The Festival of Writing and Ideas at Borris House, Co Carlow (and spilling out into the pubs and halls of the village) has become known for its casual, friendly atmosphere, and for its extraordinary line-up of speakers, curated by a small team led by Vivienne Guinness and Hugo Jellett. This is the 12th edition of the festival.
Tickets
This year’s event has completely sold out and organisers urge that people should not travel to Borris unless they have a ticket.
Some 1,400 people are expected to attend each day, across five stages. Events are on: Friday 3.45pm-11pm; Saturday 10.30am-11.30pm; Sunday 10.30am-5.45pm.
Who’s on
Speakers this year include Bernardine Evaristo, Ruby Wax, Yeva Skalietska, William Dalrymple, Philippe Sands, Misha Glenny, David Puttnam, Elaine Feeney, Rosaleen McDonagh, Katherine Rundell, Edmund De Waal, Dorothy Cross, Mikaela Loach, Jeremy Irons, Sinead Cusack, Nick Cave’s lifelong collaborator Warren Ellis, Grian Chatten of Fontaines DC, Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood, U2′s Adam Clayton.
Each night, Donal Dineen has curated a series of concerts, on-site and in the local pubs, with music from, among others, Dónal Lunny, Andy Irvine, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Fiachna Ó Braonáin, Rachelle Lavelle, Cora Venus Lunny, Len Collective and Junior Brother.
How to get there, and stay there
The options are train to Bagenalstown and taxi, or drive.
All on-site accommodation (camping/camper van) is booked out, as are Step House Hotel and local B&Bs.
Food
The festival is a committed recycler of everything. There is a blanket ban on plastic of any kind across the entire festival and they’re asking guests to bring reusable bottles and they will provide sources of drinking water.
Food offerings include Indian street food from Lu’s Chaat-Stop, pizza from Weirdough, Moroccan food from Gidi’s Great on the Grill, sourdough toasties from Silly Sid’s, dim sum from The Little Dumpling as well as Korean Burritos, Little Coffee Hut, Paddy Paella and Crepe Wagon.
New this year is Paul’s Kitchen, which will be serving a four-course taster menu in two sittings on both Saturday and Sunday. Price is €30 per person or €40 with wine pairings.
More information on: festivalofwritingandideas.com
Sea Sessions
Bundoran, Co Donegal, Jun 16-18
A big beach party, the south Donegal surf and music festival’s first wave of acts on the main beach in the town centre, with headliners Kasabian, Becky Hill and The Coronas.
Opening Times
Campsite opens 4pm Thursday. Main Arena opens 6pm Friday; 4pm Saturday; 4pm Sunday.
Daily breakdown of acts
Friday Kasabian, Inhaler, Ben Hemsley, Le Boom, 49th & Main, Pete & Bas, Hannah Laing, Brad Heidi, Crazy P Soundsystem, Fya Fox, Jerry Fish (MC), Jordan Nocturne, Meryl Streek, Monjola, The Florentinas, The K’s, Colin Perkins, Brother Theresa and Goodtime Coley.
Saturday Becky Hill, Moncrieff, Obsúr, King Kong Company, Girls of the Internet, January Winters, Jack Botts, Jen Payne, Jessica Doolan, Lucy McWilliams, Khakikid, Oscar Blue, Paper Tides, Post-Party, Ricky Chong, The Rosecaps, Thumper and Zaska.
Sunday The Coronas, Groove Armada, The Mary Wallopers, Josef, Ryan Mack, Grooverider & MC Fokus, Aimée, Cruel Sister, Dave Duke, EFÉ, Katie Phelan, Kingfishr, Lavengro, Mathman, Skaar, Somebody’s Child, Volleyball, Zion Train, Bruising Shins and Faceplant.
Barefoot Beach Sports
Sea Sessions, Ireland’s only festival featuring beach sports, welcomes back the popular Barefoot Wine Beach Sports – and features Volleyball, Soccer, Rugby, frisbee and Yoga. Open to all festivalgoers, teams or individuals – and while people may get competitive, the events are run in the festival spirit, so having a laugh a priority.
Tickets
Limited weekend, camping and day tickets remaining seasessions.com or ticketmaster.ie
Sustainability
All Sea Sessions generators and machinery will be powered by Gd+HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil), to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 90 per cent.
Getting there
By Car Bundoran is a 2.75-hour drive from Dublin. Recommended route is the M3 from Dublin to Cavan and then on to Enniskillen and Bundoran. Alternatively take the N4 to Sligo and on to Bundoran, but it may take just a little longer. Bundoran is approximately two hours’ drive from Belfast, or just over 30 minutes from Sligo.
By Bus expressway.ie
Dublin to Bundoran: Friday 10:30 / 11:00 / 11:30 / 12:00 / 12:30 / 13:00
Bundoran to Dublin: Monday 10:00 / 11:00 / 12:00 / 13:00
Fares: Single €40.00/Return €55.00
By Train The nearest train station is Sligo, plus about €50 in a taxi for 30 mins.
By Plane Overseas visitors can fly into Knock airport (Ireland West Airport), which is 1hr 15min from Bundoran. Dublin Airport is just over 2.5 hours. Belfast International is just over 2 hours.
Cork Midsummer Festival
Various venues, Cork, Jun 14-25
The city’s multidisciplinary arts festival has just started, and there’s a packed line-up this opening weekend, including several free and outdoor events.
Events this weekend include I Fall Down, a comedy by Gina Moxley; Siobhán McSweeney in Happy Days at the Crawford; Relic, an installation; A Handful of Dreams, free aerial dance and circus arts at Fitzgerald Park on Saturday; Built on Bridges, a large-scale dance production with an intergenerational community cast; Fusion Avenue, a high-energy youth culture takeover at Marina Park; Creepy Parade, site-specific live art and installations on the streets of Cork from Japanese artist Seiko Hayase; a music trail across Cork’s hottest venues.
Full details on corkmidsummer.com/
Folks’ Music
Dundalk, Co Louth, Jun 16-17
Louth Contemporary Music Society’s annual summer festival in Dundalk, Co Louth, with music to suit lots of different folks. Including Irish traditional musicians; Chamber Choir Ireland; four saxophone players from Spain; two string quartets, from London (Explore Ensemble) and Dublin (Esposito Quartet); composers from Italy, Canada, the United States, England and Ireland; new work by two American LCMS regulars, Linda Catlin Smith and Cassandra Miller; folk incantation How to Fold the Wind by Caroline Shaw; and more. louthcms.org
Galway Folk Festival
Various venues, Galway, Jun 13-18
The second edition, showcasing folk, roots and traditional music from Ireland and beyond, on four stages in Monroe’s Live, at outdoor pop-up gigs and in Seapoint Ballroom, plus family events and a local food market. Line-up includes Steve Earle, The Sharon Shannon Trio, Kíla, Niamh Regan, Inhaler, Teenage Fanclub, The Whileaways, Ispíní na hÉireann. galwayfolkfestival.ie
Galway Ukulele Festival
Latin Quarter, Galway, Jun 16-18
Fourth year of the festival will have more than 300 ukulele players, with performances by Ukulele Simon, League of Ukulele Gentlemen, Zoë Bestel, Róisín Erskine, The Sneaky Tequilas, and the Galway Ukers at An Taibhdhearc. They’ll showcase a diverse range of ukulele musical styles, from traditional Irish music to contemporary pop and rock. Plus workshops, Street Flash mob, golden uke competition, ukulele ceilidh. galwayukefest.com
