A Year of Festivals in Ireland

When Waterford were knocked out of the All Ireland Hurling Championship last week I was sickened. When I was knocked out of the All Ireland Snail Eating Championship on the next day I was sick – into a grubby, well used, garlic smelling, yellow bucket. The Waterford hurlers managed to put up a much better … Continue reading →

It was particularly cruel to run Body & Soul and Sea Sessions on the same weekend. I managed to get to both, but in the process, may have dislocated something of vital importance in my cerebral cortex. I’ve been having difficulty with pin numbers and passwords for the past couple of days, but thankfully my … Continue reading →

Hollywood me bollix! Say hello to the Ballymahon crew at Helium There’s usually little signs an indicators that you can pick up on that will tell you whether or not you’re going to enjoy a particular festival. The mood of security staff, the helpfulness of your fellow punters or bands sticking around in front of … Continue reading →

I hatched a plan last week to limit my adventures to only three festivals over the bank-holiday weekend, but go ask Tulisa, it’s feckin’ difficult to resist some impulses even when you know they don’t make sense. When I’m within striking distance of a daycent festival and there’s diesel in the tank, my accelerator foot … Continue reading →

Smiling in the rain at the OFFline Film Festival Offaly on a rainy Friday, smack bang in the middle of October. I don’t think I will offend any Birriers by saying that this is not my dream destination. In fairness, if you were being water boarded by a steroid addled marine in Guantanamo, you’d have … Continue reading →