THE MAY bank holiday weekend marks the beginning of the summer festival season and there is plenty on the agenda to enjoy in temperatures of up to 20 degrees and at least one day of sunshine.
Most of the country should remain dry at least until tomorrow with temperatures of between 13 and 20 degrees – good news for those attending the array of festivals and sporting events taking place across Ireland. However, Met Éireann is predicting rain for Monday.
Riverfest 2011, a four-day festival in Limerick, kicked off yesterday and will run until Monday. Described by promoters as a “party on the banks of the river Shannon – to showcase all that is great about Limerick”, the festival includes what is being billed as Ireland’s largest barbecue, a free open-air rock concert and a large fireworks display.
This year, the festival crowd will be boosted by thousands of rugby fans going to Thomond Park today to see Munster take on Harlequins in the Amlin Cup semi-final.
Tomorrow thousands will put their best foot forward for the Great Limerick Run – an event which last year attracted 6,500 participants. There are also several arts festivals taking place around the country, the largest of which is the fourth annual Drogheda Arts Festival.
Some of the highlights of this year’s festival in Co Louth will be the world premiere of Philip McMahon’s play, Pineapple, which takes place on Sunday at 8.30pm in the Droichead Arts Centre and today’s transformation of West Street in Drogheda into an “urban playground” to showcase skating, BMX, music and street dance.
Arts festivals are also being held in Dingle, Belfast and Rosscarbery in Co Cork.
In Galway, a festival that has been absent from the city for over half a century returns as An Tóstal is due to be revived in Salthill this weekend. The two-day event, last held in 1959, showcases Ireland’s coastal traditions and will feature currach and Galway hooker racing.
On the sporting front, Leinster will take centre stage today as they face Toulouse in the Heineken Cup semi-final, with kick-off in the Aviva Stadium scheduled for 3.30pm.
It is also a big weekend for the GAA as Croke Park hosts the division one Allianz Hurling League final tomorrow. The meeting of Dublin and Kilkenny at 4pm is preceded by the U21 football final where Cavan take on Galway. Throw in for that game is at 2pm.
Music lovers have a number of options as the Bray Jazz Festival comes to the Wicklow town featuring performers from more than a dozen countries over the three days of the May weekend while in Cork the 57th annual Cork International Choral Festival promises to bring thousands of singers to the city.
Meanwhile in Donegal, the annual Cup of Tae Festival will once again attract traditional musicians from around Ireland.
For something a little different, the Kildare Malayalee Community is organising a gala cultural event which is due to take place this morning at 11.30am in Brownstown Community Centre, Co Kildare.