Festival season begins as first Gathering at Uisneach takes place this weekend

The summer festival season kicks off this weekend with Westmeath at the centre of it as the first Gathering at Uisneach takes place.
The event will see some of the biggest names in Irish music perform at a brand new festival site adjacent to the Uisneach Inn Bar & Restaurant on Saturday May 4 and Sunday May 5.

There will be two stages of great music over the weekend, an outdoor stage -the tree stage and an indoor stage- the Uisneach stage.
Music on Saturday will begin at 4.30pm with a number of great acts performing before The Rubber Bandits show off their madcap comedy music show at 8.45pm.  Headliners, The Original Rude Boys are expected to take to the stage at 10.15pm.

Sunday festival goers will be treated to a range of musical acts from 4.30pm. The  Riptide Movement will take to the Tree stage at 7.20pm, followed by Kíla at 8.45pm who will bring their sublime blend of traditional music to the shadow of Uisneach for the fifth year running. Ryan Sheridan will end the night of music on a high note when he performs at 10.15pm.

The best reggae, rock, pop and folk acts from around the country are joining the line-up, including Irie-Land, Barley Mob, The Aftermath, The Raglans, Driftwood Manor and star of the Late Late Toy Show Ashley Tubridy. 

Return buses from Athlone, Moate, Mullingar, Kilbeggan and Tullamore mean that no-one has to drive. They leave each town at approximately 2.30pm and 6.30pm, returning just after midnight. Please check website for details.

The summer series of gatherings at Uisneach will include many of the elements of Festival of the Fires, including the spectacular fire shows and is one of the flagship Gathering events in Westmeath this year. As a special incentive to visitors to Ireland for ‘The Gathering’, tourists with a recent flight ticket or proof of entry will gain free entry! Tourists must accompany a ticket holder and must register first, but this sensational gesture to help out tourists and promote Westmeath as a great Gathering location has attracted headlines and web traffic around the world.

Tickets are still on sale from all Ticketmaster outlets nationwide and online from Ticketmaster.ie. Day tickets are €25, weekend tickets €40.