There’s nothing better than a music festival, and in Ireland there is nothing better than the largest festival of them all – Electric Picnic.

Now in its 19th edition, the Electric Picnic has grown and sees the world’s largest headliners (Kylie, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Hozier etc. throughout the years) and some of the most famous artists to ever record music including Debbie Harry, The Stranglers, Grace Jones, Nile Rodgers etc… with its largest ever capacity of 75,000 attendees in 2024.

If the music alone isn’t enough to satisfy your interests then you won’t be disappointed because Electric Picnic is also Ireland’s largest arts festival with more then enough to entertain throughout the weekend.

Now, while most visitors to EP will undoubtedly be enjoying themselves with more than just one pint, vodka etc… here are some things to do in 2024 that don’t involve alcohol.

Sit and enjoy some gospel and choir music in the afternoon sunshine while everyone else is nursing hangover headaches and crawling out of their tents. Previous artists here include the Trinity Orchestra and Irish Women in Harmony.

Ferris Wheel and funfair – what more can you say, the flavour of a visit to a traditional Irish seaside town in summer comes to the Main Arena at Electric Picnic. A Ferris Wheel, merry-go-rounds, spinny things and the smell of popcorn and candy floss.

Tickets for Ireland's biggest music festival, Electric Picnic 2023, will go on sale this week on Friday 9th of December.

Some of the headline acts for EP23 have been announced and include Billie Eilish, Lewis Capaldi and Niall Horan.

Find more information on tickets here.

A mostly bright and sunny Electric Picnic, held in the grounds of Stradbally Hall in Ireland's County Laois in September annually, is now over until next year.

I made the return to photograph at the largest festival in Ireland, this year the Picnic was back after missing 2020 and 2021.

Seen here, enthusiastic fans watching Irish band The Coronas on a warm sunny September evening in Ireland's midlands.

Tickets for Electric Picnic 2023 go on sale this weekend.

2022 sees the return of Saint Patrick's Day celebrations and festivities here in Ireland with 2020 and 2021 having seen cancellations due to COVID-19.

Usually March 17th is the holiday but for 2022 the government has created a new public holiday which this year falls on March 18th to make a double holiday.

From 2023 onwards that new holiday will fall on Saint Brigid's Day, the 1st of February, and Saint Patrick's Day will return to the traditional one day.

The summer is well and truly underway here in Ireland, only no-one told the weather. Cold, wet and lacking in sunshine, with high winds all making it seem autumnal more than summery.

July is nearly over and it's still possible to smell peat fires burning in the villages and towns of rural Ireland, people carry jackets, gloves and hats; sandals have been relegated to the foreign holiday packing list.

Yet there is something happening very soon that will lift the spirits of at least 40,000 of the country's residents; Electric Picnic - a three day festival of music and arts is taking place as usual this year at Stradbally in Co. Laois from 4th - 6th September. The end of the summer and the end of the festival season.

Ballymoe is a typical rural Irish village, a sleepy backwater, lying in the east of County Galway in the province of Connacht. It has developed around the traditional crossing point over the River Suck that forms the boundary of counties Galway and Roscommon.

Surrounded by bogland in the midlands of Ireland, it has a typical mixture of colourful houses, pubs, shops and a Catholic church on its long main street.

Providing services to local residents and as a through road for travellers heading between Roscommon and Galway, Ballymoe certainly doesn't see much action, you know, it's the kind of place that has a few tractors parked outside the butcher's shop or Post Office.