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festivals · Monday 10 August 2026 · Various 
Doonbeg Family Festival 2026
At Doonbeg village · Doonbeg, Co. Clare
At Doonbeg village · Doonbeg, Co. Clare
A week-long community celebration that has been running in Doonbeg for over 30 years, this festival draws together locals and visitors of all ages for a proper old-fashioned Irish village summer. The programme is built around free, outdoor events - the kind that need no ticket and no advance plan. If you are in West Clare in the second week of August with children in tow, this is worth arranging your days around.
The festival runs across several days and packs in a range of events that lean firmly towards community rather than commerce. There is a cultural parade through the village, a barbecue, a talent contest, and a children’s fancy dress competition that tends to bring out some imaginative costumes. The undisputed highlight, though, is the donkey derby - a fixture so popular and so good-humoured that it has its own reputation beyond the village. It is exactly what it sounds like, and people who see it once tend to talk about it for years. Most events take place in and around the village itself, so there is no travelling between sites. The atmosphere is relaxed - this is a festival rooted in the GAA hall and the pub car park tradition of rural Ireland, not a ticketed commercial event.
Doonbeg sits on the N67, the coast road that runs through West Clare between Kilkee to the south and Miltown Malbay to the north. From Ennis it is roughly 50 km, following the N18 towards Shannon and then picking up the N67 westward through Kilmihil. The nearest larger town is Kilrush, about 20 km south. There is no regular bus service to Doonbeg - a car is the practical way in. Street parking in the village itself is limited during busy festival days; arriving a little early gives you more options.
The village has a fine beach at Doughmore Bay a couple of kilometres out the road, and the coastline here is dramatic Atlantic cliff walking country. A session in one of the local pubs rounds out an evening well after the outdoor events wind down. There is more to see in Doonbeg and across Co. Clare.
Heading to Doonbeg village in Doonbeg? Clare has plenty more to see. Read the Doonbeg area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.