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festivals · Wednesday 5 August 2026 · Various 
International Feakle Festival of Traditional Irish Music 2026
At Various venues, Feakle · Feakle, Co. Clare
At Various venues, Feakle · Feakle, Co. Clare
The International Feakle Festival of Traditional Irish Music is one of the most respected trad gatherings in Ireland - six days entirely given over to the East Clare style of playing, in the very village that style comes from. Now in its 39th year, the festival draws serious musicians and eager beginners alike, along with fans who simply want to sit in a pub and hear the real thing played well. If you have ever wanted to learn a tune from a master, watch a céilí fill a parish hall, or fall into a late session that goes until the early hours, this is the week to be in East Clare.
The 2026 programme runs from Wednesday 5 August to Monday 10 August and covers the full range of what a trad festival can be. There are four main evening concerts featuring leading traditional musicians and singers. Workshops run across the week for fiddle, concertina, accordion, flute, uilleann pipes, banjo, bodhran and song - open to all levels, from absolute beginners through to advanced players. Confirmed tutors for 2026 include Martin Hayes, Maeve Donnelly, Mary McNamara, Jack Talty and Eileen O’Brien. On Sunday night the ceilí mór brings the whole village together on the dance floor. Throughout the week there are pub sessions, talks, storytelling, poetry readings, children’s activities, CD launches and pop-up Gaeltachts. Informal sessions in Pepper’s Bar - a pub that has been the cultural centre of East Clare since 1810 - are a festival staple and are free to anyone who walks in.
The festival grew out of a village that has always been at the centre of Irish music. Fiddler Martin Hayes was born here in 1962. The Tulla Céilí Band drew heavily from Feakle musicians for decades. Brian Merriman, the 18th-century bard and fiddler who wrote Cúirt an Mheán Oíche, lived and taught here. That history is not just background - it shapes the playing style the festival celebrates and the reason musicians travel from across the world to attend.
Feakle is in East Clare on the R462, roughly 30 km northeast of Ennis and about 50 km from Limerick city. The most practical way to reach it is by car; there is no direct bus service to the village itself. From Ennis, take the R352 east toward Tulla and follow signs for Feakle from there. Parking is available on the approach roads into the village. All festival venues - halls, pubs, and marquees - are within easy walking distance of each other once you arrive.
The village sits in the foothills of the Sliabh Aughty mountains, with Lough Graney a short drive away and good walking country on all sides. The broader East Clare landscape is quiet and unhurried outside festival week, which makes it a pleasant base for a few extra days. There is more to see in Feakle and across Co. Clare.
Heading to Various venues, Feakle in Feakle? Clare has plenty more to see. Read the Feakle area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.