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festivals · Thursday 30 July 2026 · Various 
Scariff Harbour Festival 2026
At Scariff Harbour and town venues · Harbour Road, Scariff, Co. Clare
At Scariff Harbour and town venues · Harbour Road, Scariff, Co. Clare
The Scariff Harbour Festival is one of East Clare’s longest-running community celebrations, taking place each August bank holiday weekend on the shores of Lough Derg. Started in 2003 with the aim of putting the town’s lake setting front and centre, it has grown into a four-day programme of live music, water activities, arts events and family entertainment - all spread between the harbour itself and venues around the town. If you want an outdoor Irish festival that still has genuine community roots and won’t cost a fortune, this is a good one to pencil in.
The lake is the organising idea behind everything here. Boat tours take visitors out onto Lough Derg and the Scariff River; kayaking, canoeing and water zorbs are set up in the harbour for those who want to get on the water themselves. An angling competition - drawing participants from both sides of the border - is a regular fixture in the programme. On dry land, the festival runs organised walks along the East Clare Way with local guides explaining the history and natural environment of the area, alongside arts and crafts displays and traditional craft-making demonstrations.
The music runs across the four days in a mix of indoor and outdoor venues: a main stage for bands and a church concert format for more acoustic sets. Past headline performers have included The Fureys and Ronan Collins. The 2026 programme is published at scariffharbourfestival.ie - check there for the full day-by-day lineup and set times. A single wristband from €5 covers the vast majority of events, making it genuinely affordable for families to spend several days here.
Scariff sits on the R352 along the western shore of Lough Derg, roughly 45 km east of Ennis. There is no direct bus service, so a car is the practical choice for most visitors; the drive from Limerick takes around an hour. Cyclists can pick up the East Clare Way and approach from several directions on back roads. If you are on the Shannon or Lough Derg by boat, Scariff has a full marina facility - Waterways Ireland has redeveloped the harbour in recent years - so arriving by water is a real option during festival weekend.
The town sits in a quiet stretch of East Clare that rewards a day or two of exploration beyond the festival itself - there are forest walks, the Lough Derg shoreline, and the landscape of the Slieve Aughty mountains to the south. There is more to see in Scariff and across Co. Clare.
Heading to Scariff Harbour and town venues in Scariff? Clare has plenty more to see. Read the Scariff area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.