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festivals · Friday 7 August 2026 · Various 
Live at the Breakwater (Breakwater Festival)
At The Big Top, Ferrybank · Ferrybank, Wexford Town, Co. Wexford
At The Big Top, Ferrybank · Ferrybank, Wexford Town, Co. Wexford
Wexford gets a proper festival season of its own with Live at the Breakwater, a ten-day run of live music staged inside a Big Top tent at Ferrybank on the south side of town. Organised by Lantern Presents, it brings together an eclectic mix of acts - trad sessions, pop headliners, tribute nights and DJ sets - across six shows spread over two weekends in August. It suits anyone who wants a ticketed live show in a sheltered, purpose-built venue, and it draws a crowd from right across the south-east.
Each night is a standalone show with its own ticket. The 2026 programme runs across the 7th, 8th, 9th, 14th, 15th and 16th of August. Opening weekend brings Qween and the Dublin Gospel Choir (Fri 7th, €37.50), The Big Session with The Whistlin’ Donkeys, Ruaile Buaile and Mark McCabe (Sat 8th, €39), and a K-Pop Superslayers night (Sun 9th, €35). The second weekend steps up with Dec Pierce’s Block Rockin’ Beats (Fri 14th, €47.50), Cian Ducrot playing his first Wexford headline show (Sat 15th, €49.50), and Joel Corry closing things out (Sun 16th, €39).
The Big Top format means the show goes ahead in any weather. The tent sits at Ferrybank South, just across the bridge from Wexford town centre beside the Riverbank House Hotel - a proper production set-up with full sound and lighting.
Wexford is roughly an hour and forty minutes from Dublin by car on the M11/N11, and about the same from Cork via the N25. Irish Rail runs from Dublin Connolly to Wexford (O’Hanrahan station, Redmond Square) in around two hours, stopping at Gorey and Enniscorthy. Bus Éireann routes 2 and 40 also arrive at Redmond Square from Dublin and Waterford. From the station, Ferrybank is an 18-minute walk - cross the Slaney bridge and follow the quay south. Drivers will find roadside parking near the venue; arriving early is wise on busy nights.
The quayside Main Street, West Gate tower and Bull Ring square are all within a short walk of Ferrybank, and there are good pubs and restaurants along the harbour for before or after the show. There is more to see in Wexford and across Co. Wexford.
Heading to The Big Top, Ferrybank in Wexford? Wexford has plenty more to see. Read the Wexford area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.