← All events
markets · Saturday 27 June 2026 · 10:00am 
SOLAS Car Boot Sale
At SOLAS Eco Garden Centre · Lea Road, Portarlington, Co. Laois
At SOLAS Eco Garden Centre · Lea Road, Portarlington, Co. Laois
A free outdoor market with a genuine community feel, the SOLAS Car Boot Sale takes place at one of Laois’s most distinctive settings - an eco garden centre built almost entirely from repurposed shipping containers and reclaimed materials. On a good Sunday morning from late spring into summer, the site draws well over a thousand visitors hunting for clothing, toys, vintage glassware, small furniture, Lego, instruments, homeware, and the kind of bric-a-brac that refuses to be thrown away. It suits anyone who enjoys a rummage, and it suits sellers who want a ready crowd and a low-cost pitch.
The sale runs from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Traders are on site from 9:00am, so early arrivals get first pick. Stalls cover the usual mix you’d hope for at a well-attended car boot - children’s clothes and toys alongside vintage ceramics, old tools, books, and the occasional piece of small furniture. The setting adds something beyond most car parks: SOLAS has a covered food courtyard where local food producers regularly set up, a cafe with indoor and outdoor seating, a greenhouse, and a gift and artisan food shop. You can spend a couple of hours there without it feeling like a chore. David Maher of SOLAS has described it as “a great circular economy event, offering a low-cost and fun family day out,” and that reads as accurate rather than promotional. Entry and parking for shoppers are free. Sellers pay €15 per vehicle when booking online, or €20 on the day - a pitch runs 2.3m wide by 6.5m long and sellers bring their own table. Advance booking is required at thegardenshop.ie/car-boot-sale.
Portarlington sits on the Laois-Offaly border, roughly equidistant from Portlaoise and Tullamore. SOLAS is on the Lea Road on the edge of town. By road, the R420 connects Portarlington to the M7 motorway at junction 14 (Monasterevin), about 12km away. From Dublin, allow around an hour. Irish Rail serves Portarlington on the Dublin Heuston to Portlaoise and Limerick lines - the station is a short walk from the town centre, and the garden centre is about 1.5km from there on foot or a quick taxi. Parking on site is free and signposted.
The town itself has an unusual history - a Huguenot settlement from the late 1600s - and the canal heritage along the River Barrow makes it a pleasant stop beyond the sale. There is more to see in Portarlington and across Co. Laois.
Heading to SOLAS Eco Garden Centre in Portarlington? Laois has plenty more to see. Read the Portarlington area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.