Whether you are heading for Electric Picnic at Stradbally, All Together Now at Curraghmore, or a quiet weekend under canvas in the West, one thing is guaranteed in Ireland: the weather will not read your itinerary. The difference between a brilliant weekend and a soggy ordeal nearly always comes down to what you packed. This is our complete, tried-and-tested festival and camping checklist for 2026, built for Irish conditions and everything our midlands customers have learned the hard way.
The short version: for any Irish festival you genuinely need four things sorted before anything else: a power bank to keep your phone alive, a waterproof rain jacket, a reliable tent, and a torch. Get those right and everything else is comfort. The full kit list is below, sorted by category so you can tick as you pack.
Irish festival and concert dates 2026
Pack timing matters. Here are the headline festivals and events for the 2026 season so you know exactly when you will be living outdoors.
| Festival |
Dates 2026 |
Location |
Camping |
| Electric Picnic |
28 to 30 August (early entry Thu 27) |
Stradbally Hall, Co. Laois |
Yes, tent camping |
| Longitude |
4 to 5 July |
Marlay Park, Dublin |
No (day festival) |
| All Together Now |
30 July to 2 August |
Curraghmore Estate, Co. Waterford |
Yes, plus boutique |
| Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann |
2 to 9 August (8 days) |
Belfast City Centre |
Campsite available |
| Body and Soul |
June (dates TBC) |
Ballinlough Castle, Co. Westmeath |
Yes, boutique camping |
| Several of these festivals are within easy reach of the midlands. If you are local, click and collect your full kit from our Athlone superstore on the way down and skip the delivery wait entirely. |
The Irish weather reality
Irish summer weather is famously changeable, and a festival field offers no shelter from any of it. You can reasonably expect warm sun, heavy showers, and a cold night, sometimes all in the same day. Before you travel it is worth checking the latest forecast on Met Eireann, but the safe approach is to pack for all three. That means sun protection, proper waterproofs, and something warm for after dark, every single time.
Power and lighting essentials for festival camping
Your phone is your festival ticket, your campsite map, your mobile wallet, and the only way to find your friends in a crowd of 70,000 people, so keeping it charged is not optional.
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ESSENTIAL Portable power bank: A portable power bank is the single most important item to pack for any Irish festival, whether you are there for the day or camping all weekend, because once your phone dies you lose access to everything from your e-ticket to your taxi app. |
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ESSENTIAL Torch or camping lantern: A good handheld torch or camping lantern makes all the difference for late-night walks to the toilets, finding your tent in a dark field, and setting up camp after sundown. |
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Spare batteries: Always pack spare batteries for your torch, because nothing runs out of charge faster than a torch left on overnight in a tent. |
Shelter and sleeping gear for Irish festivals
Good sleep is what keeps you going for three days of music, mud, and rain. Do not cut corners on your tent or bedding.
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ESSENTIAL Double-skin tent: A double-skin dome camping tent is the best choice for Irish festival camping because the inner and outer layers work together to stop condensation dripping on you overnight and keep rain from seeping through the walls. |
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RECOMMENDED Blanket or sleeping bag: A warm fleece blanket or insulated sleeping bag rated for single-digit temperatures is essential for Irish summer nights, which regularly drop below 10 degrees even in August. |
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Quick-drying towel: Pack a quick-drying microfibre towel that rolls up small and dries in a fraction of the time a regular towel takes, saving space and weight in your bag. |
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Tent mallet and pegs: Bring a tent mallet and a handful of spare pegs, because the wind at Stradbally and Curraghmore has claimed many a poorly secured tent over the years. |
Transport and camp comfort at festivals
Festival car parks are a long walk from the campsites, so moving your gear is its own challenge and having the right setup at your pitch makes the weekend far more enjoyable.
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RECOMMENDED Trolley cart: A folding trolley cart or garden wagon lets you haul your tent, sleeping gear, cooler, and supplies from the car to your campsite in one trip instead of five, which is especially valuable on a muddy festival field. |
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RECOMMENDED Camping chairs: A pair of lightweight folding camping chairs means you are not sitting in wet grass or balancing on a cooler box all weekend, and they fold flat for easy transport. |
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Camping table: A folding camping table gives you a clean, stable surface for meals, card games, and keeping food and drinks off the muddy ground. |
Cooking and eating gear for camping in Ireland
If your festival or campsite allows cooking, a hot cup of tea on a cold Irish morning is worth its weight in gold. Always check the event rules before you travel, as many festival sites restrict open flames and gas stoves in certain areas.
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ESSENTIAL Portable gas stove: A portable gas camping stove is the quickest way to boil water for tea, heat a tin of soup, or cook a proper campsite breakfast without relying on overpriced festival food vendors. |
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RECOMMENDED Camping kettle: A lightweight camping kettle heats water faster than a saucepan and is the most-used item in any Irish campsite kitchen, perfect for tea, coffee, and pot noodles. |
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Frying pan: A non-stick frying pan is all you need for a full campsite fry-up: eggs, sausages, rashers, and toast done over a single burner. |
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BBQ and accessories: Where the festival permits it, a compact portable BBQ is brilliant for group meals at the campsite, and our full range of BBQ accessories has everything from tongs to firelighters. |
Staying dry: waterproof gear for Irish festival weather
This is the section that earns this guide its name. In Irish conditions, the right waterproof clothing is the difference between dancing in the rain and going home early on Saturday.
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ESSENTIAL Rain jacket and trousers: A properly waterproof rain jacket and a pair of waterproof rain trousers are the two items that will save your festival weekend more than anything else, and our Portwest range is specifically built for the kind of sustained, sideways rain Ireland specialises in. |
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RECOMMENDED Wellies or boots: Sturdy, waterproof boots or wellies are essential for festival camping in Ireland because the fields turn to deep mud within hours of the first downpour, and regular trainers will be ruined by the end of day one. |
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Hats for day and night: A warm beanie hat for cold nights and a peaked cap for sunny afternoons cover both extremes of Irish summer weather and take up almost no space in your bag. |
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Sun protection: Pack a good pair of sunglasses and high-factor sun cream, because Irish sunburn is very real and catches people out every festival season, especially on overcast days when UV still gets through. |
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Folding umbrella: A compact folding umbrella is a lifesaver for the long walk back to the campsite from the main stage when a shower hits without warning. |
Repairs and emergencies at the campsite
Small problems become big ones when you are in a field with no hardware shop nearby. A little preparation goes a long way toward saving your weekend.
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RECOMMENDED Duct tape: A roll of strong duct tape is the universal fix for torn tent fabric, leaking air beds, broken tent poles, and almost everything else that goes wrong at a festival campsite. |
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Puncture repair kit: A basic puncture repair kit for air beds and self-inflating mats means a slow leak does not end your weekend of comfortable sleep on the first night. |
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ESSENTIAL First aid kit: A small first aid kit with plasters, painkillers, antiseptic wipes, and blister plasters covers the most common festival injuries and saves a long queue at the medical tent. |
Cleanliness and hygiene essentials for festival camping
Festival toilet blocks and washing facilities are notoriously basic, so pack your own hygiene supplies and you will feel far more human by Sunday morning.
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ESSENTIAL Wet wipes: A large pack of biodegradable wet wipes is the closest thing to a shower you will get at most Irish festivals, and they work for hands, face, and a quick body freshen-up between acts. |
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RECOMMENDED Bin bags: Bring plenty of heavy-duty bin bags for both rubbish collection and keeping clothes and gear dry inside your tent during heavy rain. |
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Wet/dry bag: A waterproof wet/dry bag keeps muddy wellies and rain-soaked clothes completely separate from your clean gear, which makes packing up on the last day far less miserable. |
Personal care and protection for outdoor camping
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RECOMMENDED Insect repellent: A bottle of insect repellent is essential for those still summer evenings when midges and mosquitoes come out in force around Irish campsites, particularly near water and woodland. |
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ESSENTIAL Spare dry socks: Pack at least three pairs of spare dry socks, because nothing ruins a festival faster than cold, wet feet, and experienced campers will tell you that dry socks are worth more than any luxury item on this list. |
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Earplugs: A pack of foam earplugs blocks out noisy neighbours, late-night music bleed, and early-morning generators so you can actually get some sleep between festival days. |
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Sleeping mask: A comfortable sleeping mask is a small investment that pays off hugely in Irish summer, when sunrise hits your tent before 5am and wakes you hours before you need to be up. |
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Layering jacket: A lightweight windbreaker or layering jacket keeps the chill off after dark without adding bulk to your bag, and is often the piece of clothing you reach for most once the sun goes down. |
Fun extras and family camping additions
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Tent marker: Tie a tall flag, balloon, or brightly coloured marker to your tent so you can spot it easily in a field of hundreds of identical tents, which saves genuine frustration at two in the morning. |
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Kids entertainment: If you are bringing children along, a bubble machine or set of water toys keeps younger kids entertained at the campsite and makes the trip feel like a proper family holiday rather than just an endurance test. |
Quick packing guide by festival type
Not every event needs the full kit. Use this quick reference to match your packing to your plans.
Leave the field as you found it
Irish festivals increasingly ask campers to take everything home, including the tent. Abandoned tents are a major source of festival waste, so invest in a quality tent you will reuse, bring sturdy bin bags, and follow Leave No Trace principles. Good kit lasts for years and works out cheaper than buying disposable gear every summer.
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Get festival ready at Heavins
From power banks to tents, rain gear to camping stoves, everything you need for the 2026 festival season is in stock at Heavins. Order online for fast delivery, or click and collect from our Athlone superstore. As a Guaranteed Irish, family-run business serving the midlands for over 40 years, we know exactly what an Irish summer can throw at you.
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