Project Description

Festivals play a vitally important role in local community vitality and fun for all, and also attract local, national as well as international visitors, thereby supporting the local economy and building the local brand. Carrigaholt has developed a range of festivals that showcase different aspects of the Loop Head Peninsula at different times of year.

The Carrigaholt Oyster & Trad Festival is being celebrated every year on the May Bank Holiday weekend and puts the spotlight on the locally grown oysters which are being served at all local pubs and restaurants over the course of the weekend.

Carrigaholt is also known for keeping traditional music ,song and dance alive  and the Oyster and traditional music festival opens it up, all through the summer months various types of music will be heard from trad ,to jazz, Ska, reggae and ballads.

Singsongs in pubs are also popular and regular impromptu sing-songs occur not only during the festival but all year long. Musicians are always welcome, they can join in on sessions or bring their own group.

The Carrigaholt Walking Festival (in June) celebrates the landscape and scenery of the Loop Head Peninsula and the many varied walks available in the area. Over the course of the weekend the festival offers guided walks; long and short walks, historical and cliff walks; and as a highlight a Camino from Kilkee to Carrigaholt. The Carrigaholt Walking Festival is aimed at residents and visitors alike and plays a vital role in showcasing the Loop Head Peninsula as a vibrant destination for outdoor enthusiast in general and hikers in particular and so promoting sustainable tourism in the area.

Other festivals include the The Carrigaholt River Festival (in July) which celebrates anything connected with the Shannon Estuary and Seafood in September which showcases locally produced and prepared seafood.

Project Justification & Objectives

Festivals can be a main ingredient in obtaining a vibrant community all year round. The Carrigaholt festival season now covers spring, summer and autumn which is an important step towards developing year-round tourism instead of focusing on only a few, short weeks in summer. Year-round well-planned and well-resourced successful festivals would not only enhance year-round community wellbeing but would also make tourism more sustainable and so provide more full-time employment.

In addition, the festivals celebrate different aspects of the community and the wider peninsula, including locally produced food, heritage in music and dance, scenery and outdoor activities which as a whole showcases Carrigaholt and the Loop Head Peninsula as a place of great variety for holiday makers. This builds local self-belief and pride of place.

Potential Project Stakeholders*

• Carrigaholt businesses, especially pubs and restaurants

• Keane’s Oyster Bar

• Carrigaholt residents

• Loop Head Tourism

• CDA

• Moyasta Oysters

• Loop Head Guided Walking Tours

• Loop Head Together

• CLDC

• Clare CoCo

*Potential Project Stakeholders means all stakeholders have not necessarily yet been contacted to help co-design the project, but are mentioned here as they would be a desirable project partner. We may have forgotten some - please let us know!