
Ireland’s Food Festival Guide 2015
Fri Feb 20 2015

Fancy hopping in the car and taking a spin to foodie paradise? Here’s our guide to some of the best food festivals taking place around Ireland in 2015. If you would like to share an event with us please drop us an email hi {at} ilovecooking.ie
23rd February – 1st March 2015: Dine In Dublin
Location: Over 40 restuarants throughout Dublin
Dine in Dublin is back again for its sixth year from the 23rd of February until the 1st of March 2015. Get ready for every foodie’s dream week with events, demonstrations, and great offers all around the city to tantalise your taste buds.
27th February – 1st March 2015: Alltech brew festival
Location: The Convention Centre, Co Dublin
The Fair will feature a host of local & international craft beverages as well as local culinary delights. Musical entertainment will be provided by a range of pop and rocl acts from around the country. Food experts will be on hand throughout the whole Fair to help educate palates with unique food pairing to excite our taste buds
2nd – 6th April 2015: Galway Food Festival
Location: Various locations around Galway
The five festive days of open-air markets, food trails and family fun. Last year, over 70,000 people attended Galway Food Festival events including the festival food village at Spanish Arch; the Galway, Moycullen and Woodquay Country Markets and a packed programme of talks, tours, tastings, demonstrations and workshops involving over 100 restaurants, food outlets and food producers located across the city and County.
9th – 12th April 2015: West Waterford Festival of Food
Location: Dungarvan, Co Waterford
West Waterford Festival of Food centred in Dungarvan is a mecca for food lovers and fun seekers with a programme that has proven to be the perfect mix of free events and ticketed ones; an equally perfect mix of high-end dining opportunities and casual bistro experiences and it certainly offers something for all ages. The festival revolves around local seasonal produce.
24th -26th April 2015: Dublin Bay Prawn Festival
Location: Howth, Co Dublin
How do you like your prawns – barbecued, whole, shelled, fried, skewered, marinated, sauced – Howth’s many award winning restaurants will serve your favourite prawn dishes in bite sized portions at the food village of this year’s Dublin Bay Prawn Festival, in addition to a variety of other minature dishes. This is a fantastic day out for the family, we would highly recommend this festival.
29th April – 4th May 2015: Roscommon Lamb Festival 2015
Location: Gleesons Town House, Co Roscommon
Roscommon is known for it’s quality lamb and has the highest output of lamb in the country. This festival celebrates local produce including lamb. With lots of fun and exciting activities for families to take part in.
15th -17th May 2015: Litfest 2015
Location: Ballymaloe House and Cookery School, Co Cork
The Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine brought 8000 people onto the grounds of Ballymaloe House and Cookery School in May 2013 including national and international authors, chefs, foragers, educators, wine experts, gardeners, publishers, TV presenters, bloggers and journalists. Again this year, The Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine was surrounded by a fabulous setting and a magical atmosphere. It is the only festival of its kind in Ireland and has created an important hub for food enthusiasts worldwide to meet and share ideas with each other.
22nd – 24th May: The Annual Burren Slow Food Festival
Location: The Burren, Co Clare
23 – 24th May: Wexford Food Festival
Location: Wexford town
The 2014 festival programme will be bigger and better, providing a tasty schedule of mouth watering events for adults and children plus lots of entertainment, music and fun for all the family!
24th May 2015: Sheridans Food Festival 2015
Location: Virginia Road Station headquarters in Co Meath.
Sheridans Cheesemongers will host its 6th Irish Food Festival on Sunday 24th May 2015. An array of Ireland’s top food producers will be here to sell, sample and talk about their wonderful foods. The event promises to bring people who produce the wonderful food and the customers who love it together.
28th May – 1st June 2015: Bloom in the Park
Location:Phoenix Park, Dublin
Bloom offers something for everyone, a fantastic family event. Visitors to Bloom will enjoy cookery and craft demonstrations, free gardening advice from the experts, Irish food produce, live entertainment and gardening workshops. Kids attend Bloom for free!
10th -14th June 2015: Sligo Food Festival
Location: Various locations around Sligo, full itinernary here
11th – 14th June 2015: Taste of Dublin 2015
Location: Iveagh Gardens, Co Dublin
The Iveagh Gardens will be transformed into Taste of Dublin for four days. This is a summer delight of eating, drinking and entertainment. 20 of the city’s latest, greatest and hottest restaurants will be dishing up their finest in an unbeatable alfresco gourmet feast, while 100 producers provide a bounty of the best food and beverages, ensuring that guests sample and shop for a range of produce in the laid back atmosphere of a boutique food market.
19th – 21st June 2014: Bia Lover
Location: Athenry, Co. Galway
Bia Lover is a family friendly festival that celebrates all that is great about Irish food.
27th -28th June 2015: Flavours of Fingal
Location: Newbridge House & Farm, Donabate, Co Dublin
Experience family fun at the farm and mouth watering locally produced food, all in the rustic setting of Newbridge House and Farm at the Flavours of Fingal Show. And that’s not all there is a wide range of activities for the family including doggie shows, livestock competitions, arts and crafts activities, cooking exhibitions and cake bake offs, this value for money show is the ideal way to embrace the outdoors.
11th -12th July 2015: Bray Summerfest
Location: Bray, Co Wicklow
Bray Summerfest will return in 2015! And as part of the event the food and craft market will take place on the 11th and 12th of July
17th – 19th July 2015: Féile na Mara / Achill Island Festival of the Sea
Location: Achill Island, Co Mayo
Féile na Mara is a culinary celebration of Achill’s rich heritage with the sea and it showcases the bountiful harvest of the Atlantic Ocean.
25th – 26th July 2015: Duagh Festival
Location: Duagh, Co Kerry
Duagh Festival celebrates produce and people. Its a weekend of food, fire and good friends. It’s one hell of a BBQ.
7th -8th August 2015: Taste of Cavan 2015
Location: Food Marquee, Catheral Road, Cavan
The Taste of Cavan, now in its 4th year, is a two day festival of food guaranteeing a sumptuous foodie and family experience.
The event showcases extraordinary and diverse local food producers, chefs and restaurants in County Cavan. The event gives visitors an opportunity to sample and purchase the finest of Cavan fare from award winning cheeses, hand made chocolate, ice cream and organic sausages to boxty, breads, muffins, mushrooms, liquors, honey, meats and local jams. Enjoy food demonstrations on both days by top Irish chefs.
21st – 23rd August 2015: Doolin Craft Beer Festival
Location: Hotel Doolin, Fitz’s Cross, Doolin, Co. Clare
The Doolin Craft Beer Festival is back for the 4th year running with the same winning ingredients – great beers from craft brewers all around Ireland, some of Clare’s best musicians, and food from local artisan producers.
4th – 6th September 2015: Electric Picnic
Location: Stradbally, Co Laois
For those of you who love good music and good food. Electric Picnic has everything to offer.
11th – 13th September 2015: Waterford Harvest Festival
Location: The Mall, Co Waterford
11th -13th September 2015: Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival
Location: RDS Co Dublin
The Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival is a show dedicated to celebrating all that’s new and exciting on the Coffee and Tea scene. From harvesting to brewing and artisan catering to equipment, this show will showcase every aspect of the coffee & tea world and all the enjoyment that goes with it.
11th-13th of September 2015: Flavour of Killorglin
Location: Killorglin, Co Kerry
A fantastic weekend with various events taking place each day. A great day for families and foodies.
4th -13th September 2015: A Taste of West Cork
Location: Skibbereen, West Cork
A Taste of West Cork Food Festival brings together a unique mix of food markets and demonstrations, cookery competitions, special dinners, brunches and banquets, food-tastings, talks, exhibitions, children’s events and more.
22nd -24th September 2015: National Ploughing Championships
24th – 27th September: Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival
Location: Galway City
Galway City will come alive with seafood and oysters as it celebrates the Galway International Oyster and Seafood Festival. It is Ireland’s oldest food festival and the world’s longest running oyster festival.
9th -11th October 2015: Kinsale Gourmet Festival
Location: Kinsale, Co Cork
The 39th Kinsale Gourmet Festival is a celebration of all the culinary delights that Kinsale has to offer. Visitors come from far and wide to attend the sell-out weekend and are never disappointed by the mixture of great food and superb fun on offer. Other exciting events over the weekend include a celebrity chef cook-off; and an 8 course Degustation black tie dinner showcasing the best of West Cork Produce and champagnes from the festival sponsors.
23rd – 26th October 2015 Savour Kilkenny
Now in its 9th year, Savour Kilkenny Festival of Food is truly a festival for all food lovers. Set against the backdrop of the beautiful medieval city of Kilkenny, in Ireland’s South East, Savour brings together local top quality food produce, well known talented Chefs, a mix of exciting, tasty food choices in our markets, and plenty more for everybody out there to enjoy.
Over the course of the four day festival, there will be an extensive selection of both free and ticketed events including; food markets, cookery demonstrations, pop-up School of Food courses, foodie debates and discussions, plenty of dining events in local hotels, restaurants, cafés and bars and much more.
The Festival takes place over the Bank Holiday weekend this coming October Friday 23rd to Monday 26th.
Visit www.savourkilkenny.com for more information, you can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates”
If you have an event you wish to include please email us hi {at} ilovecooking.ie