Spoilt for Choice this October Bank Holiday

Come hail, rain or shine this October Bank Holiday Weekend, there’s an abundance of festivals taking place all over the country.

For full listings and amazing autumn offers, visit www.discoverireland.ie/autumn but here are just a selection of highlights...

Sligo Live is back with a stellar line up of folk, roots and indie music in intimate venues around Sligo Town.

Don’t miss out on performances by living legend Elvis Costello, Brit Award winner KT Tunstall, Scottish band Admiral Fallow and the beautiful Rachel Sermanni and band. This year the festival will introduce Under Bare Ben Bulbens’s Head, an innovative new spoken word event.

Jazz things up with a visit to the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival and let yourself loose at any of the 90 plus pubs, clubs and venues throughout Cork City. With over 90% of the entertainment being free and extras including fringe festival, music trails, street music, and Jazz Club master classes, it’s not to be missed!

The Halloween Howls Comedy Festival returns to Portlaoise with another heavyweight comedy line-up featuring Des Bishop, Neil Delamere, 3D Comedy, Dead Cat Bounce, Colin Murphy, Karl Spain and much more. With €15 being the highest price, there’ll be plenty of cheap laughs on offer!

Make a meal out of the Bank Holiday at Savour Kilkenny Food Festival, where the walls of Kilkenny Castle will form a spectacular backdrop for the free open air food market on the plaza showcasing the best in local produce, as well as cookery demonstrations by TV cooks Donal Skehan and Catherine Fulvio. While you’re there, rediscover your childhood (and your competitive streak!) at the Irish Conker Championship in Freshford, Co. Kilkenny.

Treat yourself to a cultural feast in the South East with three of Ireland’s finest cultural festivals taking place simultaneously. In Wexford, the 60th Wexford Festival Opera and the Wexford Fringe Festival will transform the town into a melting pot of cultural delights with a heady mix of exhibitions, music, dance, theatre, markets, fairs and sports as well as superb opera concerts and recitals. In Waterford, the Imagine Arts Festival has an exciting line-up including dance, film, theatre and children's events, as well as a new trad event bringing the cream of Irish trad musicians to Waterford.

If you’re looking to escape to the country and blow away those cobwebs, The Westport October Bank Holiday Walking Weekend takes place in the glorious Mayo Mountains, finishing with a climb of Mweelrea, Connaught's highest peak, while the Footfalls Wicklow Walking Festival has several walks that explore the beauty of the garden of Ireland.

For more information on a Bank Holiday Weekend to remember, log on to www.discoverireland.ie/autumn