Up to 5,000 motorbikes descended on Killarney last night for the country's first Harley-Davidson Owners' Group (Hog) European rally.
The three-day event, which is expected to attract 10,000 people, will take in the Ring of Kerry, the Lakes of Killarney, the passes of the Macgillycuddy's Reeks and south Kerry's winding roads.
A highlight will be a parade of thousands of flag-waving bikes through the streets of Killarney on Saturday morning.
From 2pm to 2am each day the bikers from Poland, Italy, France, Germany and 29 European countries, along with Saudi Arabia and South Africa, will be entertained by Suzi Quatro, The Counterfeit Stones, Bonnie Tyler, Roy Wood, The Commitments, 3M Classic Whitesnake, Dervish and others.
A tent city has been set up at the Gleneagle Hotel complex, where merchandising of Harley-Davidson products, charity events and daily entertainment is taking place.
Demonstration rides on all the latest Harley bikes are available, as well as a custom bike show.
Bernard O'Reilly, a Harley enthusiast and managing director of conference organisers Joe O'Reilly Ireland Group, said two years of work with Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland had gone into bringing the rally to Killarney.
"We chose Killarney because of the bed bank, the scenery and the fact that Killarney is used to major events," he said.