Féile An Phobail, Belfast
The Coronas kicked off what has been described as "Ireland's biggest community festival", Féile an Phobail, in west Belfast last night. The féile will host Damien Dempsey tonight and The Beat tomorrow.
Other acts performing over the weekend include comedian Patrick Kielty, the Wolfe Tones and Sharon Shannon. The festival, established as a direct response to the conflict in the North, is now in its 25th year.
Kilkenny Arts Festival
The Kilkenny Arts Festival – in its 40th year – will once again exhibit the very best of music, theatre, literature, art, dance and street theatre. Shakespeare's Globe theatre company's The Taming of the Shrew and The Emergency Room/Galway Arts Festival's Riverrun are among the shows to watch out for.
The Irish Times's Fintan O'Toole, together with James Shapiro, will be discussing the surprising ways Ireland worked its way into Shakespeare's imagination (and vice versa) at 1pm today.
Other acts performing at this year’s festival, which runs until August 18th, include Fight Like Apes, David Kitt and the Kilkenny Arts Festival Choir & Ensemble.
Tullamore Show, Butterfield Estate, Blue Ball, Co Offaly
If you would like to have "world record-holder" on your CV then why not pop down to the Tullamore Show, where an attempt will be made to break the world record for the largest potato sack race.
Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney will officially open the show, which runs from early tomorrow at 6.45am (perhaps too early at the weekend for some), until evening.
Celebrity chef Neven Maguire will be putting on demonstrations for anybody interested in brushing up on their cookery skills.
There will also be the Young Mr/Miss Offaly and glamorous granny competitions, showjumping and an appearance by Conor Quinn of RTÉ's The Voice.
Carlingford Lough Oyster Festival, Carlingford, Co Louth
With a colourful festival street market, lively entertainment and artisan food stalls, this year's Carlingford Oyster festival is set to be a seaside delight.
Chefs from the village’s award-winning restaurants will be exhibiting a plethora of mouth-watering “fishy dishes”.
There will also be a sailing regatta on the lough, guided medieval tours, the world crab fishing championship, as well as free kayaking and water activities.
Country singer Nathan Carter will be out meeting fans on the streets this afternoon. He will be presented with a special Wagon Wheel smoked oyster dish, named after his recent album.
BBC radio presenter Hugo Duncan will also be there, alongside acts such as the Long Riders, Henry Mac and many others. The festival kicked off yesterday and will run until Monday.