Music
15 May 24

The Scratch set to headline Doolin Folkfest

The Scratch at Cork City Hall. Copyright Trevor McGrath.

The Scratch will be joined by headliners Jack L and Eddi Reader, as well as an eclectic collection of more than 50 local and international traditional and folk acts.

Doolin Arts, a not-for-profit created by Hotel Doolin to support the arts in Co. Clare has announced that Doolin FolkFest will return this June.

The four-piece Dublin band The Scratch are headlining three years after their first appearance on the White Horse Session Stage at the festival.

The event will run from June 14-16, with thousands of people from all over expected to travel to Doolin, generating an estimated two million euros for the local economy.

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Donal Minihane, the director of Doolin Arts, explained that FolkFest is a chance to promote all that is unique about Doolin and give back to the local community.

“Although we’re in our eleventh year, we’re still not interested in being a big, mainstream festival or making a profit. Doolin FolkFest is about giving people who appreciate great music the opportunity to come together,” He said.

“Our role at Doolin Arts is to ensure that all creative expression - music, literature, dance – remains in the region for people from near and far to benefit from, and we’re really proud that FolkFest continues to be a key driver in that ambition.”

Doolin FolkFest is also billed as a ‘festival without a footprint’, in that it’s one of a handful of carbon neutral festivals to be held in Ireland.

It’s held in the barn of Hotel Doolin, the first carbon neutral hotel in the country, and the winner of Green Medium Sized Business of the Year and The Green Tourism & Entertainment Award at this year’s Green Awards.

Over the course of the festival, no single-use items will be available, and the tickets sold will result in the planting of 500 native trees.

Conor Byrne, the Festival’s artistic director, said that since Doolin Arts started the festival more than a decade ago, they’ve been intentional in what they want it to represent for festival sustainability.

“If a small festival like ours can achieve carbon neutrality, and pay a fair rate to performers, then there is no reason the bigger festivals, with all their resources and profits, can't do the same,” He added.

Weekend tickets are priced at €149 plus booking fee and day tickets are €60 plus booking fee, and can be found here.