Reasons to Visit Cloughjordan: Two weeks’ worth at the Cloughjordan Festival

Many people visit Cloughjordan to see the ecovillage, but there are other reasons to visit Cloughjordan too, especially for the Cloughjordan Festival.

This year is the fifth Cloughjordan Festival, which has expanded to a full fortnight of events certain to provide something for local people and for tourists from home and abroad.

The big events this year are Totally Tipperary, a celebration of local food and culture, the Asado barbecue and Boudoir Sessions, and the Cloughjordan Summer School of Music.

Totally Tipperary brings together the Tipperary Food Producers, food bloggers, professional chefs from Ireland and France, the Cloughjordan Community Farm, Grow It Yourself (GIY), plus Cultivate Living and Learning Centre, the Cloughjordan Arts and Crafts Community, and Kaleidescape interactive art on Saturday, 25 June from 10.30am-6pm in the beautiful grounds of Cloughjordan House. There are cookery demonstrations all day in three marquees: the main tent, with a kitchen generously provided by Bord Bia; the meat tent, hosted by James Whelan Butchers; and the milk tent, hosted by the Cloughjordan Community Farm. Ella McSweeney of Ear to the Ground will be demonstrating how to make butter, and the Cultivate tent is hosting talks and debates about food that include Ella McSweeney and Bobby Kerr from RTE’s Dragon’s Den. There will also be music from local musicians, kids’ crafts, and kids’ cookery lessons throughout the day. Adult tickets for Totally Tipperary are €8, and accompanied children are free.

The evening of Saturday, 24 June, you’ll be able to experience Asado. An Asado is an Argentinean barbecue, and Sarah and Peter Baker of Cloughjordan House are bringing the style to Tipperary and making it local with Tipperary meat, dairy, and garden produce. In addition to wonderful food cooked in the open air, Asado features the Boudoir Sessions, featuring the dance and performance group Three-o-Troupe, Gypsy fiddler Aranos, swing cabaret band the Swell Berries and the Boudoir Boys DJs, as well as lots of frilly fun extras. Feel free to dress with a vintage style, or hire a costume at the event. Tickets for Asado on 25 June are €20, including dinner and entertainment, and are strictly limited. Non-alcoholic beverages and glasses will be for sale at the event, and you can bring your own beer or wine.

The Cloughjordan Summer School of Music was a huge success last year, and this year’s school is running from Monday, 4 July – Friday, 8 July. Lessons are available in banjo and mandolin, bodhrán, concertina, fiddle, flute, guitar, piano/keyboard, tin whistle, and traditional singing. Advanced classes in guitar and tin whistle are available, and five-time all-Ireland champion Nora Butler will be teaching traditional singing. There are slow sessions for beginners in the afternoons, and the week ends with a Grúpa Cheoil performance that will include all students. A week’s tuition costs €70, with discounts for families. To book a place, ring 086 8105319.

And that’s not all! There is film, a children’s art exhibition, numerous concerts and music workshops, including a harmonica master class with Rick Epping, a busking competition, walks, gardening workshops, sessions, and a kids’ table quiz and a kids’ karaoke. The full programme is online now at www.cloughjordanfestival.com, where you can also book tickets for many events and the summer school of music. So book your holiday for 25 June to 9 July, and plan to spend it in Cloughjordan.