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Just got word of this festival, at The Curragh on 11-12 September. Participants will include:
The Porterhouse
White Gypsy
Franciscan Well
Galway Hooker
Hilden
Double L
Bunratty Mead
Cooley Distillery

Intriguingly, the organiser is "The Independent Brewers and Distillers of Ireland". Great to see they're grouping together again.

More details of the festival are due on Monday.

The newly formed Independent Brewers and Distillers of Ireland have come together to organise this event.

With a gap in the calendar now that the Septemberfest is no more we looked at setting up our own event. We wanted to be showcased at a national event so approached the Curragh who were very open to our suggestion. They have given us use of the Garden enclosure for the weekend, and we will be setting up a marquee and bars.

All the Irish breweries will be represented - if not there in person their beers will be - as well as Double L Cider, Bunratty Mead and Cooley Distillery.
Everyone is eager to make a success of this and to work towards having an annual showcase. This being year one we are aware that we're not leaving ourselves much time, but wanted to continue with a beer festival in September.

There are more details on the Curragh website here[/url:t0vocf35]
There is no website for this year, so we have a Facebook page[/url:t0vocf35] and Twitter feed[/url:t0vocf35], and we would appreciate it if people could spread the word.
There will be a special offer on admission on the Facebook page; once it is up there I will post it here too for non-Facebookers.

Is the Curragh not a bit out of they way, with out much public transport for a beer festival?

Ah I see its part of the St Ledger race meeting.

Yes, that means there are bus services, and a free shuttle bus from Kildare station.

The Curragh is 3km from Kildare train station, half an hour walk on a narrow road, but it may be possible to walk beside the road, been years since I was down there. I'm sure that the taxis in Kildare will be quite busy. Still, it's do-able, so you aren't dependent on the shuttle bus. Trains are approx twice an hour on sat, once an hour on sun.
Edit: Day return Heuston to Kildare is €19.50 so it's pricy.


There are buses from Bus Eireann which will drop you to the town centre, again about a 3km walk to the Curragh. One bus an hour I believe. Also for those on a budget there is the Dublin Coach from the airport which will drop you to the Outlet centre where you can use the free shuttle bus to bring you to the train station and walk the rest of the way.

Edit: Bus Eireann is €15.20rtn, Dublin coach is €5 each way.

For good beer we will find a way!