Ennistymon’s Rekindle Festival will return for its fourth year with a celebration of tradition, community and creativity on Friday, August 15, and Saturday, August 16 as part of National Heritage Week.

Organised by Common Knowledge – which shares skills through hands-on courses in areas such as building, growing, making, and mending – Clare’s Rekindle Festival invites people to reconnect with craft, music, food, and one another.

Local and global voices take part in a shared celebration of heritage and living tradition.

Centred around traditional skills and community knowledge, the 2025 festival programme includes: live music; food; craft workshops; storytelling; and thoughtful conversations.

Rekindle opens with Lasraí, an evening of live performance and shared experience under the Burren sky.

This year’s concert features master uilleann piper, Paddy Keenan; dancer and organiser, Edwina Guckian; Irish-Palestinian singer, Róisín El Cherif; and surprise guest artists from across the country.

The aim is to create a space where stories, rhythms and roots ignite.

Festival programme

The Rekindle festival day in Ennistymon town centre on Saturday comprises a full day of free public events spread across the town, bringing streets and shopfronts to life in the festival hub at Courthouse Gallery from 2:00p.m to 4:00p.m.

The programme includes ‘Meet the Makers’ craft demos; traditional music sessions; a heritage market and an outdoor céilí with Louise O’Connor and the Rekindle band.

There will also be talks on traditional farm methods including Irish scything for regenerative methods of managing the land.

A Rekindle trail from 10:00a.m to 8:00p.m will incorporate a town-wide trail of pop-up events, skill-sharing and heritage installations that reflect the culture and creativity of north Co. Clare.

A relaxed gathering of music, story, and reflection to end the festival day will take place in Cooley’s pub at 6:00p.m.

New this year is ‘Spreag’, which aims to inspire community action through traditional skills.

Eco-builder, Harrison Gardner, and blacksmith, Reece Foster, will speak on how craft can support local resilience and climate action.

People can explore how traditional arts can build stronger rural communities through shared movement and story in a workshop with Edwina Guckian.

The ‘Land and Lore’ artisan food market will showcase local food rooted in place and practice, featuring producers, foragers, fermenters, and bakers from north Co. Clare.

Festival producer, Aoife Hammond, said that Rekindle is about remembering and reigniting.

Hammond said: “We honour the past by actively shaping the present through music, food, movement and making.”

“Rekindle Festival is where heritage meets hands‑on practice.

“Watching regenerative farming demonstrations and heritage keepers speak about soil health, seed saving and biodiversity reminds me that traditional land‑wise farming isn’t just about crop yield.

“It’s about preserving wisdom, nurturing community, and growing resilient systems for the future,” she said.

Tickets and further information are available through Common Knowledge’s social platforms.

Festival programme

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