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Irish Independent

August bank holiday in Mayo – Top five things to do

With Reek Sunday signalling the end of summer, there are few better places than Mayo to soak up the last of the good (well, at least not cold) weather. Here are five of the best things to do in the land of Michael Davitt and Grainne Uaile this August Bank Holiday weekend: Castlebar Music Festival Don McClean wasn't singing about Castlebar when he referred to 'the day the music died' in 'American Pie'. The town, once renowned for the Castlebar International Song Contest and the Castlebar Blues Festival, will put itself back on the cultural map with its busiest festival in years when the brand-new Castlebar Music Festival rolls into the county town. Headlined by AC/DC and Queen tribute acts, the festival will see more than 20 acts play indoor venues throughout Castlebar all weekend, starting on Friday, August 1. The main event will see six acts play at a day-long hooley at Hoban's car park right in the heart of the county town on Sunday, August 3. If all goes well, this festival will be touching the Richter scale. A full programme of events can be found at Bonniconlon Agricultural Show This is not just any agricultural show, mark our words. From humble beginnings in the early 1950s, the Bonniconlon Agricultural Show has grown to become the biggest of its in Connacht and the second-biggest agricultural show in Ireland. Come hell or high water, the guts of 30,000 people flock to north Mayo village on the first Monday of August each year. With music from country music stars Mike Denver and Michael English, a €60,000 prize fund and dozens upon dozens of stands on 200-acre site showcasing every sort of machine, gadget, goose, hen and heifer one could imagine, the Bonniconlon Show is up there with the best agricultural shows in the world. Further information can be found on ABBA Sensations Oasis are back – as the world and its mother knows. However, with the legendary Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson having ruled out an ABBA reunion tour, a tribute act is the best bet for ABBA superfans. ABBA Sensations are no strangers to Mayo or the TF, which they played as recently as April 2024. This weekend, they are back in Connacht's biggest indoor music venue paying homage to Swedish pop royalty who need no introduction. Expect almost-as-good-as the original renditions of 'Dancing Queen', 'Gimme Gimme', 'Voulez Vouz', 'Take A Chance' and so many more on Sunday, August 3. Tickets can be purchased on A Taste of Inishturk Missed the first weekend of 'A Taste of Inishturk? Never fear. The month long-festival on one of Mayo's smallest inhabited islands has plenty in store for those willing to take the ferry out from Roonagh and wave all their cares goodbye this Bank Holiday weekend. As the name implies, 'A Taste of Inishturk' celebrates the cuisine of the Wild Atlantic Way. But there's plenty to do there before you taste the mackerel and chips in Caher View Restaurant. Like marvelling at Mayo's most scenic GAA pitch, the majestic cliffs and sea stacks, or the Napoleonic Signal Tower at the summit of Knoclackan Mountain. On Saturday, August 2, at 9pm, Clew Bay-based vocal group Coda will play the Inishturk Community Club, followed by tunes from Jonny Moran on Sunday at 2pm in the same venue. With its sights, sounds and tastes, there's simply nowhere on earth like Inishturk. More information on 'A Taste of Inishturk' can be found on Newport Grainne Uaile Festival Could you possibly pack any more into a three-day festival? With everything from trad sessions, face painting, balloon modelling, a sheep shearing exhibition, a boxty-making demonstration, a barbeque, a pirate parade, open air concerts, bingo, busking, water sports, novelty races, guided historical tours and a fishing competition, you'd do well to find a more eventful festival than the Newport Grainne Uaile Festival. Named after the famous pirate queen who ruled the waters of Clew Bay, this festival has become near unmissable. The best part? It's totally free. The Newport Grainne Uaile Festival takes place from Friday August 1 to Sunday August 3.