2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Beyond The Pale 2025: All you need to know about Wicklow's eclectic arts festival
After a cancellation scare last weekend, the Glendalough Estate will swing open its gates this Friday and welcome back revellers for one of Ireland's most eclectic and family-friendly festivals.
Here is everything you need to know if you are heading to Beyond the Pale 2025.
How can I get there?
Marathon Coaches are providing buses to Beyond the Pale, including return buses from Dublin City Centre to the Glendalough Estate on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Direct bus tickets to the festival site are available for holders of single-day tickets and weekend ticket holders, with the buses running from and to Northwall Quay and Bray Dart Station.
On Friday, buses will begin departing from Dublin at 11 am (until 5 pm), with a service from Bray at 3 pm, with buses leaving the capital at 10 am and 11 am on Saturday and an 11 am service from Bray.
On Sunday, a service will depart from Northwall Quay at 10.30 am and Bray at 11.30 am, with homebound buses to Dublin departing at 9 am and 10 am, and to Bray at 11 am.
Homebound services are also available on Saturday and Sunday. Full details are available at
What parking space is available?
Parking for the festival is approximately a 10-minute walk from the campsite. Parking is free, and attendees are strongly encouraged to carpool where possible.
Who is playing?
This year's weekend headliners include John Hopkins and Berlioz on Friday. Wicklow's own disco queen Róisín Murphy and Boney M will take to the stage on Saturday, while TV On The Radio and the energetic and unpredictable Marc Rebillet will feature on Sunday.
Plenty of other big names are set to perform, including Ezra Collective, Soda Blonde and King Kong Company on Friday, and The Sugarhill Gang, Booka Shade and Kiasmos on Saturday, with Death in Vegas, Broken Social Scene and Samantha Mumba wrapping up the festival on Sunday.
What else is there to do?
There will be plenty of entertainment for all the family, including a Tailteann Tournaments games area, high-flying acrobats, face painting, hip-hop workshops, hula hooping and an antique funfair, while 11-year-old DJ Sean M will make his festival debut at the 'Baby Rave' in the forest.
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This year's BTP arts programme is more daring, delicious and defiant than ever before, featuring Meow Meow, the international cabaret icon and queen of post-post-modern performance, and a literary trip down the rabbit hole of masculinity and disco with Irvine Welsh.
In a serene glade by the river, Acushla is the home for reconnection and restoration at BTP. From rejuvenating in Ireland's first mobile sauna, Bosca Beatha, to unwinding with transformative yoga and soothing massages in the enchanting yurt, the festival's wellbeing programme will refresh your spirit.
What are the campsite opening times?
The Beyond the Pale campsite and car parks will open on Friday at 11 am, closing at 4 pm on Monday. The arena will open at 4.30 pm on Friday, and 11.45 am on Saturday and Sunday.
Small bell tents up to 4m are allowed in the campsite, but tents should not exceed a size that would accommodate six to eight people. Teepees and larger structures like gazebos are not permitted.
Vehicles are not permitted into any of the campsites or the camper van area for health and safety reasons, and pets are not allowed on site.
What food and drink will be available?
Alongside a selection of vendors selling a delicious assortment of food and refreshing drinks as part of a 'Beyond The Plate' programme curated by food writer Ali Dunworth, BTP 2025 will celebrate storytelling around food and drinks with a stellar line-up of names showcasing the best of Irish food, drink and hospitality, including Cassie Stokes, Christina Wade and Facundo Rodulfo and Pamela Neumann from Tango Street Food.
Festival goers can bring their own food, but no open fires, naked flames or disposable BBQs are allowed on campsites or the festival grounds.
There will be public drinking water points throughout the site, with attendees encouraged to bring a reusable water bottle.
Weekend camping ticket holders can bring their own alcohol (at the time of first entry only), with a max allocation for drinks at 24 cans, one litre of spirits or 1.5 litres of wine per person. Day ticket holders are not permitted to bring alcohol.
No glass containers are permitted on site, with attendees asked to decant their alcohol into a reusable bottle before arriving at the festival. All containers must be open when entering the main arena.
