A bit hairy in the EP car park tonight. pic.twitter.com\/I5WBm4DBWN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Valerie Flynn (@valerie_flynn) August 31, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Let\u2019s be real: sitting at home, cosily scrolling on your phone through photos and videos of washed-out tents and swamp-like paths at a festival you\u2019re not at is one of life\u2019s great pleasures. We won\u2019t take that away.<\/p>\n Overheard as campers emerged from their tents on Saturday morning: \u201cThe swimming trunks were actually a good choice.\u201d Overheard on the walk\/wade through the mud on the route into the stages: \u201cI can\u2019t believe you were talking about going to the barefoot garden<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n But I\u2019m going to call it now: for most \u2013 not all, but most \u2013 festival-goers over the course of the weekend as a whole, the weather wasn\u2019t as bad as you might think from social media. Away from the campsites (we will come on to that) the vibes at the gigs were great.<\/p>\n There were undoubtedly a fair few refugees sleeping in their cars by the bitter end. The main campsites were just not up to scratch in some areas. Paths that needed boards or wood-chip didn\u2019t get them, and the sight of the long, sad queue for the showers on Sunday morning would break your heart.<\/p>\n More and more people may be ready to pay up for glamping<\/a> and fancier options, but it\u2019s probably high time for the main campsites to be shown some love.<\/p>\n That said, inside the main arena itself the mud was\u2026 sticky but manageable. (I am running out of ways to describe mud here.) Thank god for Doc Marten, whoever he or she was.\u00a0<\/p>\n As for the rain, while there were a handful of biblical downpours, these were short enough lived and the wet weather held off for all the main stage headliners. Also for the obligatory post-midnight wander through the weird and wonderful part of the festival away from the main stages. That\u2019s where the hard partying and \u2013 for many \u2013 the magic of the event really happens.<\/p>\n One 18-year-old reveller I spoke to described his Saturday night of raving in the same breath as \u201camazing\u201d and \u201clike Apocalypse Now\u201d. Make of that what you will.<\/p>\n The sun did appear hear and there. There was even a timely appearance for pop star Zara Larsson\u2019s tropical-themed Friday evening show. Just as well. It would have been embarrassing to have to perform Lush Life in the rain.<\/p>\n Even when there was a bit of a drizzle going on, as for the Saw Doctors\u2019 Sunday set, it did nothing to dampen spirits or keep the crowds away. As festival-goers I interviewed on Friday reminded me, this is Ireland<\/a>. People own raincoats and know how to use them.<\/p>\n Valerie Flynn \/ The Journal \/ The Journal<\/p>\n Big moments and Irish acts<\/p>\n Also on the subject of this being Ireland, there is no such thing as keeping a secret, so the crowd in front of the main stage for the Saw Doctors was a sea of GAA jerseys ahead of the Mayo football teams \u201csurprise\u201d cameo.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Tuam men followed the Green and Red of Mayo with N17 and the audience went, if possible, even more bananas. There was jumping, there was jiving \u2013 you might not think you could jive in the cramped conditions of a festival pit, but two young lads in Mayo jerseys in front of me were twirling each other around as if they had an entire wedding dance-floor to themselves.<\/p>\n CMAT opening her Saturday night set with a peerless cover of Dolly Parton\u2019s Jolene was another electrifying moment. I had to watch a video of it back this morning to relive it because it was still in my head \u2013 always a sign you\u2019ve been at a gig for the ages.<\/p>\n The Meath woman, clearly in her element on the Electric Picnic main stage four years after she first played one of the smaller venues at the same event, told the crowd how much it means to her to be there.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really magical to know my home understands me the best,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The Irishness of this year\u2019s Electric Picnic line-up was something really notable, with Fontaines DC, Amble and the Mary Wallopers also getting massive receptions on the main stage. As promoter Melvin Benn explained yesterday<\/a>, what else would you expect? Electric Picnic reflects what\u2019s popular and Irish acts right now are \u201cdominating the UK and Ireland, there\u2019s no question about that\u201d.<\/p>\n Away from the main stage there were also some brilliant gigs by Irish acts including up-and-coming Dublin post-punk band Gurriers, and a blinder of a set by folk-metal four-piece The Scratch.<\/p>\n The Scratch pic.twitter.com\/tBnCMtiwRm<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Valerie Flynn (@valerie_flynn) August 31, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n It wasn\u2019t all Irish acts by any means. Many festival-goers were anxiously keeping an eye on the time on Saturday night to be able to nab a decent spot for extremely buzzy art rock band Geese. Irish music journalist par excellence Nialler9, for instance, had them ranked number 1 on his list of must see acts for the weekend<\/a>. The Brooklyn four-piece played an epic set that will have given their (only slightly creepily obsessive) Irish fans their money\u2019s worth for the weekend.<\/p>\n House: good news and bad news<\/p>\n But many festival-goers will not have encountered a guitar from one end of the weekend to the other. They came to Stradbally to dance, and while the house and electronica line-up did not by any means disappoint them, the organisation around it did.<\/p>\n![\"IMG_0231\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788331837_320_.JPEG\")
\n Cian Donnelly, Sophie Heneghan, Kieran Jordan, Darragh Jordan, Izzy Tierney, Jamie Walsh from Killala, Ballina and Knockmore at the Saw Doctors. Valerie Flynn \/ The Journal<\/p>\n\n