Wellies at the ready for bank holiday bonanza of festivals

More than half a million people are expected to attend festivals across the country, including Castlepalooza in Offaly and the Independience music festival in Cork, with the Beatyard Festival in Dun Laoghaire flying the flag for the capital.

Beatyard is set to take over Dun Laoghaire Harbour for the first time this weekend, locating itself in the middle of the east pier.

The festival will see 1970s disco queens Sister Sledge, Neneh Cherry, and London DJ group Horse Meat Disco all take to the stage across the two days.

Beatyard is also set to have an Eatyard, with a selection of different cuisines including a Big Blue Bus specialising in pizza.

The Sneakyard, a sneaker fair, will also be on site showcasing "trendy kicks" and offering punters fitness tips.

Blustery

However, wet and blustery conditions may prove a stumbling block for festival-goers, with Sunday and Monday earmarked as write-offs according to Met Eireann.

"It looks like Saturday will be the best of the weather, because it should stay dry in Dublin," said forecaster, Harm Luijkx said.

"But we're still going to have pretty cool conditions that won't go any higher than the mid-teens.

"Sunday and Monday will be mainly wet, although Dublin won't be as badly affected as other areas of the country," he added.

"It's pretty normal for this time of the year. People keep saying that it should be better weather, but it's average conditions and temperatures," Mr Luijkx said.

Kodaline, Basement Jaxx, and Mark Lanegan will all rock out at Independience.

The Rush Harbour Festival - a family-orientated event - and the Temple Bar food festival 'Fiestaval' also take place in Dublin over the weekend.