I run Ireland's best kept secret festival with stacked line-up in tiny village of 300 – it's worlds away from my day job
Some 20,000 punters are expected in Emo, Co
Advertisement
5
Philip Meagher was working behind the scenes at Electric Picnic for years
5
The festival will take place in the small town of Emo, Co Laois
But it's the middle-aged attendees who the sponsors are more interested in - many of whom have kids who have grown up so they have lots of disposable income to spend.
Philip Meagher told
'We have missed out on a lot of
Advertisement
'But we want to run a true
Philip, a well-known solicitor in Portlaoise, told how he shares similar views on how festivals should be run with his late friend John Reynolds - the founder of the
Philip said: 'I think John is smiling down on Forest Fest this weekend, telling me how mad I am to do it.
'Because I was part of the original Electric Picnic team for the first five years, doing all the legals.
'It was one hell of a carnival ride so I got to know John very well.
Advertisement
'He was an absolute visionary and genuinely loved in the industry.
'He could persuade you into doing anything, not because he was forceful but because he was a very nice man that people wanted to help.
The pint-sized Glastonbury with healing area and kid's zone
"Like John, I'm a great believer in being decent and kind to people.'
The weather gods seem to be smiling down on Forest Fest along with John Reynolds, as the forecast for the festival this weekend is both warm and dry.
Philip said: 'It's a great forecast for the rest of the week, dry and up to twenty degrees.
Advertisement
"But best of all no rain, and no wind which is great from a production point of view.
'Friday in particular is a cracker of a day with Saturday just as good.
SELL OUT GIG
"There might be a bit of cloud on Sunday but we're delighted with the news.'
Amid the
Philip said: 'The
Advertisement
'We have missed out on a lot of money from sponsors who want to have a presence down here because our punters are older and have more disposable income than the kids who attend younger festivals."
Philip Meagher
Over a thousand
Some 20,000 people are expected to attend the three-day event, swelling the village of Emo which has a population of 300.
Philip said: 'The people attending take over Emo and the surrounding areas. This is the biggest Forest Fest we have ever done.'
BIGGER AND BETTER
Forest Fest organisers maintain they are 'deliberately prioritising atmosphere and experience over commerciality'.
Philip said: 'We've got bigger and bigger from word of mouth. But if people come on a promise, and the staging is crap, they won't come back.
Advertisement
"But we've connected, not just to the punters, but to the acts as well.
"That's why the names playing have gotten better and better each year.'
JACK OF ALL TRADES
Other well-known acts playing over the four stages include
Orbital, The Stranglers, Billy Bragg, Peter Hook & The Light, Reef, Kula Shaker, Therapy?, Teenage Fanclub, The Farm, and Pillow Queens.
Some big Irish acts including Hermitage Green, Something Happens, and The Riptide Movement.
But festival boss Philip won't have time to see them all.
Advertisement
Like pal John Reynolds, who was once spotted trying to fix a gate during the Electric Picnic, Philip is not afraid to take any job that needs doing at his event.
He said: 'I was on site this morning from half seven but I had to go into the village to buy a tin of paint.
"There's something that needs a good coat and I'll be painting it.'
To find about more about the event visit
5
Forest Fest is a weekend dedicated to arts and music
5
20,000 festivalgoers are expected to attend this weekend
Advertisement
5
Philip said he turned down huge money from sponsors so the festival would remain 'pure'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
5 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Thousands descend on Fairyhouse for Ablefest 2025
Ireland's first and largest music and arts festival for people with additional needs is under way in Co Meath. Ablefest 2025 in Fairyhouse and will see acts like Jake Carter, Johnny Brady, Brian Mullen, and lots more take to the stage in front of a packed crowd. Around 2,500 people descended on the racecourse for the event which caters for those with additional needs. Festival-goers will also be able to enjoy a "myriad of creative fun" at an array of art and activity stations. Special toilets will be provided by AccessoLoo on the day for wheelchair users needing hoists while there will also be staffed sensory pods on site. The non-profit was co-founded by Shay Casserley and Kevin Farrell in 2018. Mr Farrell said it's "brilliant" to see everybody out enjoying themselves. "For us it's very emotional, we both have kids with disabilities, that's why we set this festival up," he said. "To people here it's their Electric Picnic, that's what they call it. "Some of the people we know here, they say to their siblings 'you're going to your Electric Picnic and I'm going to mine.' "It's tailored to suit every sort of disability, but everybody is welcome." Along with their own event, the group also has collaborations with other big festivals like Dublin's TradFest and St Patrick's Day in Killarney.
Extra.ie
6 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Top comedian on life after massive weight loss
Comedian Alison Spittle has spoken publicly about life as a 'fat b***h', (her own phrase), and how she has changed her life by taking the weight loss jab Mounjaro. Speaking to Brendan O'Connor on RTE Radio 1 this morning (Saturday) the popular comedian broke down in tears when describing her life as an overweight woman, the reactions of the world around her, and the difficulties when people only see you as 'fat' and don't see you for who you are. Taking the listener back to her childhood she recalled a memory of when she had to attend a doctor after catching her hand in a car door, and the doctor made comments about her weight, as an eight-year-old child. Alison Spittle – Pic: RTE She says in her experience doctors are the worst for judging people on their weight, citing an experience when she asked a medical professional about the possibility of being prescribed weight loss injections, the doctor replied 'I don't believe in easy outs'. It's as if doctors want to punish people for being fat by making them work harder to lose weight. Alison recalled being hospitalised with cellulitis last year and being told while there that she was pre-diabetic and needed to lose weight. The London-born funny woman told how her cellulitis – a skin infection which affects deep layers of tissue, actually turned into septicaemia which left her very unwell and completely bedridden for several months. Alison Spittle – Pic: RTÉ Admitting she had never tried to lose weight before, but realising this was best medical advice, she was prescribed the weight loss injection Mounjaro and it has changed her life. 'I miss less buses now' she joked. The title of Alison Spittle's new show is quite daring, entitled 'Fat B***h', Alison says the name of the show is very fitting as she has endured this name calling all her life, but the show sees Alison reflect both on her own experience of life as a bigger woman, and society's unhealthy attitudes to size, all wrapped up in what can be best described as 'a joyful comedy show' She has since had to modify the name for her shows in Edinburgh as the council there wouldn't allow the title Fat B***h on posters around the city. She has renamed the show 'BIG'. Alison Spittle at Electric Picnic 2018. Copyright Nick O Donnell Speaking to the Anglo Celt newspaper earlier this year, Alison reflected on her life as a child and said 'If I wasn't fat when I was younger I don't think I'd be a comedian now, because I don't think I'd bother trying to be funny. Trying to be funny is the thing you pick up when you're younger and it's always to deflect from something.' But what about the attitudes of people to the popularity of weight loss injections like Mounjaro and Ozempic, Spittle finds it difficult to understand why anyone would have a negative reaction to it, and when people say its the easy way out, she retorts 'What? Do you want someone to have a hard time'? 'I explain my instinctive reaction against such drugs would be the fear that perfectly healthy people would take it when they have no need'. Diabetes and Weight loss injection pen Ozempic She believes the huge popularity and surge in the use of weight loss jabs provides a valuable insight into how society treats 'fat people'. 'If they feel that scared about being fat, it's because they feel that scared about being treated like s**t and we have to then acknowledge that fat people don't get treated that nicely.' Alison Spittle, much loved and still as funny as ever, takes to the stage at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from July 29th to August 24th before returning to Ireland for the Big Dublin Fringe September 16th to 20th.
The Journal
21 hours ago
- The Journal
'A music industry on their knees': Organiser says smaller festivals need government support
GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO step in to help support smaller, independent music festivals in Ireland, according to Philip Meagher, founder of music festival Forest Fest. The festival, which returns to Emo, Co. Laois for its fourth year this weekend, will see Franz Ferdinand, the Manic Street Preachers, Travis and Orbital headline the main stage, while many up-and-coming Irish acts will be supporting. 'A lot of people in the music industry are literally on their knees because of the spiralling costs involved. Without the proper support structure in place, it's hard to see a future for the smaller, independent festivals going forward,' said Meagher. His comments come as other music festival organisers in Ireland have said that mounting costs are making it harder for them to keep going each year. There has been calls for the Department of Culture to roll out a 'more transparent' funding model for grants which many organisers say would help to safeguard the future of smaller festivals. Earlier this month there was confusion about whether major player Beyond The Pale would go ahead, while a number of beloved smaller festivals are not going ahead this summer, including Sea Sessions, Body and Soul, and Wild Roots. 'Extremely challenging' 'It is extremely challenging and the costs associated with putting on an event of this type and size are astronomical,' Meagher told The Journal. It is time now for the government to 'look at supporting smaller festivals around the country to assist with that cost', he said, adding that these festivals give opportunities for young bands in the country. 'It gives them an outlet to perform in front of large audiences. Without the independent festivals, there isn't that route for bands because the more established, bigger festivals don't seem to curate their events around the younger, up-and-coming acts. So we'd like to think we play an important part in that,' he said. 'It would be money very well invested by the government, because they get a huge return from the point of view of tourism, from the point of view of the catering industries [and from] the music industry itself,' he added. Advertisement Earlier this year, the government announced a Small Scale Local Festivals grant of €5,000. 'That wouldn't even pay for a water tanker,' commented Meagher, who believes the government need to dig deeper. Concert goers at Forest Fest in Laois Over-35s not hanging up their festival wellies just yet Meagher explains that unlike some of the larger festivals in Ireland this summer, Forest Fest is geared towards an 'older demographic'. In the era of 'day-clubbing' events, where those in their mid-thirties and above are hitting the nightclubs during daylight hours, Meagher said that the older generation is not hanging up its festival wellies just yet either. 'The whole idea is to provide a top end festival for an older demographic. I just found that a lot of festivals are geared more towards the 20 to 35 bracket, that there wasn't really a particularly designed event for the 35 and up demographic. 'So we basically set about raising an offering based on music of a particular generation, going back to the 80s, 90s, and also the best of the up-and-coming acts as well,' he said. Meagher said when people reach a 'certain age', where they might have had their families, they might have some free time now. 'They want to relive their youth and they're more than able to do it, they're well able to party and have a great time,' he said. RTÉ should broadcast from music festivals Showcasing Irish festivals by the national broadcaster is something Meagher said should also be considered, stating it would be a 'great idea' if RTÉ could broadcast from independent music festivals during the summer months. 'I've been watching the BBC coverage over the last number of years [of Glastonbury], it always makes for great television. And certainly I'd be very, very open to the national broadcaster visiting us and setting up on site. 'I think people would be very, very interested to be able to see behind the scenes at a festival and what exactly goes on and then to hear some live performances. I think it would be a wonderful idea,' said Meagher. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
