Friday July 4th saw a new Irish music festival have its inaugural launch on the quiet expanse of Orlagh House, in Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin. Hibernacle festival, the brainchild of Una Molloy and Turning Pirate agency was scheduled from July 4th to 6th, boasting some of Ireland’s best known, rising and established acts with headliners including Pillow Queens, Lisa Hannigan and The Villagers. First announced in May 2025, Hibernacle Festival was promised to be a festival grounded in collaboration between artists of different genres and career stages, providing an alternative to the chaotic Irish festival scene, which appeared to favour quality over quantity and experience over profit. This scope was delivered and in my mind, exceptionally exceeded.
Unfortunately, I only had the opportunity to experience night two of this festival, but with this glimpse it was incredibly clear – Hibernacle is like no festival I have been to before, in all the best ways. Forget chaos, overpriced concessions, overcrowding and obnoxious speakers blasting noise at you from every direction, while you tiptoe through muck and discarded plastic pint glasses. Instead, one food vendor and three unique bars spread across the festival area, provided hospitality in a relaxed setting, that never once appeared to be overrun or have a line that was 50 people deep at any one time. Everything about this festival is curated with incredible detail. It is immersive, intimate but not stuffy. The two distinct outdoor stages set a distinct but [mingle well together phrase]. A simple, yet genius move by this festival was the timing of acts where no two artists were scheduled to perform at the same time; once one act finished, the next began. This meant that the crowd could be fully immersed in each artists performance and the artists themselves could support each other, which I noticed happened consistently over the evening. I love covering festivals for the simple reason; that it provides a rare opportunity to discover multiple artists in a short timeframe, this was an ample opportunity for fans to appreciate and witness the type of live music that is intrinsic to Irish culture, i.e. songs crafted with roaring melodies, lyrical prowess and dominated by storytelling. Similar to songs which recently have risen to notoriety like Kingfishr’s ‘Killeagh’. If this was your music taste, you would have been in your element. Usually in these overviews I would highlight particular performers, but in full honesty, I was absolutely bowled over by every single one of them, it would be difficult to brand one performance a favourite. A particular moment however that encapsulated the essence of this evening was when Wallis Bird invited her fellow performers up in the closing half of her set. Together they performed an almost acapella performance of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ that was as comical as it was melodic, before reducing some of the crowd to tears with a hair-rising rendition of a song I believe was called ‘It Was Better With You, dedicated to their mutual friend Kevin. This summed up the mission of this festival to foster collaboration between artists and the result was incredibly moving.
The sets themselves were a good length, all acoustic and well balanced, with some providing introspective melodies while others, delivered sets of pure energy worthy and foot-tapping goodness. Rathfarnham Ukulele Group performed twice over the course of the evening in the interim space between the stages with a mix of popular hits and were clearly a fan favourite drawing in large crowds who happily sang and clapped along as the sun set in this picturesque setting.
I went into this festival with moderate expectations, as one might for a festival in its infancy, but nothing about this felt like a learning curve. It was well organised, the setting was beautiful, the atmosphere was relaxed but full of positive energy and it was hard not to be completed wowed by the lineup that had been collated. I just kept thinking where else would you find Lisa Hannigan performing in a woodland with her guitar with a collection of patrons silenty swaying along peacefully from their perch on camping chairs, picnic benches and garden furniture.
I walked away from this festival with a sense of calm, but also with a shimmer of smugness as if I had managed to book a front-row seat to a moment in history to be remembered fondly as the birth of the next great Irish music festival. If you have your eye on next year’s festival calendar, make sure you check out Hibernacle, this is a must-see for any live music fan. Here’s hoping this is a festival that will stand the test of time and will receive the support it deserves.
Photos of acts from Saturday the 5th in no particular order:
Eddie Winston:
Rathfarnham Ukulele Group photos:
We’re Not Together photos:
Dani Larkin photos:
Grainne Hunt photos:
Villagers:
Wallis Bird photos:
Lisa Hannigan photos:
Photos & Words – Lisa Hamilton @lisahamiltonphotography