Back row, from left: Patrick Walsh (Committee Member) , John Henson (Health and Safety Officer) Jude Kilmartin and Viking Mike (Treasurers) Ankur Arora (Secretary), front, from left: Morgan Fagg (PRO), Padraig Hegarty (Chairman), Joanna Grobosz (Athlone Castle), Delores Crerar (Creative Director. Missing from photo (Timmy Donovan (Water Events Coordinator), Vicky Grehan (Stewards Coordinator), Carmel Duffy (Athlone Castle))

Plans confirmed for Athlone River Festival’s August return

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The Athlone River Festival, is set to make a return to the town over the August Bank Holiday weekend, it has been announced.

This year’s festival will take place from August 1 to 3, with the Vikings set to make a return to Athlone in strong numbers.

The weekend will focus around young people, water activities and local communities.

Following on from the massive success of last year's event, Chairperson Padraig Hegarty said the organisers who planned the return of the popular river festival last year “could not believe the excitement and enthusiasm” of the local community for the event.

Last year's Athlone River Festival featured a Food Village, events at Athlone Castle, the Viking settlement, family-themed events organised by the Family Resource Centre, anglers competitions by Madcaps, eStreet Theatre and water safety demonstrations.

The organising committee paid tribute to Féile na Sionainne, which coincided with the event last year, and the fantastic atmosphere their volunteers brought to the town with music, song and dance.

“We are delighted to be working in conjunction with them again for 2025, and we are also delighted to announce that Athlone Castle will be supporting the planning and development of this year’s festival,” said Padraig Hegarty, who thanked Carmel Duffy and her team for their support to date.

Athlone Family Resource Centre will be taking the lead on many arts and culture initiatives for this year's festival weekend and the Madcaps Angling Group will be holding an international two-day anging match on the meadows.

Padraig Hegarty thanked the people of Athlone for their support of last year's river festival, and addeed that planning is “well underway” for this year's event.

Stewards and volunteers are needed for the 2025 Athlone River Festival, and anyone who wishes to be part of this great event is asked to sign up for these positions by emailing riverfestivalathlone@gmail.com.

A GoFundMe page is also in the process of being established to help with the expense of running the festival, and a number of other fundraising events will take place throughout the town over the coming months.

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