30th Cork Jazz Festival to top busy weekend

A busy events schedule is expected to contribute to heavy travel by road, rail and air this bank holiday weekend

A busy events schedule is expected to contribute to heavy travel by road, rail and air this bank holiday weekend. AA Roadwatch anticipates Cork and Galway cities will top the list of destinations.

Drivers should expect delays at Abbeyleix and Durrow along the N8 and near Moate on the N6, the agency says, noting that 280,000 passengers will pass through Dublin airport and 250,000 rail journeys will be taken.

One of the top three jazz events in the world, the Cork Jazz Festival is expected to draw an estimated 50,000 visitors. Now in its 30th year, it will host more than 1,000 musicians from 38 countries.

Featured performers include Americans Gary Burton and Phil Woods, Brazilian Eliane Elias and Frenchman Richard Galliano, as well as gospel group Blind Boys of Alabama. Ticket sales so far are on track to better last year's attendance record by 20 per cent.

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Running concurrently with Cork's celebration is the Kinsale Jazz Festival, about 30 minutes from Cork city off the N71.

The October bank holiday meeting at the Galway races takes place tomorrow and Monday, with 14 races and music by the Guinness Jazz Band.

Under way since Wednesday, Sligo Live sees an eclectic mix of music and cultural entertainment at venues across town. The Buena Vista Social Club will perform tomorrow at the Sligo Radisson SAS and there will be a street carnival today from 11.30am to 6pm.

Sligo will also be the site of the Festival of Baroque Music, celebrating classical music from the 16th to the 18th century. In addition to performances by world-class artists, the festival will feature workshops and classes.

The Dublin City Marathon and a number of other events will make for a busy capital all weekend.

At the RDS, the Ideal Homes Exhibition, Overseas Property Expo and Mind, Body, Spirit and Yoga Festival all run until Monday, while Citywest hosts the My Home Abroad Exhibition.

Tomorrow evening, former Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown plays the Big Top at Phoenix Park.

Monday will see Dublin's biggest event of the weekend, as some 11,000 runners and many more spectators converge on the city centre for the marathon. Numerous road closures will be in place from 8am.

Elsewhere, a week-long party for children is under way in Castlebar Co Mayo. RoolaBoola Children's Art Festival features singers, dancers, theatre, painters and story-telling. A lakeside finale and fireworks close the fest on Monday evening.

More storytelling can be had at the Arts and Storytelling Festival, at Mohill, Co Leitrim, running until tomorrow evening.

Six storytellers from Ireland, Scotland and Australia will take part in sessions and workshops at a number of locations. The festival will conclude with a concert by students.

The first Savour Kilkenny Food Festival has been organised to "celebrate the county's fruitfulness and also the endeavour and skilfulness of people to transform this abundance into the good things of the table".

A tabbouleh (a Middle Eastern salad made with cracked bulgar wheat) competition, a farmer's market, cookery classes for children and much more will be on offer until tomorrow evening, when a gala dinner with chefs Garrett Byrne and Mark Gaffney brings the festival to a close.

The Festival of Music at Christ Church Waterford, Trim Festival of Masks, the Virginia Pumpkin Festival in Co Cavan and Hallowfest in south Dublin round out an eventful bank holiday weekend.

• While many roadworks will cease for the weekend, AA Roadwatch recommends visiting www.aaroadwatch.ie for full listings of delays and closures.