Fans descend on Laois for Electric Picnic

Some 25,000 revellers are due to converge on Co Laois this Saturday and Sunday for the Electric Picnic music festival.

Some 25,000 revellers are due to converge on Co Laois this Saturday and Sunday for the Electric Picnic music festival.

The event, billed as a "boutique" festival for a slightly more mature music fan, has attracted one of the more impressive line-ups of the summer with Kraftwerk, the Flaming Lips, Toots and the Maytalls and Nick Cave all putting in an appearance.

The glorious Stradbally Hall venue is in the centre of Stradbally about 10 minutes outside Portlaoise on the N80, and traffic delays are likely on the N7 to Portlaoise and the N80 to Stradbally.

Bus Éireann are providing special coach services from Dublin to the venue, and buses will begin leaving Georges Quay at 4pm on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, buses will depart from Georges Quay & Custom House Quay between 9.30am and 2pm.

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Same-day return tickets are priced at €25.00; a two-day return will set you back €30.00 (outward Saturday, return Sunday). Buses will return to Dublin immediately after the concert. Weekend ticket buses will return from 10am on Monday morning.

Buses will also depart from Arthur's Quay, Limerick; Parnell Street, Waterford; Patrick's St, Cork; Coach Park, Galway; McDonald's, Drogheda Old Shopping Centre; and McDonald's in Dundalk.

Elsewhere, Armagh and Tyrone come face to face in Croke Park at 3.30pm on Sunday afternoon for an All-Ireland semi-final encounter, the outcome of which even the bravest of pundits are having difficulty predicting.

This is the third time that the two sides have met this year and, although fatigue may well be setting in among fans, a crowd of 40,000 - 50,000 should still easily roar into Croke Park.

Delays can be expected on all main routes from both counties to Dublin and around Croke Park in the hours either side of the match.

A big crowd is also sure to show for the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday and traffic disruption is expected. The first race takes place at 2:15am.

Met Éireann has said that tomorrow will be a warm, breezy day with spells of hazy sunshine and top temperatures of 18 to 22 degrees. Sunday will be largely dull and damp, with outbreaks of rain in most areas and with heavy falls expected over Munster and parts of Connacht.