Grab your fiddles and bodhráns for the Crotty Galvin Traditional Music Festival weekend, held in Moyasta, Co Clare, to honour the music of three talented musicians from the area: Ellen “Nell” Galvin, PJ Crotty and his brother Peadar. The festival will be taking place over three days from 26 to 28 August. Now in its 14th year, the weekend features a great line-up of sessions and ceilis on the Friday. Free classes in the tinwhiste, flute, fiddle, concertina, brush dance and sean nós, followed by ceilis and dancing on the Saturday. On Sunday morning there will be mass followed by a visit to Lisdeen cemetery to the graves of Nell Galvin and Peadar Crotty. Sessions and ceilis will close the event on Sunday night. All events taking place over the weekend are free. See www.nellgalvin.ie

Dance the night away at the Dunmore East Bluegrass festival 2016 from 25 to 28 August. Fans of bluegrass, honky-tonk, blues, country and rhythm ‘n’ roots are in for a real musical treat as the Guinness International Bluegrass Festival returns for the 22nd year to the South East this summer. The festival takes place in Dunmore East, the picturesque Co Waterford seaside village, with an impressive line-up of free concerts. Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley will be headlining the weekend, with tickets costing only €20. For more information visit www.discoverdunmore.com

Get on your bike for the Great Dublin Bike Ride. On 11 September, up to 5,000 cyclists are expected to pull on their padded shorts for the event, which is part of both the Ireland 1916 celebrations and the European Week of Sport. Departing from Smithfield, there are two routes offered: a 60km cycle for a less strenuous day in the saddle (registration fee €25) and a challenging 100km route for experienced riders (registration fee €40). The first 2,000 people to sign up will receive an exclusive newly designed jersey, while all other entrants will receive a sporting Great Dublin Bike Ride tech top. For further information or to register, visit www.greatdublinbikeride.ie.

Embrace the French culture at Ballina’s French Mayo festival, taking place from 26 to 27 August. This festival aims to showcase Mayo’s very unique connection with France, and celebrate links between the two areas that go back over 200 years. Over the course of the weekend, there will be pageantry, a mini-fleadh competition, a day-long food fleadh with a focus on French and Irish cuisine, a French film festival and live music, including a big gig on Saturday night in Ballina’s newly covered military barracks, the scene of many a skirmish and re-enactment of Humbert’s march through Mayo. The event will also poignantly acknowledge North Mayo’s many WWI dead and remember Private Stephen Kennedy, the first Irish soldier to die in the war. For more information visit www.northmayo.ie

Head to the medieval town of Loughrea, Co Galway, as it hosts a spectacular free weekend of events at the third annual Loughrea Medieval Festival, from 26 to 28 August. Last year, over 15,000 people attended the festival, with events including mass in a 1300 abbey, a hurling match, children’s medieval workshops, puppet show and a food and inn trail. On the Sunday you can enjoy battle re-enactments, craft demonstrations, a children’s archaeological dig, medieval music, parades, a food and crafts market and lots more. See www.loughreamedievalfestival.com