'Delighted' Longstanding Laois festival wins €6,000 in grant funding
Delight as traditional Laois family festival day secures €6,000 in grants
A beloved rural festival in Laois has been approved for the biggest grant possible of €5,000 to help fund it.
The Rosenallis Development Association are celebrating after the success of their application to the Small Scale Local Festivals and Summer Schools fund.
It is great timing as they are about to hold their Festival on the Mountain and Vintage Rally in Rosenallis on Sunday, August 16.
“We are delighted to say that our 2026 Small Scale Local Festivals funding application has been successful and we’ve been awarded €5,000 in funding from the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.
“We have also been awarded €1,000 from Laois County Council under the Tourism Grants Scheme 2026.
“We are thrilled and very grateful to get this funding which will enable us to have a bigger and better festival on Sunday August 16. See you there!” the RDA say.
Begun in 1962, the festival was revived in recent years, with the addition of a vintage rally, with over 2,000 people coming to enjoy it on the Slieve Bloom Mountains.
It has traditional games and competitions like choosing a King and Queen of the Mountain, dog show, tug of war, guess the weight of the animal, and children's GAA matches, Bonny Baby and Glamorous Granny prizes.
This year festival will feature music by Timahoe Male Choir, Abbeyfolk, The O’Neil Sisters and Tetiana Herasymova.
One other event in Laois was successful in getting a grant. An event called ‘the art of collaboration’ for Laois was granted €3,750.
Laois got less than 4% of the money pot announced this week by the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD.
A total of €371,792.25 was granted to 105 small local festivals and summer schools around Ireland in 2026. Dublin got the most at 15 grants, then Kerry at 12 and Donegal at 11.
The scheme funds local cultural events which may not be eligible under funding criteria for larger scale events such as those supported by Fáilte Ireland, the Arts Council and similar bodies.