There is much excitement in Laois this week as Stradbally is to gain another music festival next summer.

Organisers of The Greenfields Festival have announced that it will relocate from Athy in Co Kildare, to Stradbally, Co Laois.

The Kildare festival was first established in Athy as a two day camping music festival in 2022, and has rapidly grown in size since.

Laois locals are spoiled for choice next summer, as this move marks the fourth music festival to take place in Laois; Electric Picnic in Stradbally will be joined by the Greenfields Festival, while Forest Fest takes place Emo, and the Folly continues to thrive in Cullahill.

Pictured: a poster advertising next year's summer music festival

The Greenfields Festival will now take place at Ballykilcavan Estate in Stradbally, home to the well known Ballykilcavan Farm and Brewery.

On Friday, The Human League and Dec Pierce's Block Rockin' Beats were announced as festival headliners.

Tourism to Stradbally continues to peak, with events such as the National Steam Rally, Electric Picnic and The Greenfields Festival bringing more footfall to the town than ever.

Organisers have released a promotional video announcing the move, with camping and glamping options available for festival goers.

Ballykilcavan owner David Walsh-Kemmis has welcomed the announcement, praising the 'massive, positive reaction' to the news.

"We're getting a lot of questions so I want to answer them here- it's exactly the same crew that organised the festival in Athy the last few years. We were in there last year selling our beer, and I thought they did a fantastic job in Athy. They're just moving it to a bigger site out here," Mr Walsh-Kemmis said.

Over the last number of years, the brewery owner has captured headlines through his allegations that he is being 'excluded' from selling his beer at Electric Picnic. Mr Walsh-Kemmis has said that there will be many alcoholic options at the event.

"We are going to have our beer here, but we are not restricting the choice, so there will be other brands available here as well. You're going to be able to choose what you're going to drink on-site," he said.

Mr Walsh-Kemmis has highlighted that it will be 'straight forward' to navigate your way to the festival.

"There will be shuttle buses from Athy, it will probably be easier to get from a lot of parts of Athy to here, than it is to where the old festival site was. It's going to be very straight forward to get out here," he explained.

"If you're living in Stradbally, you will be able to buy tickets to the local festival. We guarantee that if you are in Stradbally, or anywhere else in the country, you're going to be able to get your tickets for here," Mr Walsh-Kemmis finished.

The Greenfields Festival will take place on the May Bank Holiday weekend, 2026.

Event organisers have been contacted for comment.

Read Next: Two Laois companies recognised for sustainability