Some 30,000 festivalgoers began flocking to the Curraghmore Estate in Co Waterford from Thursday afternoon to pitch their tents, switch on their speakers and get settled in for the sixth edition of All Together Now.
Fontaines DC, CMAT, Bicep, Primal Scream and Nelly Furtado are among the acts due to perform over the weekend, but for those attending there’s a journey to be navigated beforehand.
The luckier ones got lifts from friends, cramming in with all their weekend necessities. Others booked a coach to make the pilgrimage in a more orderly fashion. Some cycled to the camping grounds.
Whatever about the trip to Curraghmore, on arrival they faced a tortuous drag from the festival entrance to the campsites as they lugged several days’ worth of food, the maximum amount of alcohol permitted, and outfits to suit whatever weather may come over the bank holiday weekend.
RM Block
A good number opted for early entry, allowing them to have their choice of the best camping spots before the attendance swelled. But many who tried to beat the crowds reported heavytraffic leaving Dublin.
All of Orlaigh Keegan’s friend group opted to come on Thursday.
“If I’m paying €275 for a f***ing ticket, I’m getting my money’s worth and going for four days,” she said, winning a chorus of chuckles from her friends.
Thursday wasn’t all plain sailing, however.
Keegan woke up in her south Dublin apartment at 7.45am on Thursday to get a “blow dry for the festival”.
She clocked into her job in the hospitality sector later that morning. However, by the end of her 10-hour shift, she reported that her “hair was flattened” after being run off her feet serving customers.
She then had to make a dash to her friend Luke’s house who told her they “were leaving at 6pm on the dot”.
“I cycled to Luke’s house faster than I’ve ever cycled before, also with a massive bag on my back and an air mattress, too,” she said, adding that this took a further toll on her hair’s volume and bounce.
When Keegan arrived, she was told another friend was running late and that the departure time had been pushed to 7pm.
The group made the trip down to Waterford in two cars, but given the late departure, they feared they wouldn’t make it in time for last entry to the Curraghmore Estate at 10pm.
Apart from missing the turn for the M9 motorway, it was plain sailing.
“We were singing along to the All Together Now playlist, bopping along,” Keegan said.
They made it in time, had a minor tiff setting up their tent, but then cracked open some cans and enjoyed the first of their four nights on the campsite.
