Picnickers are let off the Laois...
ROADWORKS, foreboding rain clouds and a stiff breeze were the order of the first day of the Electric Picnic.
Many had heeded warnings of severe congestion on the N7 and N8 routes to Stradbally and travelled to Ireland’s largest music and arts festival early in the morning.
By mid-afternoon yesterday, traffic heading towards the Co. Laois town was flowing relatively freely.
Treasa Kerrigan, who came from Baldoyle in north Co. Dublin, said she found it ‘a lot better that I’d feared’, adding: ‘I made it down from Dublin in an hour and a half.’
By early afternoon, with tents erected, thousands at the Oscar Wilde, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Moon campsites were munching on burgers and swigging cans of beer.
Fluent Gaeilge speakers were busy conversing in our mother tongue at the special Gaeltacht camping area.
‘The promoters invited us to come down as part of Bliain Na Gaeilge,’ Emma Ní Charúil, of Conradh na Gaeilge, explained. ‘We have a capacity for 300 tents and 200 had pre-booked as gaeilge on our website.’
Chvrches and Dingle’s Walking On Cars also drew warm responses from the huge crowds at the Main Stage yesterday, while headliner Kendrick Lamar, considered one of the world’s most exciting hip-hop acts, was the biggest draw last night.
Tonight, Massive Attack, Dua Lipa and Gavin James are the main attractions, while The Prodigy, St Vincent and Picture This will close the festival tomorrow.
Traffic ‘a lot better than feared’