Vintage & Classic Rally
Over a hundred restored tractors, cars and stationary engines lined out on the grass, with their owners delighted to talk you through every bolt.
Sun 30 Aug · 12–6pm
Glenmara Harvest Festival & Vintage Rally
One Sunday in The Fair Field, Glenmara — a village in the foothills where the whole valley comes down the road for tractors, tug of war, sheepdogs and a session that runs till the fireworks.
Est. 1968 — a harvest day the whole valley turns out for.
Counting down to gates open
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Our story
Fifty-odd years of one very good Sunday
The first Glenmara Harvest Festival was held in 1968, when a handful of farmers decided the end of the harvest deserved more than a quiet pint. They pulled the threshing mill into The Fair Field, ran a tug of war, and charged two shillings at the gate for the parish hall roof.
It ran for decades — through good summers and desperate ones — until the committee grew older than the tractors and the field went quiet for a few years. Nobody ever said it was finished. People just kept asking about it.
In 2021 a new committee took it on: the Glenmara Community Development Association and the Glenmara Vintage & Classic Club, working together, with a borrowed marquee and a lot of nerve. Two thousand people walked through the gate that first year back.
Everyone involved is a volunteer. Nobody takes a wage, a fee or expenses, and every cent above costs goes to local charities and community projects — the day-care bus, the pitch lights, the defibrillators on the village wall.
What's on
Everything happening in the field
One admission covers the lot. Wander the rally, follow the noise, and don't miss the threshing at two.
Vintage Road Run
The run leaves the village at 10am and loops thirty miles of the foothills before rolling into the field around noon. Wave them off from the square.
Tug of War
Parish against parish, heats from three o'clock and the final at half five. Bring your voice — the roar at the rope is half the fun.
Sheepdog Demonstration
A working demonstration in the top corner of the field, whistles and all, with commentary explaining what the dog is actually being told.
Threshing & Farm Machinery
The threshing mill runs at two o'clock — dust, belts, straw and the smell of it. The best twenty minutes of the day for anyone over sixty.
Dog Show
Ten classes, from best pup to waggiest tail to the dog the judge would most like to bring home. Entries taken at the ring from noon.
Craft & Produce Marquee
Brown bread, sponge cakes, jam, knitting, woodturning and the flower arranging that causes more debate than the tug of war.
Trad Session & Main Stage
A rolling session in the marquee from half four, with local box players and fiddlers, then the main stage for the evening crowd.
Kids' Zone
Bouncy castles, face painting, a treasure hunt through the hedgerow and a magic show at three. All of it free once you're in the gate.
Harvest Bonfire & Fireworks — 8pm
When the stands are packed away, the bonfire is lit at the bottom of the field and the fireworks go up at eight. Bring a coat, bring the children up on your shoulders. It's the bit everyone talks about in October.
Programme of the day
Sunday 30th August 1970
Times are as close as a field day gets. If the tug of war runs long, everything after it runs long — and nobody minds a bit.
10:00
Vintage Road Run departs
From the village square, thirty miles of the foothills.
12:00
Gates open
Admission at the top gate. Under-16s free.
12:30
Dog show judging
Ten classes in the ring beside the marquee.
13:30
Sheepdog demonstration
Working dogs and sheep in the top field, with commentary.
14:00
Threshing display
The mill runs — stand back and mind your good coat.
15:00
Tug of war heats
Parish teams, eight a side, best of three pulls.
16:00
Craft & produce prize-giving
Rosettes and results in the craft marquee.
16:30
Trad session
Fiddles, boxes and a bodhrán in the corner of the marquee.
17:30
Tug of war final
The big one. The cup goes home with the winners.
20:00
Bonfire & fireworks
The field lights up. Everyone stays for it.
Six weeks before · The Crossroads Inn
Launch night in the village pub
We launch the festival in the pub six weeks out: a bit of music, food put on by the committee, the programme unveiled, and a local sporting guest to say a few words and draw the first raffle. Everyone's welcome, and it's free in.
Plan your visit
Everything you need to know
- Date
- Sunday 30th August 1970
- Time
- 12 noon – 6pm, with the Vintage Road Run leaving the village at 10am and fireworks at 8pm.
- Admission
- €10 adults · under-16s free · €25 family ticket (2 adults + up to 3 children).
- Where
- The Fair Field, Glenmara — signposted from the village square and the Tullybaun road.
- Parking & shuttle
- Free parking in the two signposted fields, and a free accessible shuttle from the village square, 11.30am–7pm.
- Dogs
- Welcome all day on a lead. Water bowls at the committee tent — just mind the sheepdog ring.
- Accessibility
- Flat mown ground with matting on the main walkways, accessible toilets and reserved parking at the top gate.
Questions we get asked
Gallery
A look at last year
News & notices
From the committee
Festival news · 30th August 1970
This year's date is confirmed: Sunday 30th August 1970
The committee met in the hall on Tuesday and locked in the date. Gates at noon, road run away at ten, fireworks at eight. Put it in the phone now before the calendar fills.
Read more →Traders · Applications open
Trade stand applications are open
€85 flat for a pitch up to 6m × 5m, paid in advance. Food row filled by the end of June last year, so don't be leaving it. Apply online in five minutes.
Read more →Sponsors · Thank you
A huge thank-you to last year's sponsors
Between the gate, the stands and our sponsors we handed over a cheque to three local causes in October. None of it happens without the businesses who backed us.
Read more →Sponsorship
Your name on a day people remember
Sponsors pay for the marquee, the insurance, the trophies and the fireworks — and the rest goes to local causes. Packages start at €150 and every one of them puts your business in front of a field full of neighbours.
See sponsorship packagesYour logo here
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Trade stands · €85 flat
Sell to a field full of people for €85
One flat fee for the whole day and a pitch up to 6m × 5m. No commission, no per-metre charge, no nonsense — just six hours in front of a crowd that came out to spend.
Thousands
of visitors through the gate
€85
flat fee — no commission, ever
6 hours
of face-to-face selling
100%
of proceeds to local charities
Who it suits
- Food trucks and coffee trailers
- Makers and crafters
- Farm producers
- Tradespeople quoting local work
- Local services
What's included
- Marked pitch up to 6m × 5m
- Vehicle access from 9am for setup
- Named in the printed programme
- A mention on our social channels
- Free parking for one trade vehicle
- Tea and a sandwich from the committee tent
Pitches are limited and allocated first paid, first served — the food row filled by the end of June last year.
Volunteer
It takes about 60 of us to run one Sunday
An hour or two is a real help. Tell us your name and number and we'll ring you closer to the day with a job that suits you.
- Gate & tickets
- Car park marshalling
- Marquee setup
- Kids' zone
- Litter pick
- Sunday morning setup
- Monday clean-up
Put your name down
Contact
Talk to the committee
We're a volunteer committee, so we might not answer on the first ring — but we do always ring back.
- Marie Culleton — committee chair
087 000 0000 - Padraig Dunne — trade stands
087 000 0001 - hello@glenmarafestival.ie
Entirely volunteer-run — all proceeds go to local charities and community projects.