Waterford’s Comeraghs Wild Festival celebrating 10th birthday in style across two July weekends

Magical Crough Wood in the shadow of the Comeragh Mountains in Waterford is the venue for a sumptuous Feast in the Forst, lovingly prepared by renowned locally-based chefs, restauranteurs and caterers, Eamonn Connor and Roisin O’Connor, as part of the year’s Comeraghs Wild Festival.

Only 50 places are available and tickets are expected to sell out lightning-fast for the long-awaited feast which runs on the fourth and final day of the Festival, Sunday, July 14, from 5pm. The duo, who run Eamo & Ro in Kilmacthomas,  Co. Waterford, have pulled out all of the stops and promise a magical, mouth-watering feast for all of the senses.

“We hosted an event as part of the Comeraghs Wild Festival programme last year but it sold out within hours,” Eamonn Connor said. “We can only seat up to 28 in the restaurant. So we liaised with the Festival organisers and have come up with an amazing menu featuring the very best in local produce, all cooked in the open air, all served on a long, communal table under a canopy in Crough Wood, close to Mahon Falls at Mahon Bridge.

“Our guests will start the evening with a cider Pims cup with fresh raspberries and cucumber. It will be bursting with freshness. We’ve had a grill custom-built for the event and everything will be cooked over an open fire in Crough Wood. It will be a sharing experience, a family-styled serving arrangement over one long table.

“We’re very proud of our locally-sourced ingredients and on the menu will be seafood from the Cooper Coast and for the mains we have Rare Breed Dexter Beef cooked in the woods with root vegetables, cauliflower and a rich cheese truffle sauce and bone marrow gravy.

“For dessert, there will be local strawberries, meringue and whipped cream. We finish with a coffee/chocolate whiskey combination for all to enjoy. Tickets are now available on Eventbrite.”

Eamonn said business has been very brisk since they set up in Kilmacthomas. The café has been very busy, night-time dining has gone down an absolute treat and their outside catering business continue to grow.

“We’re taking two weeks out before this Festival to make sure we’re energised, ready to rock. It will be a great evening, we’re really looking forward to a feast and an experience to remember,” he said.

Waterford’s Comeraghs Wild Festival is celebrating its 10th birthday in style and across the first two weekends in July, starting with an open air concert at Curraghmore House & Gardens on July 6 and concluding the following weekend with the Feast in the Forest.

The 10th birthday celebrations begin on Saturday, July 6, in magical Curraghmore House & Gardens, the ancestral home of Lord Waterford, with an open-air concert in the stunning courtyard featuring The High Kings, Ceol and more. Early bird tickets are selling out fast on www.comeraghswild.com

The festival celebrations continue the following Thursday to Sunday, July 11 to 14 and will include a mix of activities in the mountains and in the sea, live music, dance and outdoor events celebrating the generations-old customs, history, culture and natural beauty of the Comeragh Mountains, Copper Coast and Nire Valley region, the organisers say.