Harvest Time Blues Late Night Sessions - Westenra Arms Hotel

What to Expect

The Harvest Time Blues Festival programmes after-hours sessions at the Westenra Arms Hotel on the Diamond in Monaghan across the first weekend of September 2026. Johnny Gallagher plays from 11.30pm on Friday 4 September, running to 1.30am. Rebecca Downes and Earl Thomas share the bill from 11pm on Saturday 5 September, running to 2.30am. Both nights are ticketed separately by the festival through Eventbrite.

These are the late end of the festival rather than its seated concert programme, starting once the earlier stages have finished and running well past midnight. The Saturday carries two full sets on a single ticket, with Rebecca Downes and Earl Thomas each performing in turn across three and a half hours, which makes it the longer of the two nights by some distance. The festival pitches both around soulful blues and strong vocals. Holding them at the Westenra puts the late sessions on Monaghan town’s central square rather than at an edge-of-town venue, so the walk home or the taxi rank is a short one. Refunds on both nights are available up to seven days before the event. The wider festival runs from 4 to 6 September 2026 with its own daytime and evening programme, and weekend combination tickets have been sold alongside the individual night tickets.

Good to Know

• Friday 4 September 2026: Johnny Gallagher, 11.30pm to 1.30am
• Saturday 5 September 2026: Rebecca Downes and Earl Thomas, 11pm to 2.30am
• Venue: Westenra Arms Hotel, The Diamond, Monaghan
• Organiser: Harvest Time Blues Festival
• Tickets: sold per night through Eventbrite, with weekend combination tickets also offered
• Refunds available up to seven days before each event
• Part of the Harvest Time Blues Festival, 4 to 6 September 2026

Getting There

The Westenra Arms Hotel is on the Diamond, Monaghan town’s central square, so the late sessions are within walking distance of the town centre bars, restaurants and hotels. Public car parks are a short walk away, and taxis are usually available on the Diamond at closing time. Monaghan town is on the N2 and N54, with Bus Eireann services from Dublin, Dundalk and Enniskillen. There is more to see in Monaghan and across Co. Monaghan.