Have you ever travelled from Ireland to any European festival? If so, was it for its reputation, a specific act, part of a holiday, perhaps living in that country once and knowing the festival...? Do continental festivals like Benicassim, Sziget, Roskilde, etc advertise in Ireland? Either in print or online with banner ads etc?

You might have seen all the recent gig reviews from La Route du Rock in Brittany - a fantastic little festival but one that (like Ireland) always seems on the brink of financial collapse. For a festival in a region so close geographically and culturally to Ireland I was surprised to not find any other Irish people there all weekend (apart from Kevin Shields and Colm O Ciosoig). I figured that if they advertised in Ireland they'd get a good-size Irish contingent and fill their coffers a bit more.

Werchter and Pukkelpop, both in the Lowlands, also seem to be excellent festivals within easy striking distance from Ireland. Any others worth knowing about?

I was meant to go to the Isle of Wight festival but my plans fell through - pretty stellar line-up though. I saw ads for Benicassim and Roskilde in the NME and I've heard of Pukklepop. La Route du Rock is a new one to me. I've never been abroad for a festival but I did travel to Milan to see AFI live about 2 years ago, it was fantastic.

I was at Werchter (in Belgium) last year. Brilliantly organised. Great value for money. Class line-up. Good public transport links (Werchter is within striking distance of Brussels, its airports and train stations). Flawless.

There's another lesser known 4 day long Belgian festival worth highlighting: The Dour Festival. Their website is here:
http://www.dourfestival.be/en
Check out their 2009 lineup as well.

Yes, I've heard of Dour, although it may be challenging to persuade English speakers to go to Dour in Belgium : )