Whipping up an musical extravaganza on Mayo island

Mr Whippy Soundsystem and friends are very much looking forward to welcoming music lovers to in Clare Island for a three-day Bank Holiday Weekender from Friday, May 30 to Sunday, June 1.
As most in Westport will already know from previous Clare Island Weekenders, many years dancing at Gracy’s Westport Estate and in McGings on High Street, and seeing his beautiful van around town, Mr Whippy Soundsystem is the brain-child of local architect and DJ, Dermot McCabe.

Dermot restored his vintage 1972 ice cream van into a mobile vinyl-record treasure trove DJ-booth called the Mr Whippy Soundsystem back in 2005. This year, Mr Whippy Soundsystem is marking 20 years on the road spreading joy all around Ireland performing at summer festivals. On the June Bank Holiday Weekend 2025, the van is taking the ferry to Clare Island along with crates of records and a bunch of invited guest performers and friends, to host their sixth edition of the now-annual 3-day-and-night weekender at the Island's Bay View House and Sailor's Bar Beer-Garden.

Mr Whippy knows himself and his van are over 50 years old and mightn’t keep going forever, so each trip back to host the Weekender in Clare Island is a special time to be savoured.

A home from home

“I'm really looking forward to the June Bank Holiday where myself and my friends will make the beautiful Clare Island home for 36 hours. The Weekender is a gathering for like-minded souls to feel at home across generations in sound and friendship. Every participant makes a contribution towards the event costs, with all ages, people attending solo or as a group, all groovy-music lovers welcome, enjoying music together in equality and peace,” said an excited Mr Whippy.

The Mr Whippy Soundsystem stage will be at Bay View House and Sailor’s Bar Beer-Garden, overlooking the sea of Clew Bay back towards Croagh Patrick and Westport. The setting will be complemented by two giant neon palm trees giving a tropical discotheque vibe, a sparkling mirror-ball, festival lights twinkling and colourful bunting flags flapping under a bright blue sky, and music selected by vinyl record collectors played through Mr Whippy’s high-quality, rib-tickling, bass-rumbling Jamaican style Sound-System, which was hand-made at Cologne’s VAS Audio workshop. Weekenders include all ages of people socialising, in their twenties, mixing with groovers in their sixties and couples in their forties dancing with friends in their thirties.

Mr Whippy notes the importance of the musical curation to soundtrack a special weekend in such a magical place, creating an atmosphere of ageless friendliness, respect, joy and freedom from mainland concerns (and phone signal!) for three memorable days and nights.

“It’s a rare pleasure for people to gather together for a long weekend, with open ears, hearts and minds to enjoy each other’s company. They share the joy of DJs blending older music from the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa, alongside New York Disco, Hip Hop, Jazz, fresh House productions and future beats from the urban clubs of Berlin, Bogota, London to Lagos,” added Mr Whippy.

“Clare Island’s magical feeling of ‘time out of time’ really lends to this unique ambiance. We have people from Belfast counting down the days to come back to Clare Island and digitally detox in the company of friends, old and new, and last year a couple travelled from the Portuguese island of Madeira to join in the Weekender.”

Island beauty

The beauty of Clare Island itself is the real sun, moon and star of the show: from swimming at the cove; or volleyball on the beach; to Knockmore hikes; and fabulous bike-rental sightseeing across Clew Bay and the Wild Atlantic on this calm and magical island.
Weekenders are always mindful and reminded of respect for the Island's beauty and its welcoming residents while in Clare Island as guests. Attendees are asked to be sound, leave no trace and bring all waste away back to the mainland with them on Monday, leaving the island and the campsite exactly as found on Friday. The island campsite and facilities are available at €10 per person per night, payable at the Community Centre. Showers are coin operated. Campers best come prepared with some provisions, and expect Irish summer weather with rain-gear, sunscreen and mosquito repellent, all rolled into one ball of sunshine funtime!
There is a car park at Roonagh Pier, where cars may be left over the weekend. As the car park can tend to be very full on the Bank Holiday Weekender, attendees are asked to please allow time to find a spot and walk on board the Ferry. The ferry crossing is around 20-minutes and is €17 return for foot passengers with www.Clareislandferry.com.
Food options on Clare Island during the weekender include Sausage Rolls, Pizza and bakes from the Clare Island Oven, and self-catering supplies from the island shop, up by the Abbey, a 30-minute walk from the harbour. Attendees are especially encouraged to support the catering at the main venue, Bay View House and Sailors Bar, who will be running a menu throughout the weekend and firing up the outdoor grill for Sunday afternoon's Jazz barbecue.

Stars on show
And when the sun sets ... the stars rise! And what a stellar line up of Mr Whippy's favourite music-makers, record-collectors, and party starters are joining in onboard the Mr Whippy Soundsystem van for the Weekender, with a selection of selectors playing 3 days of Disco, Afro, Latin, Soul, Tropical, Reggae, Jazz, Hip Hop, House and Beats music on Mr Whippy Soundsystem's speaker cones.
Some of the DJs confirmed so-far include P Disconaut, Jr Spesh and Ben Bix (Sim Simma), Pablo Santo, the Sonntags Crew, Pajo and GoodtimeColey, Lex Woo, Aran McMahon, Ruan and Ruairí Moore.
Weekenders wishing to attend can avoid disappointment by making their contributions before the event is sure to reach capacity. Weekenders may make 'Chip-In' contributions for 3-days and nights music of €60 each, payable via PayPal.com to mrwhippysoundsystem@gmail.com, or via REVOLUT to @DERMOTMCCABE72 including their name and email with the transfer to 'Sign-Up' for the guestlist. Guestlist names will be registered for wristband exchange. Weekender attendees will need a wristband after arrival on Clare Island to access the Weekender venues, gigs and performances.

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