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Marking the official opening, Cllr Bradley said the festival provided an important annual boost to the county.

“Earagail Arts Festival has a long and proud history as the county’s premier summer event, attracting visitors from across the island of Ireland and much further afield, providing an important economic and cultural boost.

“In this current economic climate, it also great to see so many free events being hosted by the festival, from performances at its Wild Atlantic Weekends in Gaoth Dobhair and Raphoe, spectacular night-time parades in Buncrana and Arranmore Island; to Nepalese group Kanta Dab Dab who will be performing on Tory Island, Letterkenny and Culdaff.

“I would like to extend a special thanks to our hosts, Kinnegar, today – It is great to see respected local businesses giving back to the community by supporting events such as this festival and I would encourage other members of the business community to do the same.”

Ciara Sugrue, Head of Festivals at Fáilte Ireland said: “Festivals and events are a key element of the tourism offering in Ireland, and Fáilte Ireland is pleased to support this year’s Earagail Arts Festival, which will showcase the very best of Irish arts, heritage and culture to domestic and international visitors.

“Developing unique and immersive visitor experiences like Earagail Arts Festival plays an important role in the recovery of the tourism sector for the county and the wider Wild Atlantic Way region. Festivals like Earagail Arts Festival create new and compelling reasons for visitors to explore Ireland and experience first-hand our world-famous arts and culture. They have the ability to drive footfall for local businesses, which in turn generates revenue and supports jobs in communities and revenue generation.”

EO & Artistic Director of Earagail Arts Festival, Paul Brown added: “We want to encourage access to the arts for all citizens of Donegal, with a range of events for everyone to have an opportunity to create and enjoy with participatory creative projects such as Fadó Fadó and the circus camps, all ages gigs by new curators, body movement and visual arts workshops and a special tattoo exhibition to celebrating cultural diversity and self-expression through body art."

"On top of all of this, Donegal can look forward to a stellar line-up of festival concerts and shows from Inishowen to Gaoth Dobhair, including two free night-time, outdoor events in Buncrana and Arranmore Island with renowned landscape spectacle group, Luxe.”

The festival features an expanded programme of circus, street arts performances and camps as part of its annual event, the Wild Atlantic Weekend, which comes to two new locations this year, Raphoe and Gaoth Dobhair.

Aniar TV is also returning to film four concerts the second season of the TG4 series, Féíle Ealaine an Earagail, at An Grianán Theatre Letterkenny during the festival. The concerts feature a celebration of legendary Donegal fiddle family, The Campbells, and top class acts such as Flook, Fidil, Na Casaidigh, Usher’s Island and Lisa O’Neill.

Other musical highlights include a mini tour of Donegal by Nepalese group Kanta Dab Dab, The Frank and Walters, Ger O’Donnell & Trevor Sexton, Anna Mieke, The Henry Girls, Pretty Happy, George Houston and more.

Earagail Arts Festival is delighted to be working with a number of festivals, RAMP - Rathmullan Music Project, Irish Aerial Dance Festival and Bród na Gaeltachta, which will all present an exciting line-up of events in July.

The festival line-up features a host of theatre, dance and spoken word events, as well as workshops, including Jimmy’s Winnin’ Matches, Yes and Yes, Na Mic Ua gCorra, Errigal - A Sacred Mountain, Cosan Thoraí, Telling the Whole Story: Taking Our Place, Afro-Brazilian Body Movement Workshops and much more.

As well as fantastic live events the festival also showcases an extensive visual arts programme, working with Glebe House & Gallery, Artlink Fort Dunree, Donegal County Museum and Regional Cultural Centre.

The visual arts programme will showcase the work of both established and emerging artists from Ireland and beyond.