Conor Quealy is carrying a heavy slab of beer cans from the car park to his campsite on Friday as the sun beats down on the Glendalough Estate, in Co Wicklow, which the Beyond the Pale music festival has taken over for the weekend.Some festivals seem to specialise in traffic snarl-ups, but the traffic was light on the drive down from Dublin: he and his friend Lucy Johnson flew through it, he says. She can’t comment, as she was asleep in the back of the car, “in amongst the tents”.Quealy, who attends every year, says he’s optimistic the good weather will hold up. “It’s looking to. I am a believer.”Cian Martin had less far to travel, as he’s from Rathnew, near Wicklow town. “We went country roads, so there was one car ahead of me until about five minutes away from here, and then there was a massive Garda command centre holding up traffic, but after that it was mostly grand,” he says. Right now it’s 19 degrees. He is less optimistic than Quealy about whether the sunshine will last. “I have never been to an Irish festival where it hasn’t rained, so I’m not holding out hope for good weather this weekend.”Martin, who spent some of the journey listening to the German DJ Jan Blomqvist, one of this weekend’s acts, adds some sage advice: “Make sure your tent is waterproof.”Eimear Harrington, from Celbridge, in Co Kildare, drove down with a group of friends. She’s looking forward to the festival’s line-up of Irish acts, which include Kojaque, NewDad and Madra Salach. “I am a musician myself, so it’s good to support the guys who get a chance to be here.” She’s also “looking forward to Danzi” – another Irish act – “Groove Armada and Caribou tonight, and then Rave in the Woods, and to get to know some new people and to have fun”.Beyond the Pale 2026: Eimear Harrington, from Co Kildare Beyond the Pale 2026: Ciara Sheridan and Nancy Collins. Photograph: Scott Dagg She tells new festivalgoers among the 12,000 or so people due to spend the weekend here to be careful about what they pack. “Make a checklist of everything you might need. You probably need more than you think, but the fundamentals are tent, sleeping bag and your friends.”Ciara Sheridan and Nancy Collins, who are from Meath and Cork, and houseshare in Dublin, are most looking forward to seeing Honey Dijon, the American DJ and producer. [ Beyond the Pale 2026: Line-up, site access, ticket information, weather and moreOpens in new window ]They’ve “been manifesting this weather, and it worked”, Sheridan says. Their packing revelation is a trolley that they picked up on sale at Home Store and More. “It’s our first time getting one of these, and it’s an absolute game-changer,” Collins says. Connor O’Flanagan, a festival veteran from Leixlip, in Co Kildare, looks to be a master of the trolley technique. He’s showing off a neatly packed cart that he made himself. “This is Festicart. It’s actually electric. I have a little motor on it, so no more breaking your back. I’m too old for that.”What’s his advice for festival first-timers? “Don’t worry about charging your phone except for buying beers. You don’t need to take videos. That is really it. Put your phone in your pocket.”