Three Irish festivals take High Court case against Tickets.ie

Three major Irish music festivals attended the High Court in Dublin on Monday, June 8, to begin legal proceedings following the collapse of ticketing company Tickets.ie. The festivals involved are Cowboys and Heroes Festival in Leitrim, the Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival in Donegal and Rockathon Festival in Meath.

The action comes after Tickets.ie ceased trading and announced plans to enter liquidation just days after the festivals had taken place. Collectively, the three festivals are seeking to recover approximately €580,000 in ticket revenue processed through the platform, and up to over one million nation-wide.

Tickets.ie was founded in Ireland by entrepreneur John O'Neill. The company has been majority-owned by German entertainment group DEAG since 2022. Mr O'Neill stepped down as a director in March 2025. At the time of the liquidation announcement, the company's directors were listed as Stuart Galbraith and Detlef Kornett, both linked to the DEAG group.

The collapse has raised questions about what led to the company's failure and why the decision to place it into liquidation was made. Iconic Media has contacted both Mr Galbraith and Mr Kornett seeking comment, but no response had been received at the time of publication.

Cowboys and Heroes Festival organiser Simon Power said he was left stunned when he discovered the company had gone into liquidation just days after the event had concluded. "When I went into the portal to generate an invoice, I was met with a notice saying the company had ceased trading and was entering liquidation. It was a real gut punch," he said.

Power said the festival is owed approximately €136,000 from ticket sales processed through the platform. "We're out €135,000. We were fortunate that we had some tickets sold through outlets and on the gate, but this is a huge amount of money for any independent festival to lose. "It wasn't a big enough year to absorb that kind of loss."

"There has been a complete lack of communication. We've tried reaching out but haven't been able to get any clarity on what happens next." Power said the timing of the announcement, coming immediately after the festival, had added to the shock. "In terms of timing -to announce it the day after the festival is very suspicious and when we still have to pay suppliers and artists."

The future of the long-running festival could now be placed in doubt "We've been running Cowboys and Heroes for 14 years. It's a major tourism event for Leitrim and brings significant business to hotels, pubs, restaurants and local shops across the region. "We're in total limbo at the moment and it really jeopardises the future of the event."

Power said legal advice is now being sought but admitted the outlook remains uncertain. "Our legal team is looking at it, but it doesn't look great. The problem is we simply don't know what, if anything, is recoverable." A statement published on the Tickets.ie website confirmed the company had ceased trading and that a liquidator would be appointed. "All enquiries should be directed to the appointed liquidator whose details will be published here once appointed," the statement read.

Customers holding tickets for future events have been advised to wait for communication directly from event promoters. The company thanked customers, promoters and partners for their support over the years and said it had been "a privilege to serve the Irish events community".