Aidan O Loughlin flies the flag for South Tipperary at the Mr Personality Festival 2026

The annual Mr. Personality Festival 2026 took place in Kilkenny on the 10th and 11th of April. The festival was hosted by Kilkenny County Macra and was sponsored by

Kilkenny/Carlow and District Farm Relief Services. Local man, Aidan from Golden Vale macra took part in the weekend’s festivities as the South Tipperary representative.

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The Mr Personality Festival brought a weekend of energy, entertainment and fun to the Marble city. A stalwart of the Macra calendar the festival continues to celebrate the confidence, character and diverse talents of Macra members across the country. 

25 contestants including Aidan travelled from across the country to Langton’s Hotel, Kilkenny for a fun-filled weekend. Festivities got underway on Friday evening with the contestants taking to the stage for interviews at 7pm hosted by MC Aindriú du Paor.

This gave the audience their first glimpse of the personalities representing counties and regions across Ireland. The contestants showcased their character, wit and humour along with any talents that they had.

Following on from the interviews the night continued with great music with a singing garda, band and DJ keeping the party going into the early hours. 

On Saturday morning, Aidan completed his private interview with the three judges. It was a busy afternoon in Langton’s where our Mr Personality contestants were joined by fellow Macra members for some jiving lessons, and afterwards Aidan proudly displayed his county colours while completing team building challenges with fellow contestants. 

There was a huge amount of activities happening in Kilkenny whilst the contestants were conducting their private interviews with Katelyn Cummins (2025 Rose of Tralee & 2026 Dancing with the Stars champion), James Kavanagh (TV personality & Influencer) and Brian Leonard (UCD assistant professor).

Activities such as jiving, a lively scavenger hunt and live music kept everyone attending highly entertained.

On Saturday evening, anticipation built as all supporters gathered once again in Langton’s for the Gala Banquet Dinner. This proved to be a fitting centre piece for the weekend, combining great food and company along with many surprises along the way.

Following the Gala banquet Sweet Freedom provided the music in the build up to the moment of truth, the announcement of the winners. After a highly competitive weekend, the title of Mr Personality 2026 was awarded to Patrick Walton, who represented Kilkenny Macra. Joe Hennessy of Limerick took second place whilst UCC Macra’s Jack Murphy rounded out the top three.

Speaking after the announcement, Macra President Josephine O Neill commended the winners, participants and the committee “The Mr Personality Festival has long been a much-loved feature of the Macra calendar.

I’d like to congratulate Kilkenny Macra’s Mr. Personality Festival committee on all their hard work and commitment to ensure members enjoyed such a fantastic weekend.

Festivals like this would not be possible without members to participate and this year’s Mr Personality participants were all fantastic representatives of our organisation, showcasing everything great about Macra.

I’d particularly like to congratulate Patrick Walton on his success; I have no doubt that Patrick will be a wonderful representative for the festival for the next year”

All contestants should be commended for their enthusiasm and effort they brought to the festival. As always, the contestants were the true stars of the show and very much make the festival what it is.

Events like Mr Personality highlight the very best of Macra, they bring members together, build friendships and create memories.

Congratulations to Kilkenny Macra and all involved in organising another outstanding festival, and to every participant who made the weekend one to remember.

To check out all the activities and events from the weekend, follow Mr Personality Festival on Instagram and Facebook for all of the highlights and future updates.

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