Actually it’s the other way around. The Feakle Festival is usually first, with the Mrs Crotty weekend a week or two later. This year’s dates for the Feakle Festival are August 10th-13th, according to the website. Eigse Mrs Crotty is August 16th-20th, again according to their website. Neither site lists much more than that at this point, such as who will be performing/teaching. But typically the lineups at both of these weekends are top class.
Having been to both of these weekends in 2003, I can offer a bit of perspective. I would recommend the Feakle Festival highly to anyone no matter what the level of their playing ability or what instrument they play. When I went to Feakle, I was an accomplished flute player and a beginner concertina player. So I was able to avail of the concertina class with Mary MacNamara (who teaches there every year, since she’s a local), but had I been of a mind to it I could have done flute with Catherine McEvoy. (She’s been there several times, but they do have other flute teachers some years - so check the website.) Also there are always several fiddle classes, and perhaps some other instrument classes too. Again, check the website for this year’s info when it’s up. Aside from that, though, there are scheduled and unscheduled sessions in the two local pubs both afternoon and evening, and top-class concerts on both Friday and Saturday night. Feakle is Martin Hayes’s home ground, so typically he and Dennis Cahill will headline one of the concerts. But there will be other talent on the program as well that’s every bit or nearly their equal. The year I was there, Matt Molloy played with John Carty, among other stellar acts. The East Clare area seems to be fairly flush with music year-round, so there’s a strong local presence at the festival weekend. In summary there’s great music to play or listen to day and night in Feakle.
Not so much though in Kilrush, at least the year I was there. There’s lots of tuition for concertina players, and some great pub performances by noted concertina players each night, as well as a concert on the Saturday. But as only a beginner concertina player I was hoping to be able to mix it up with the flute in some sessions, and that never happened. Kilrush is a much bigger town than Feakle, but during the day there was no session activity at all in the pubs (aside from Crotty’s, where something usually was happening - but it’s a rather small pub). Granted, the weather was sunny and beautiful that whole weekend, which might have kept people out of the pubs. There are lots of touristy things to do there on the shore when the weather’s nice. But it didn’t seem to me that there is much music presence in the area outside of the Mrs Crotty weekend (unlike Feakle), so unless you’re one of the blow-in concertina players there for the squeeze crack, there’s not much music to be had even during the festival weekend. Again, this may not always be the case, as I was only there the one year. But if I had to choose which one to go back to, it would definitely be Feakle, no question about it.