Festivals

There are lots of ways to enjoy St Patrick’s Day, from parades, parties and pints of Guinness to pilgrimage walks and hearty traditional Irish food. Ireland’s biggest festival is on the horizon and across the island towns and cities are gearing up for the annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations (17 March). Fabulous festivals will take place in cities from Armagh in the north...

Ireland’s Boyne Valley is the birthplace of Ireland's Ancient East. Here you can experience a remarkable history stretching back over 9,000 years. You can walk in the footsteps of Ireland’s High Kings and visit the spiritual Hill of Tara, from where the kings ruled as long ago as the 2nd century. This is home to some of Ireland’s greatest heritage...

Europe’s biggest Halloween festival is concocting a fabulous programme of folklore, frights, fun and feasting this autumn. The beautiful walled city of Derry~Londonderry will once again unleash the ancient Celtic spirits of Samhain as it celebrates Halloween from 28 – 31 October 2022. Now established as the biggest Halloween festival in Europe and voted the world's best Halloween destination in a...

Time travelling twists, creepy crypts and pagan roots are afoot at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park this year for a special Halloween festival to mark the traditional Irish Samhain.  This Halloween midterm, Bunratty Castle & Folk Park will mark the festival of Samhain in its own unique way. Focusing on the old Irish traditions and a few modern twists associated...

Delve into the deliciously dark Bram Stoker Festival Get your teeth into four days of fiendish fun and undeadly adventures at Dublin’s Bram Stoker Festival. Celebrating the Dublin-born horror novelist Bram Stoker and his most famous creation – Count Dracula – the Bram Stoker Festival presents four days (27 – 30 October) of supernatural thrills across Ireland’s capital. Featuring walking tours, reimagined...

Fill your heart with festive cheer at the island of Ireland’s magical Christmas markets. The appearance of colourful Christmas markets across the length and breadth of the island of Ireland signals that the festive season has well and truly begun. And with many opening in mid-November this year, there isn’t long to wait. Galway, on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, will open...

  Ireland’s largest trad and folk music festival will light up January with performances from icons of the genre and innovative new artists. Tradfest showcases the best of established and emerging musical talent in over 50 performances across Dublin over five days, 24–28 January.   From Irish harpists, Galician bagpipers and bluegrass banjoists to fusions of trad with hip-hop, New Orleans jazz...

DROGHEDA TO HOST, LÚ FESTIVAL OF LIGHT, A SPECTACULAR URBAN ANIMATION SHOW FROM THE 28th OF OCTOBER TO THE 5th OF NOVEMBER Louth County Council, in partnership with business representative group Love Drogheda, recently announced the launch of Lú Festival of Light, a wonderfully creative urban animation showcase and family festival. This novel and free event will open to coincide...

This year’s New Year Festival Dublin will run over four days with more than 40 events staged across three iconic venues. Dublin City ramps up the party this New Year with its annual New Year Festival (NYF) extended to four days (29 December 2023 through to 1 January 2024). Some of the island’s top talents will perform across the city in the stunning surrounds of...

Macy Gray, Corienne Bailey Rae, Morcheeba, Matthew Halsall and Grammy award winning Kurt Elling are among the headline acts to perform at this year’s Guinness Cork Jazz Festival over the October bank holiday weekend (Thursday 26th October to Monday 30th October 2023). Tickets go on sale this Friday, 7th July, at 10:00am on www.guinnesscorkjazz.com. Celebrating its 45th year, the world-renowned festival will see its biggest...