Dublin Events 2026 – Festivals, Sport and Key Dates
Dublin's biggest events in 2026, with dates, prices and travel tips – from TradFest to St Patrick's Day, the Six Nations and Winter Lights.
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What's on when – the 2026 events calendar at a glance
Dublin has a packed events calendar all year round, but the real highlights cluster into a handful of weeks. If you're planning a trip abroad around a specific event, it pays to check the dates before you book flights and accommodation – around major sporting fixtures especially, room rates near the venue climb noticeably.
The key fixed dates for 2026 at a glance:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 21–25 January | Temple Bar TradFest |
| 31 January–1 February | Leopardstown Dublin Racing Festival |
| 14 February / 6 March / 14 March | Six Nations – Ireland's home games at the Aviva Stadium |
| 14–17 March | St Patrick's Festival, parade on 17 March |
| 24–28 June | Dublin Pride Festival, parade on 27 June |
| 19 July / 26 July | All-Ireland hurling and football finals at Croke Park |
| 5–9 August | Dublin Horse Show at the RDS |
| 5–20 September | Dublin Fringe Festival |
| 25 October | Irish Life Dublin Marathon |
| 30 October–2 November | Bram Stoker Festival |
| from 1 December | Dublin Winter Lights |
| 26–29 December | Leopardstown Christmas Festival |
The sections below go into more detail on the events that need the most planning ahead – dates, rough prices, and whether you need a ticket at all.
January and February: TradFest and the racing season
The year opens with Temple Bar TradFest, Ireland's biggest festival of traditional Irish music. In 2026 it runs from Wednesday 21 to Sunday 25 January, across more than 20 venues around the city – including St Patrick's Cathedral, Rathfarnham Castle and the Pepper Canister Church. The festival deliberately mixes big concert halls with intimate churches and pubs.
If you're on a budget, head for the Smithwick's Sessions – free, unticketed concerts in the pubs of Temple Bar. It's worth arriving early, as seats fill up fast. The ticketed headline concerts cost roughly €15 to €60 depending on artist and venue. The cathedral and headline shows often sell out in advance, so early booking is essential.
At the same time, the racing season gets under way south of the city. The Leopardstown Dublin Racing Festival takes place on Saturday 31 January and Sunday 1 February 2026, and is the winter's most important National Hunt meeting. Tickets are paid, and booking online in advance gives the best value; there are discounted rates for students, seniors and online buyers, and children under 14 go free.
Six Nations: rugby at the Aviva Stadium
February and March bring the Six Nations to Dublin. Ireland's home fixtures for 2026 at the Aviva Stadium are:
- Ireland v Italy, Saturday 14 February 2026
- Ireland v Wales, Friday 6 March 2026
- Ireland v Scotland, Saturday 14 March 2026
Official tickets for Ireland's games start from around €45 (category 5) up to about €185 for premium seats. The catch: the IRFU allocates Aviva Stadium tickets through a ballot, with priority given to the Irish Rugby Supporters Club. Applying is no guarantee of a ticket, and sales run through Ticketmaster Ireland and irishrugby.ie. If you're travelling to Dublin without a secured seat, it's difficult to plan around – the matchday atmosphere is then best experienced in the pubs around the stadium and across the city.
If you do have a ticket: the Aviva Stadium sits right by Lansdowne Road DART station. There's no direct Luas link to the stadium, but the Trinity College stop on the Green Line is around a 20-minute walk away, and the Red Line connects at Connolly station with the DART to Lansdowne Road. More on getting around is in the public transport guide and the Leap Card guide.
March: the St Patrick's Festival and parade
The best-known date in the calendar. The St Patrick's Festival runs from Saturday 14 to Tuesday 17 March 2026, under the theme "Roots". Over the weekend, alongside the parade, there are free open-air concerts, a Family Village at the Wood Quay Amphitheatre, a city funfair at Custom House Quay, a treasure hunt and traditional music sessions.
The highlight is the St Patrick's Day Parade on Tuesday 17 March. It starts around midday at Granby Row, moves along O'Connell Street and O'Connell Bridge, and finishes at the Cuffe Street/Kevin Street junction. Watching along the route is free – though if you want a good spot, get there well before it starts. Only the covered, seated grandstand places are ticketed, and are booked through the festival website.
A practical note for these days: Dublin is busier in mid-March than at almost any other time of year, and accommodation books up early and gets pricey. If you'd rather skip the crowds, you can still enjoy the festival programme around the parade without joining the main crush.
June: Dublin Pride
The Dublin Pride Festival, Ireland's biggest LGBTQ+ festival, runs from 24 to 28 June 2026. The Dublin Pride March and Parade takes place on Saturday 27 June at 12:30 and is free to attend. Over 100,000 people take part each year.
The parade starts on O'Connell Street, passes Liberty Hall on its way over the Liffey, and finishes at the Pride Village at Merrion Square. This Pride Village is a free, unticketed all-day event with live music, drag performances, food stalls and community stands – so there's no ticket or booking needed, you can simply turn up. For visitors, Pride is one of the most straightforward major events in Dublin, since the programme is deliberately open and free.
Summer: the GAA finals and the Dublin Horse Show
July brings the two biggest days of the Irish sporting calendar to Croke Park: the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final is scheduled for Sunday 19 July 2026, and the All-Ireland Senior Football Final for Sunday 26 July. The stadium holds around 82,300 spectators.
Getting hold of a ticket, though, is the hard part for visitors: the finals aren't sold through general public sale. Each county board receives an allocation, with the counties competing on the day getting the largest shares, and tickets are distributed through club and county membership. Official information is on gaa.ie/tickets, and individual games are sold through the official ticket agent. Realistically, a visitor is unlikely to get a finals ticket – the atmosphere is best experienced in the city's pubs instead.
If you do get one: Croke Park is well served by public transport. From the Luas Red Line stop at Connolly it's around a 16-minute, 1.3km walk; from the Green Line stops at Parnell and Marlborough it's about 15 minutes; the nearest DART stations are Connolly (15 to 20 minutes) and Clontarf Road (20 to 25 minutes).
August brings the Dublin Horse Show, from 5 to 9 August 2026 at the RDS, an event that's considerably easier to get into. General admission and seated tickets are available for each of the five days; single admission gives access to the public areas around the Laya Arena, but without a fixed seat. Sales run through Ticketmaster, plus service fees, and seated tickets are worth booking early. If you want access to the Members' Club, note the dress code: smart casual applies, and shorts, sliders and flip-flops aren't allowed; exhibitors in the judging rings must wear a jacket, collar and tie.
Autumn and winter: the marathon, festivals and lights
Autumn belongs to culture and endurance events. The Dublin Fringe Festival, Ireland's biggest multidisciplinary arts festival, runs from 5 to 20 September 2026. By late October the city turns gothic: the Bram Stoker Festival runs from Friday 30 October to Monday 2 November, with many outdoor events such as "Stokerland" in St Patrick's Park free to attend, while theatrical performances are ticketed.
The sporting highlight of the autumn is the Irish Life Dublin Marathon on Sunday 25 October 2026. Visitors can take part, but entry is via a ballot that opened in November of the previous year and has since closed. The entry fee is €110 plus a non-refundable €5 application fee; further places are available through charity entries and transfer windows.
December is all about the lights. Dublin Winter Lights switches on from Monday 1 December 2026, illuminating around 25 free locations at nightfall throughout the month – including the GPO, Dublin Castle, Wolfe Tone Square, the Spire, along the Liffey, and at Meeting House Square. Only one single experience in Merrion Square Park is ticketed (1 to 21 December, €2 per adult, with two children going free). Over the Christmas period, the Leopardstown Christmas Festival runs from 26 to 29 December, with four days of National Hunt racing and seven Grade 1 races; booking early saves €5 on the gate price.
Leopardstown sits a little outside the centre. The nearest regularly used Luas Green Line stop is Sandyford, around 20 minutes from the city centre; on race days a free shuttle bus runs from Sandyford, or it's about a 20-minute walk. The M50 footbridge between the Leopardstown Valley stop and the racecourse is closed.
Tickets and getting there at a glance
How much lead time an event needs depends a lot on the type:
- The Six Nations and the GAA finals are heavily capacity-limited and run on ballots or membership. They're practically impossible to buy freely – if you don't have access through a governing body or club, it's best to plan on pub atmosphere rather than a stadium seat.
- The Dublin Marathon runs on a ballot that opens in November of the previous year.
- TradFest headline shows and Horse Show seated tickets are on general sale but in demand – book early.
- The Pride parade and Pride Village, watching St Patrick's Day, and most of Winter Lights are free and unticketed. No booking needed, just good timing.
For getting to any of these events: Dublin's public transport – the DART, Luas and buses – covers the main venues well, but gets crowded on event days. A topped-up Leap Card saves time at the machine; details are in the Leap Card guide and the public transport guide. Major events are sold mostly through Ticketmaster Ireland. Looking for more to do around a festival? Find ideas under tours and day trips.