St Patrick’s Day Festival Dublin 2023

For hundreds of years, from a small island on the edge of Europe, we have shared our music, poetry, art, literature, our culture and heritage, and most of all, our people, with communities and countries all over the world.
Our stories have bound us together as one global community – a community that traverses borders, enthrals and entrances, connects and inspires. A community that welcomes all voices with dignity and respect. One community, one planet, one human race, one great, big beating heart.
This March, we invite you to St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin to help us celebrate our part and our place in our global community…
To share, to laugh, to speak, to sing, to dance, to perform, to participate, and to be together, as one, wherever you are in the world.
From our world-famous St. Patrick’s Day Parade, to our jam packed programme of events at Festival Quarter at the iconic National Museum of Ireland Collins Barracks, including the very best in music, dance, circus, conversation, spectacle, food and drink and so much more.
And with One City Festival events taking place throughout our wonderful city, Dublin is the place to be this March.
Mar a chéile sinn
Bígí linn

St Patrick’s Day Festival Events

St Patrick’s Day Parade 2023

This year’s National St. Patrick’s Day Parade, driven by the values of community, diversity, youth and sustainability, will be the most ambitious ever, featuring breath-taking new artistic, interactive and aerial elements.

A major new opening pageant has been commissioned featuring a collaboration with St. Patrick’s Festival Community Arts pageant with Macnas, Junk Kouture, Discovery Gospel Choir, and a whole host of community groups, while the Festival continues to work with Ireland’s foremost creative pageant companies including Dublin Pride, Spraoi, Artastic, Inishowen Carnival and you might even spot some special Disney friends. This year, Buí Bolg and Kia are collaborating on an exciting new pageant entitled ‘The Future That Moves Us’ featuring an interactive AR element in the parade for the very first time. With half a million spectators expected to line this year’s route, the Parade will feature 7 creative pageants, 10 transitional showpiece performances, 15 marching bands from across Ireland, North America and Canada, and over 4,000 participants in what is shaping up to be the largest ever National St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Find out more about the St Patrick’s Day Parade Dublin

Route of The St Patrick’s Day Parade

The St Patrick’s Day Parade leaves Parnell Square North at 12 noon. It takes approximately 2 hours to pass and finishes at Kevin Street at 2pm.

Check here for further details and Route Map

Getting To The St Patrick’s Day Parade

Family Fun Tip – Based on the experience of previous years, it is probably advisable to take public transport to the parade as there will be both road and parking restrictions to facilitate the events taking place

Festival Quarter at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks

Returning for 2023 after an incredibly successful debut last year is the St. Patrick’s Festival Quarter at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks which will be home to a magical day-to-night urban Festival for all, from March 16th to 18th
The grounds of one of Ireland’s most spectacular and historic heritage sites in the heart of Dublin will feature Tent Mór and Tent Beag, a 3,000 capacity outdoor Main Stage, performance spaces, relaxation areas, a mini-funfair including Ferris Wheel and the Irish Food and Craft Village.

All daytime events will be free of charge, along with the full day and night programme on St. Patrick’s Day, supported by Dublin Airport. Night time events on the 16th and 18th of March will require a pre-purchased ticket that will be valid for the full evening’s programme.

St. Patrick’s Festival Quarter is based in the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History at Collins Barracks, and offers a packed programme of family entertainment, music, art, conversation, workshops, spectacle and street performance, along with the best of Irish food and crafts at the iconic Dublin site. Open to all ages throughout the day Festival Quarter transforms into the ultimate urban Festival space after dark. For more information visit The Festival Quarter Programme of Events

Just a short walk from the city centre and easily accessible by Luas and bus, and adjacent to Heuston Station, Festival Quarter will once again be a bustling hub for locals and visitors alike for the duration of the Festival.

Cultúr Club

St. Patrick’s Festival and Mother are delighted to present Cultúr Club at Festival Quarter in the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History at Collins Barracks on Thursday 16th March 2023.
The stage is set for a very special night of live music, queer performance and art in celebration of Irish LGBTQ+ club culture and the transformative power of the dancefloor in one of Ireland’s most iconic spaces. Cultúr Club will see St. Patrick’s Festival and LGBTQ+ Club promoters, Mother, collaborate once again on the eve of the world’s largest celebration of Irish Culture for one big PARTY at Festival Quarter in the National Musuem of Ireland, Collins Barracks. Expect the unexpected!

St Patrick’s Day at the Festival Quarter

From 12pm on Friday 17 March, St. Patrick’s Festival Quarter will be a hive of free events, happenings, music, song and dance for people of all ages as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style!
Join us for the hugely popular Céilí Mór, featuring Dearbhla Lennon & her Traditional Irish Dancers with The Shandrum Céili Band plus Féile na Gealaí, Japanese Taiko Drummers, Music Generation Laois Trad Orchestra, Imlé and Llareggub Brass Band from Wales, and loads more.

We’ve got a full Festival families programme happening on site as well with Tumble Circus, Candlelit Tales and the Fingal Mummers, Curious State, Professor Plunger, Guido Fanzini, Mark the Science Guy, the Actual Reality Arcade, Disney Cinema Yurt, a Ferris Wheel and mini funfair!

If you’re starved and thirsty after a morning’s Parade watching, we’ve got the best in Irish Street Food at our St Patrick’s Festival Quarter Food and Drinks Village, to make sure you and the family are well fed and have enough fuel in the tank for all of the fun and divilment taking place throughout the day!!

And as St. Patrick’s Day turns into St. Patrick’s Night, live music will echo across the legendary grounds of the National Museum of Ireland Collins Barracks as we celebrate our incredible traditional Irish music artists including Kíla + Brass Band, The Bonny Men, Jiggy, Saltaire, Pólca 4, Paahto & the Bull, Cairde Ceoil, Choice Music Prize nominee Junior Brother, and The Latchikos. Dance the night away in Celtic style with the Trad Rave DJ on the Clarke Square Bandstand & lots more!

Big Day After

On Saturday 18th March, the day after the night before, our packed programme of free family events returns, with something for absolutely everybody.
For families, we’ve got a whole host of activities including street theatre, interactive games, circus and science shows, talks, and loads more fun in between. Sit back and enjoy film screenings at the Disney Cinema Yurt, enjoy the thrills of the circus with Tumble Circus, Curious State, Professor Plunger, Guido Fanzini, Mark the Science Guy, jump on our Ferris Wheel or get gaming with Actual Reality Arcade!

The Festival’s song and storytelling series, Abair continues across the day in the Palatine Room. We’ve got loads of live music and DJ sets happening all throughout the day to help knock those cobwebs off, including performances across 4 stages from Mo Cultivation & Friends Alice, Celaviedmai, Code of Behaviour, plus the GOAL Global Citizen Stage featuring performances from international community groups, Adam Mohamed, Curiosity Music Group, Blaq Apollo + Mimmi & many more.

And with the best of Irish food and drink on hand at our Festival Food and Drinks Quarter, you can stay and play, all day!

Pillow Queens and Friends

In a unique collaboration, St. Patrick’s Festival have invited Pillow Queens to curate an evening that celebrates the best of new Irish music across four stages on the Festival Quarter site, before they take to the main stage and bring it home with a set that is sure to thrill audiences in a true celebration of Irish culture.

The evening will see the iconic site transformed into a unique urban Festival from 6.30pm with 12 live music acts including Katie Kim, Melts, Sprints and Gurriers across 4 stages, live DJs, the best in Irish food and drinks, art installations, pop-up performances and much more at the Festival Quarter on the night of Saturday 18th March 2023.

One City Festival

As part of a curated programme of events in collaboration with cultural partners around the city, there will be many St. Patrick’s Festival supported live events and club nights throughout Dublin over the period of the Festival. Enjoy everything from art exhibitions to yoga classes, orchestral performances to brand new theatre pieces, walking tours to skiff racing. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the city while also supporting our workers across the arts, culture, heritage, festivals, entertainment, tourism, hospitality and accommodation industries, locally, nationally and internationally. Here are just some of the events and you can find lots more to do and see at St Patrick’s Festival One City events

RTE Concert Orchestra with the iconic traditional rock group Moving Hearts.

The band’s line-up for the special St Patrick’s Day event will include a stellar roster of many of Ireland’s finest musicians: Donal Lunny – bouzouki, Davy Spillane – uilleann pipes and low whistles, Keith Donald – sax and bass clarinet, Eoghan O’Neill – bass, Noel Eccles – percussion, Anthony Drennan – guitars, Liam Bradley – drums, Graham Henderson – keyboards and Mick Hanly – vocals. They will join forces with the RTÉ CO and conductor Gavin Maloney to create an extraordinary alchemy. Bord Gáis Energy Theatre 17 & 18 March 7.30pm

Pat Liddy’s ‘In The Footsteps of St Patrick’ Walking Tour

Our annual St. Patrick’s Walk is back again! St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in many parts of the world but none of the celebrations quite match the atmosphere of Dublin as we honour the country’s patron saint.
Discover the fascinating truth of St. Patrick and enjoy a very special and entertaining walk that focuses on the man behind the legend and the Dublin of his time. See the places that most tourists and many Dubliners miss. Did you know that much of the pre-Viking development of Dublin owes its origins to the legacy of St. Patrick?

The National Print Museum

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at the National Print Museum. Join us for an afternoon of fun and creativity.
Learn about our unique collection, have a go at making your own print, and explore some Irish-themed crafts too. Suitable for all the family. Self-guided activity. Free drop-in event, no booking required. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at the National Print Museum. Join us for an afternoon of fun and creativity.

City Funfair

From waltzers and bumper cars to old time carousels, there’s something for everyone at the City Funfair! Dare to be suspended upside down or whisked through the air at amazing speed!
A firm Festival favourite, the Funfair will light up the city with colourful carnival fairground attractions. Suitable for all the family, enjoy the thrills and spills of the Funfair experience!

Me Auld Flower

Me Auld Flower is a new Irish food & drink festival by the people behind Big Grill, located in the historic fruit & veg market in the heart of Dublin. In association with St. Patrick’s Festival 2023 programme, it is the first-of-its-kind in the venue.
Me Auld Flower brings the best of Ireland together to recreate the buzz of the old market with a modern take. The event will focus on Irish food & drink culture with a mix of restaurants, chefs, producers, distillers, brewers and makers, all under one roof.