About Us
St. Patrick’s Festival is Ireland’s official celebration of our national holiday, St. Patrick’s Day. Its origins lie in honouring Ireland’s patron saint, St. Patrick. St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into a vibrant celebration encompassing the richness of Irish culture.
St. Patrick's Festival
St. Patrick’s Festival is Ireland’s official celebration of our national holiday, St. Patrick’s Day. Its origins lie in honouring Ireland’s patron saint, St. Patrick. Initially, it was a solemn commemorative feast day dedicated to paying tribute to the saint, but over the years, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into a vibrant celebration encompassing the richness of Irish culture.
Today, it is a joyful occasion marked by parades, performances, and diverse expressions of Irish heritage; a multicultural international event that is committed to displaying contemporary and traditional arts, culture and heritage of the Irish people and the people who call Ireland home.
The world-famous National St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin takes place annually on March 17th, rain or shine, featuring spectacular pageants, raucous marching bands from all over the globe and community participants from all over Ireland.
As well as the Parade, the 2026 Festival will host a jam-packed programme of events from 14th–17th March across the city centre.
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.
About The Company
Established in 1996, St. Patrick’s Festival has grown from a single-day to a four-day event featuring music, performance, spectacle, dance, theatre, literature, visual arts, food, wellness, community activations and much more. It is recognised globally as one of the world’s biggest festivals, with a global reach of over 600 million people in 2025.
The Festival is a key driver for the tourism industry, presenting a world class event that showcases the very best of Irishness and Ireland as a destination, platforming our incredible unique culture, heritage and traditions to a global audience through quality experiences.
Events & Artists
Our 2026 Festival has an action packed programme with something for everyone to enjoy.
Information
The Parade
Our 2026 St. Patrick’s Festival programme runs from Saturday 14th to Tuesday 17th March. Our full programme details will be launched on 3rd February. In the meantime, you can find out all you need to know about the St. Patrick’s Festival Parade on 17th March in the links below.
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