Discover the fantastic St Patrick’s Day festivals across Ireland
Dublin stages a great St Patrick’s Day but, to avoid the crowds, why not head to one of the other fabulous festivals across Ireland.
2024, St. Patrick's Festival, Parade, Sligo Town, Co Sligo
Every city and town in Ireland will mark St Patrick’s Day so there is plenty of choice when it comes to deciding where and how you want to celebrate Ireland’s national holiday.
Cork is Ireland’s second city and this year its festival theme is Building a Better World. With 2025 designated as the UN International Year of Co-operatives, Cork is encouraging all its citizens and communities to work and celebrate together.
The festival events include concerts featuring a variety of music styles from classical to ska and improvised jazz. Dance performances, tours of University College Cork, cruises in the harbour and a quirky dinner theatre experience make up the weekend programme which culminates with the St Patrick’s Day Parade. People from all walks of life across the city including sporting groups, dance schools, new communities, brass bands, and special guests from around the world will come together to create a colourful spectacle.
Highlighting the vibrant and playful spirit of the city, this year’s festival theme is A More Fun Limerick. Featuring not one but two parades, the festival promises to be full of joy, creativity, and community engagement.
On 16 March, the 53rd Limerick International Band Championship will present marching bands from around the world in a thrilling musical parade. Then on 16 March, Ireland’s biggest regional St Patrick’s Day parade will see tens of thousands of spectators cheer on the parade participants as they bring colour and pageantry to the city streets.
There will also be special events at Limerick’s historic Milk Market, famous for its fine food and excellent artisan produce, as well street entertainment, craft markets and theatre performances.
2024, St Patrick's Festival, Parade, Limerick City
Ireland’s oldest city, founded by the Vikings in the tenth century, will celebrate the patron saint under the theme of Saints & Scholars, recalling how medieval Ireland was famous as a centre of learning and religion.
The four-day festival will explore Waterford’s rich heritage, which is captured in its excellent Viking Triangle museums, and celebrate its dynamic cultural mix. In venues across the city there will be music, storytelling, theatrical and spoken word performances, multi-cultural celebrations and arts and crafts workshops. Talks on the city’s rich history, river cruises, and a city centre fairground promise entertainment for all.
The festival ends with the St Patrick’s Day Parade showcasing a vibrant mix of people, cultures, sights and sounds.
The beautiful medieval city of Kilkenny invites visitors to join in its St Patrick’s Festival with the call Bí Beo! Bí Linn! meaning Be alive! Be with us! The small city promises to stage a big festival with music, parades, street entertainment, funfair and arts and crafts workshops.
Festival favourites include performances by American marching bands, a walking tour of the medieval streets, and the Festival Market. There will also be a strong focus on Irish traditional music with Kilkenny Tradfest taking place alongside the St Patrick’s Festival. Its highlight will be a performance by top trad musician Sharon Shannon in St Canice’s Cathedral.
The parade on St Patrick’s Day will weave its way through the medieval streets and be followed by a concert by Kila on the festival stage with historic Kilkenny Castle as its backdrop.
Sligo, on the Wild Atlantic Way, presents a St Patrick’s Festival weekend that has music at its heart. The theme of this year’s festival is Queen Maeve, the mythological warrior queen of Connaught, whose tomb is said to be the Neolithic cairn that sits at the top of Knocknarea Mountain in County Sligo.
Sligo town’s main square is called after Queen Maeve and it will host two nights of live music at the open-air Gig Rig creating an electrifying party atmosphere. Meanwhile, the Trad Trail will see Irish music sessions featuring local musicians taking place across the city. There will also be live music along the St Patrick’s Day Parade route.
Besides the music, there will be lots of other fun events including guided walks around the town, sporting fixtures and the unique Most Leprechauns at a Soccer Match!
2024, Killarney, St Patrick's Festival
Killarney is the gateway to the famous Ring of Kerry and the natural beauty of its surroundings coupled with the friendly buzz of the town makes it the perfect place to celebrate St Patrick and what it means to be Irish.
This year’s festival theme is Echoes of Killarney Present following on from last year’s Echoes of Killarney Past and aims to celebrate the town’s contemporary character. Among the main events will be Ablefest, an inclusive music and arts festival, candlelight concerts, poetry, storytelling, jaunting car tours and the quirky Duck Dash in Killarney National Park.
The festival rounds off with the traditional St Patrick’s Day Parade featuring local and visiting groups in a lively celebration of Killarney in 2025.