How to enjoy St Patrick’s weekend 2025 in Dublin

St Patrick’s Festival is set to be the most ambitious ever, with a schedule of events, gigs and parties taking place through day and night March 15 to 17. The main event is the parade, when half a million people will line the streets to watch the colourful floats wind their way from the start at Parnell Square to the finishing point at the junction of Kevin Street and Cuffe Street.  

This year’s theme is Eachtraí (Adventures), celebrating the adventurous spirit of Irish people and our "innate ability as a nation to transform fear into courage." As well as the usual line up of community groups, marching bands and floats, there will be a brand-new pageant celebrating 40 years of the Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre, which will showcase the shared traditions and cultures of the Irish Traveller and Roma communities. 

While the parade is free to all, there are a number of grandstands along the route that give you a seated view, with prices ranging from €115 to €250. There are also two Hospitality Packages on offer for St Patrick's Cathedral (€255) and Westmoreland Street Grandstands (€270), both of which include a post-parade lunch with live music.

The festival will also have added focus on creating an inclusive and accessible environment. With that mind, there are special wheelchair accessible viewing areas and relaxed parade spaces for neurodivergent visitors. Guide dogs are also welcome at the parade.

Media captionEmbrace adventure at this year's St Patrick's Festival.

Both sides of the Liffey will be hopping with activity, from family fun and circus shows to gigs and parties at night. During the day, you’ll find the Pop Up Paddy's Cabaret putting on their spectacle filled with acrobatics, juggling and hula hoop tricks. Meanwhile, the Bumble Blossom Fairy will be blowing everyone away with her family-friendly bubble act. Come evening, some of Ireland’s best musicians will be taking to stages (and the streets), including Imbas, Shamrock Showband and plenty more to still be confirmed. The giant interactive Céilí Mór is back on St Patrick's Day itself in Merrion Square West, with former Riverdancer Dearbhla Lennon leading the jig. 

If Irish dancing isn't your thing, you'll find different dance parties and workshops across genres in this year's programme celebrating Ireland's diversity. On March 15 and 16, marvel at the moves of Rio Soul Samba at the Brazilian Experience and dance along with the bedazzled performers. Or connect with your body and soul at Curiosity in Motion: An Introductory Ecstatic Dance Journey. With the help of guide Sonia Tahraoui, attendees will be taught how to lose themselves in the music.

Media captionDance along at performances across the festival.

Head to TU Dublin Grangegorman Concert Hall for evenings of songs and stories in the Abair programme, including Bernadette Devlin, A Journey in Song, Three Castle's Burning: Journey Back to Monto and Journey of Lament. 

For some coastal air, head out on St Patrick's Day morning to the Aware Harbour2Harbour Walk. The 26km stretch in support of the Aware organisation winds between Howth and Dún Laoghaire harbours, on the Dublin Coastal Trail, and there will be complimentary refreshments served at the Halfway Hooley at Dublin Port Company’s Pumphouse. There will also be themed walking tours throughout the city all weekend.

Getting the littles ones involved? Bring them to Custom House Quay for the City Funfair and take a spin on the rides. They can also join in the all-ages Treasure Hunt that winds through the city on Saturday, with fun prizes in store for the winners (and the best dressed teams).

Media captionStart the Aware Harbour2Harbour Walk in Dún Laoghaire.

In between the array of celebrations over the festival, catch Conleth Hill in the titular role in Shakespeare's King Lear at the Gate Theatre. Running until April 27, there will be multiple performances over the long weekend. You can catch more Shakespeare over at Smock Alley, where Macbeth runs March 12 to March 15.

Before they disappear from Dublin stages on March 15, book your ticket to see Jez Butterworth's The Ferryman in the Gaiety Theatre or head to the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre for a performance of the Broadway classic Chicago.

For a matinée over the holiday weekend, head to the lunchtime theatre at Bewley's Café on Grafton Street. Nancy Harris' No Romance: A Desperate Business will be performed daily (except Sundays) at 1pm from February 24 to March 15, with a special evening performance on March 7. 

Media captionCatch a performance at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.

As well as the trad sessions happening in pubs all over the city, there are a number of gigs taking place all weekend outside of St Patrick’s Festival. Kilfenora Céilí Band will take the stage at the National Concert Hall on March 16, and Annie Mac will play Vicar Street on March 16 and St Patrick's Day itself. Meanwhile, The Helix will hold their own St Patrick's Concert. Hosted by Colm Keegan, the night will include performances by Irish singer Susan McFadden, virtuoso guitarist Shane Hennessy, the St Patrick's Spraoí Chorus and the Dublin Gospel Choir. 

If you're up for an arena show on Sunday, the 3Arena will welcome some of Europe's most iconic acts from the '90s and noughties to celebrate Mark McCabe's club classic "Maniac 2000." At the 3Olympia, you can catch English alt-rock band Tindersticks on Saturday, Aslan (with new lead singer Tomkins in tow) on Sunday, and Chicago singer-songwriter David Kushner on Monday and Tuesday.

Media captionCatch a gig St Patrick's weekend.

All the major museums are open on St Patrick’s Day, with many offering themed tours and events over the course of the long weekend. At the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, learn about the artefacts and shrines connected to Irish saints and how Christianity influenced the development of writing on the Saints and Scholars of Ireland Tour. The museum also has a Chime Through Time Workshop where you and the kids can craft your own hand bell, inspired by the very hand bell that was once used by St Patrick himself. As part of the St Patrick's Day Festival, the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks will host different St Patrick's Weekend tours and events from March 15-17, including Not Just Shamrocks: Irish Symbolism in the Museum's Collections and a special handling session Hands-on History: Exporting Ireland - Sweaters, Ceramics and Pharmaceuticals. 

Media captionTake a unique museum tour on St Patrick's weekend.

The free People and Places: Ireland in 19th & 20th Centuries exhibition is on in the National Photographic Archive in Meeting House Square, with photographs showcasing life in Ireland over the past 150 years, alongside Yeats: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats. At Dublinia, learn all about the existing connections between ancient mystic Dublin and the present day at their Mystic Dublin - Modern Echoes of Medieval Magic exhibition.   

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum will explore the theme of emigration in Ireland on March 15 with their immersive Ar Ais Arís exhibition. In collaboration with Brú Theatre, EPIC invites visitors to don VR headsets and immerse themselves in three unique 180° films inspired by texts from Máirtín Ó Cadhain, Pádraic Ó Conaire and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill. The films are in Irish, but the exhibition will feature English subtitles.

Meanwhile, the Museum of Literature Ireland will be doing a deep dive into Oscar Wilde's De Profundis, an in-depth love letter that the famous writer penned to Lord Alfred Douglas during his two-year imprisonment. Rediscover the layers of emotion hidden in each line through the museum's new film installation, which includes key passages read aloud by LGBTQ+ writers, artists and activists.

Over at the National Gallery of Ireland, visitors can admire Ludovico Mazzolino's The Crossing of the Red Sea, which dates back to 1521 and marks his unique contribution to Renaissance art. 

Until March 17, you can pay a visit to the Irish Museum of Modern Art for their Take a Breath exhibition. Featuring works from artists including Marina Abramović, Maud Cotter and Yuri Pattison, the collection explores the nature of breath and the way it impacts our lives. Until May 7, IMMA is also exhibiting Hamad Butt: Apprehensions, the first retrospective exhibition of the work of the queer Pakistani-British artist, who was a pioneer of intermedia art and sculptural installation before his AIDS-related death at the age of 32 in 1994.

At the Hugh Lane Gallery, you can join an expert on a guided tour of Brian Maguire: La Grande Illusion, which spans two decades of the artist and human rights advocate's work. Or explore Bafushia, an exhibition of contemporary artists who share Traveller heritage that runs through April 27. 

Media captionPay a visit to the city's galleries.

There’ll be two comedy nights on March 16 and 17 in The International Bar and a bumper line up of comics playing in the Laughter Lounge on March 14 and 15, headlined by Cork comedian Ross Browne. The 3Arena is also opening its doors for laughs on March 15 with Tom Segura on for his Dublin stop on his global stand-up tour, Tom Segura: Come Together.

Want to keep the good vibes going? Find your next festival with our guide to Dublin festivals.