Saint Patrick's Day in Dublin 2025
17 March 2025
The honorary day of Ireland's national saint is celebrated every March 17. Even though we are reporting here about the celebrations in the Irish capital, we don't want to hide the fact that St. Patrick's Day is celebrated all over the world. However, if you are lucky enough to be able to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Dublin, you are in for an outstanding event that you won't soon forget.
But what exactly is going on in Dublin every year on March 17? Let's take a closer look at the festivities in the following sections.
St. Patrick's day Celebrations in the streets of Dublin
The Irish don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day behind closed doors in their own homes. On the contrary, the exuberant joy is especially evident in and on the streets of the Irish capital. Dublin has set up a special celebration area for the occasion. Here you can discover Irish culture, excellent talks, music, art of all kinds, circus and of even cabaret shows. And we don't even mention the delicious Irish food and beer (even St. Patrick day's special green beer) that you can try during the celebration. If you want to continue the celebration even after the 17th of March check out the 2-day Breathe Festival - a festival of yoga and mindfulness.
The St. Patrick's festival parade
For most visitors and Irish people, the St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin is the highlight of the event. It's a massive parade. Irish and international brass bands march in the streets, accompanied by colourful banners and people dressed up in green colours. It is not without reason that most people especially look forward to the parade in honour of the patron saint. The crowd that marvels at the parade can quickly grow to hundreds of thousands. It's worth getting to Dublin city centre early to have the opportunity to watch the parade from O'Connell Street.
The St. Patrick's Day Parade is the central event. It traditionally takes place on March 17. The day of the week does not matter. The parade starts classically at Parnell Square and continues along O'Connell Street. It crosses the O'Connell Bridge, goes down Westmoreland Street and then turns onto Dame Street. It continues onto Nicolas Street and to Patrick Street. Around the St. Patrick's cathedral, the parade continues onto Kevin Street until it ends at Wexford Street just in front of St. Stephens Green.
You can watch the St. Patrick's Day Parade for free. However, don't forget to arrive early and secure a good spot on the street. Otherwise, you can book seats in the stands at the start of the parade route, in Parnell Square. The parade classically consists of marching bands, parade floats, costumes and lots of other fun entertainment.
Family-friendly activities on St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick's Day in Dublin offers events for the whole family. The organizers of the St. Patrick's Festival have paid special attention to this. The parade is very child friendly. Thus, every year from March 16 to 18, a fair or funfair is held at Custom House Quay. In addition, a St. Patrick's Day Festival Village is set up at Merrion Square, right in the heart of the city.
There are numerous attractions to discover here. Exciting yet family-friendly, the three-day carnival presents adventure shows, numerous readings for children, children's discos and, of course, live music.
Visiting the pubs of Dublin
If you visit Dublin, you can't miss Dublin pubs. Imagine visiting some of the world-famous pubs to celebrate St. Patrick's day. It would be so much fun! Most of the bars and pubs will be very crowded. If you're not a person who loves crowds, you may visit pubs in the suburbs to celebrate. Some of the famous Dublin pubs are located in the suburbs and are great alternatives to the pubs in the Dublin city centre.
But if you love big crowds and extensive partying, Dublin city centre is the perfect place for you these days. Temple Bar becomes a huge party every year on St. Patrick's Day.
What else is there in Dublin on St. Patrick's Day?
Although Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17th, the festivities are not limited to this day. The Saint Patrick's Festival, for example, takes place from March 15 to March 19 each year. It features fun activities around the Dublin city centre.
Discover a wide range of exciting and fun activities. For example, Guinness in the Liberties walking tour, having a walk in the city's park. The city's illuminated monuments and buildings provide an atmospheric ambience. The shade of the lights is, of course, green.
If you're feeling sporty, you can take part in the 5K run on March 18 to mark St. Patrick's Day. Alternatively, take advantage of the organized harbour walk to explore Dublin's Bay. Here you will find the best view over Dublin Bay.
Learn more about the Saint Patrick's Day in Dublin
Here are the steps to plan your trip
1. Go to the official website and double check the event dates, prices and regulations.
2. Book hotel rooms in Dublin available during the event. ⤵︎
2.1. Pick a hotel room by location and by price.
2.2. The search is done for 1 guest and the entire duration of the event. Click on the 'Filter', 'Guests', and 'Dates' buttons to adjust the search.
🏨 In the 'Filters' section, you can tell if you are looking for hotels or vacation homes. Here, you can filter the results by stars, review ratings, and budget.
👨👩👧👦 In this section, you can specify the number of guests (adults and children) and the number of rooms you want to book.
📆 Finally, you can change the date of your stay.
2.3. Save more money! Some hotel rooms are provided by multiple hotel booking websites. You will see them on the top of the hotel room details when you hover the mouse over the room. Be it Booking.com, Expedia, Trivago, Opodo, or other providers, select the best price provider for the room during the chosen period.
2.4. If hotel rooms are not available around the event location, you can zoom out or search by a nearby city/town name. If you have a specific hotel in mind, you can even search the particular hotel name.
2.5. Bonus tip: Switch to Experiences search. Perhaps you will find great tours and activities!
2.6. Pro tip: The map of the experiences may help you find the most vibrant areas in the city and the best locations where you can look for accommodations for your stay.
3. If everything is fine you can buy all the tickets
