Dublin: Events

Dublin has it's share of public holidays for holiday's sake along with the usual chestnuts: 1 January - New Year's Day; 17 March - St Patrick's Day; March/April - Good Friday and Easter Monday; 1 May - May Day Holiday; first Monday in June - June Holiday; first Monday in August - August Holiday; last Monday in October - October Holiday; 25 December - Christmas Day; and 26 December - St Stephen's Day.

There are two big events in Dublin each year that captures the collective imagination of all who attend. St Patrick's Day is a celebration of traditional Irish culture highlighted by a parade through Dublin and a large céilidh on St Stephen's Green that attracts thousands of revellers intent on dancing the day away.

A more modern (or, rather, Modernist) celebration occurs on 16 June each year. Bloomsday celebrates the masterwork of James Joyce - a Dubliner in exile and perhaps the greatest writer of the 20th century. The events of Joyce's novel Ulysses are set on this day, and literary buffs can spend the day retracing the steps of Leopold Bloom, the book's protagonist.

Throughout the rest of the year, Dublin keeps jumping with a variety of musical, sporting and cultural events. February sees the Dublin International Film Festival, while October hosts the Dublin Theatre Festival. Sports fans can gather at Croke Park in September for the All Ireland finals of both Hurling and Gaelic Football. If music is your bent, any time is a good time to be in Dublin, but both the Heineken Green Energy Festival (May) and the Dublin Jazz Festival (June/July) are extra special.