St Patrick's Festival celebrates community and cultural exchange
Sínann Fetherston speaks with Aoife Carrigy, Artistic Director of the Saint Patrick's Day Festival, to find out how the patron saint will be celebrated over four jam-packed days.
Taking place over four days and nights, from 14–17 March, Dublin's St. Patrick's Festival will be celebrated under the theme of Roots, with a diverse programme set to explore identity, belonging and shared stories.
Artistic Director Aoife Carrigy told RTÉ Lifestyle that her work on this year's festivities has been highly collaborative, with her team wrangling hundreds of artists and thousands of participants to take part in the city-wide programme.
"It's a lot of bringing everything together and shaping the full picture of what we'll present in Dublin," she explains. "It's a big machine with lots of different timelines happening all at the same time, and then they all have to come together for the festival weekend."
Santiago, Annabella and Maximo pictured at the launch of the St Patrick's Festival 2026 at EPIC. Photo: Andres Poveda Photography.
This year's event will focus on connection, history, heritage, and how our communities are tied together. Not only celebrating Ireland's far-reaching diaspora, but those making their way to Irish shores.
While we are all aware that the country's roots lie in traditions and folklore, this is a chance to look at the experiences of all those who call this island home, shaped by migration, emigration and cultural exchange across generations.
"It's about the people who come to Ireland and lay down roots, and how that has connected with Irish culture," she explains. "It's about how, when the Irish go abroad, and how those experiences impact Irish culture back at home as well."
Santiago, Annabella and Maximo pictured at the launch of the St Patrick's Festival 2026 at EPIC. Photo: Andres Poveda Photography.
The festival's team are inviting audiences to reflect on identity, belonging and shared stories, while creating space for new voices and contemporary expressions of Irish culture.
"The biggest inspiration for me this year was when I found out about the lifting stones," she says, referring to the once-forgotten history of stone lifting in Ireland.
"I kind of went down a rabbit hole and just started finding all these different cultures that are still prevalent in certain parts of the country but may not be known outside their own community."
"That really excited me because I thought, what if we could bring all these things to Dublin?"
Aoife Carry, Artistic Director, St. Patrick's Festival, Councillor Ray McAdam, Lord Mayor of Dublin and Caroline Bocquel, Chief Executive Officer, Fáilte Ireland. Photo: Andres Poveda Photography.
Other groups that piqued Aoife's interest included a Mexican community in Dublin who have been developing a dance piece inspired by El Batallón de los San Patricios (Saint Patrick's Battalion).
Reportedly, the group was made up of a group of Irish immigrants who defected from the U.S. Army to fight alongside the Mexican Army during the Mexican-American War. A group who are recognised and celebrated in Mexico, with a bronze bust of John Riley, leader of the Battalion, standing proudly in Mexico City.
"We're such a small little nation with such massive roots," Aoife muses.
Tom O'Gorman and Hamza Pirimo, Luail, Ireland's National Dance Company. Photo: Andres Poveda Photography.
Ireland's communities are not only diverse in heritage but in age, accessibility, interests, and those with specific needs.
Highlights of this year's festival range from wheelchair-led dance and ballet for over-55s to subculture storytelling, hands-on craft workshops, family hubs and neurodivergent-friendly spaces.
"It's absolutely for everybody," Aoife says of the celebrations. "We really wanted to represent as much of Ireland as we could. These communities are such a big part of Ireland, and these artists are incredible."
You can see the full programme of events for 2026 at StPatricksFestival.ie.
