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festivals · Friday 21 August 2026 · Various 
Blackrock Village Festival 2026
At Blackrock Village · Blackrock, Co. Louth
At Blackrock Village · Blackrock, Co. Louth
Blackrock is a small seaside village on the Louth coast, about five kilometres south of Dundalk, and every August it pulls off something that larger towns would be proud of. The Blackrock Village Festival runs across two days in late August and, year after year, draws thousands of people into streets that are busy enough at the best of times. It is a genuinely community-run event - organised by local volunteers, shaped around the village’s coastal character - and the atmosphere reflects that. Families, older locals, and visitors from across Louth and beyond all find a reason to be there. Entry costs nothing.
The festival runs on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 August 2026 and the programme covers a lot of ground for a village of this size. There is live music across the two days, traditional dance performances, food stalls with local and artisan produce, and historical displays that draw on Blackrock’s maritime heritage - the village has a proud connection to the sea, including a lifeboat tradition that runs deep in local memory.
Family activities are threaded through the whole event, making it an easy choice if you have children in tow. The dog show is one of the highlights people come back for specifically - it is the kind of event where the crowd gets genuinely invested and the dogs themselves have strong opinions about proceedings.
The full programme for 2026 will be published closer to August on the festival website. It is worth checking before you travel, as specific set times and any new additions tend to go up in the weeks beforehand.
Blackrock sits on the R173 coast road that runs south from Dundalk towards Carlingford. By car from Dundalk town centre it is a straightforward drive of around ten minutes. Coming from Dublin, take the M1 north to Dundalk and follow signs for Blackrock from there.
Public transport options are limited to the village itself - Bus Eireann services run regularly into Dundalk town, and from there a taxi or car is the practical option for the last leg. Parking in the village fills up quickly on festival days, so arriving early or parking on the approach roads and walking in is the sensible move.
Blackrock is close enough to Dundalk that you can easily combine the two. The town has a good range of places to eat and drink, and the coast road between Dundalk and Carlingford is one of the more pleasant drives in the county. There is more to see in Dundalk and across Co. Louth.
Heading to Blackrock Village in Dundalk? Louth has plenty more to see. Read the Dundalk area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.