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markets · Sunday 6 September 2026 · 12:00pm 
Carlow Antiques and Vintage Fair
At Woodford Dolmen Hotel · Kilkenny Road, Carlow Town, Co. Carlow, R93 N207
At Woodford Dolmen Hotel · Kilkenny Road, Carlow Town, Co. Carlow, R93 N207
Twice or more a year, the Woodford Dolmen Hotel on Carlow’s Kilkenny Road fills its function rooms with dealers trading in the kind of things you rarely find in shops: silverware, porcelain, rare books, art deco jewellery, mid-century homewares, and rails of genuine vintage clothing. Organised by Antiques Fairs Ireland, this is a well-established travelling fair that draws serious collectors alongside casual browsers who are simply curious to see what turns up. For €3.50 on the door - under-16s go in free with an adult - it is an easy afternoon out for anyone who likes a rummage with a bit of purpose to it.
Dealers set up across the hotel’s event space from noon, and the fair runs to 5:30pm, giving you plenty of time to work around the stalls at your own pace. Stock varies from fair to fair but the recurring categories are antique and vintage jewellery, silver and porcelain, quirky curios, collectables, vintage fashion and accessories, and items for the home. The range tends to appeal both to people hunting something specific and to those who have no plan at all and end up buying something they didn’t know they wanted. If you sign up for the SMS text alert - text ADD followed by your name to 085 862 9007 - admission drops to €2.50. The Woodford Dolmen has ample free parking on site, and the Plum Tree Bistro is open for food if you need a break mid-browse.
Carlow town sits on the N9/M9 corridor, making it one of the more straightforward drives from Dublin - roughly an hour from the city centre, and about 25 minutes from Kilkenny. The Woodford Dolmen Hotel is on the Kilkenny Road on the south side of town, well signposted and with its own car park. Bus Eireann serves Carlow from Dublin Busaras and from Kilkenny, with Carlow town’s bus stops a short taxi or walk from the hotel. If you are coming by train, Carlow station is on the Dublin Heuston to Waterford line; a taxi from the station takes around ten minutes.
The town itself rewards a look around - the ruins of Carlow Castle sit right in the centre, and the Carlow County Museum on College Street is free to enter and has an unusually good collection for a county museum. There is more to see in Carlow and across Co. Carlow.
Heading to Woodford Dolmen Hotel in Carlow? Carlow has plenty more to see. Read the Carlow area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.