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festivals · Wednesday 12 August 2026 · Various 
Fingal Arts Festival 2026
At Multiple Fingal Venues · Fingal, Dublin
At Multiple Fingal Venues · Fingal, Dublin
Fingal is the stretch of County Dublin that runs north from the city out to Balbriggan and Skerries, taking in market towns, coastal villages and a landscape that still feels genuinely rural in places. For twelve days every August, that same area becomes a canvas for a wide-ranging arts festival that draws on Fingal’s own venues - theatres, castles, gallery spaces and community halls - and fills them with visual art, theatre, live music, dance and cultural performances. If you want an arts fix that feels local rather than ticketed-to-the-hilt, this is a good option.
The festival runs across multiple venues spread through the Fingal area from 12 to 23 August. Programming typically combines exhibition-style visual art shows with live performance, so a single day might take you from a gallery hanging in the morning to a theatre piece in the evening. Music and dance feature alongside the more object-based arts, and there is usually a strand of cultural performance that reflects Fingal’s mixed communities. Specific line-ups, individual venue programmes and ticketing details are confirmed closer to the festival dates, so checking the Fingal County Council events site (fingal.ie/events) and the independent listings portal eventsinfingal.ie in the weeks before you travel is the best way to plan your days. Some events are free; others carry a ticket price.
Fingal covers a large area, so the practical approach depends on which venues you want to visit. Dublin city centre is the natural base. The M1 motorway and M50 ring road give good road access to Swords, Blanchardstown and the coastal towns further north. Dublin Bus and the Dart rail line (the coastal route stops at Howth, Malahide and Portmarnock) cover a good portion of the area. For inland venues around Swords or Balbriggan, Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus routes run regularly from the city. Parking is generally straightforward at suburban venues, though festival days can tighten spaces around town centres.
Fingal sits right at Dublin’s shoulder, so you are never far from the city’s own draws - the bay, the medieval lanes, the National Museum. Malahide Castle, Skerries Mills and Newbridge House are all within the Fingal boundary and worth building a day around if the festival draws you out that way. There is more to see in Dublin and across Co. Dublin.
Heading to Multiple Fingal Venues in Dublin? Dublin has plenty more to see. Read the Dublin area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.
In town for Multiple Fingal Venues? These Dublin tours book out in summer.