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festivals · Sunday 26 July 2026 · 11:00am 
Dublin Ratha Yatra 2026: Festival of the Chariots
At Garden of Remembrance · Parnell Square, Dublin 1
At Garden of Remembrance · Parnell Square, Dublin 1
Each summer, a forty-foot wooden chariot makes its way through the streets of Dublin city centre, drawn by hundreds of willing hands. The Dublin Ratha Yatra - Festival of the Chariots is a full-day celebration organised by ISKCON Dublin (the Hare Krishna movement), rooted in one of Hinduism’s oldest festivals and held annually here since the Millennium year. It runs from 11am to 5pm on 26 July 2026, beginning at the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square and closing with a park festival at Merrion Square. Admission is free and the whole day is genuinely open to everyone, regardless of background.
The day splits into two distinct parts. From 11am to 2pm the chariot parade moves through the city, starting at Parnell Square West. Anyone can take a rope and help pull the chariot - it is an active, participatory procession rather than a spectacle you watch from the footpath. The three wooden deity figures at the heart of the chariot represent Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra, and the parade moves to the rhythm of live kirtan music.
From 2pm to 5pm the festival shifts to Merrion Square South, where cultural performances, traditional dance, dramatic acts and a book stall fill the afternoon. The practical highlight for many visitors is the sanctified vegetarian feast served free to all guests - a long-standing tradition at Ratha Yatra events worldwide. Optional donations support the feast ingredients if you want to contribute.
The atmosphere is meditative but sociable. Families with children do well here; the colour, the music and the scale of the chariot make it memorable for kids.
The Garden of Remembrance sits at the top of Parnell Square in Dublin 1, a short walk north of the O’Connell Street junction. The area is well served by Dublin Bus routes along O’Connell Street and the surrounding streets. The Luas Red Line stops nearby at Abbey Street and the DART runs into Connolly Station, roughly ten minutes on foot. If you are driving in from outside the city, park-and-ride at Red Cow or Cherrywood and take the Luas is the easiest approach; city-centre parking on a Sunday is limited and the chariot route will affect some roads. Merrion Square, where the afternoon festival takes place, is also within easy walking distance of bus and DART connections on the south side.
Parnell Square and the surrounding streets hold the Hugh Lane Gallery, the Writers Museum and the Garden of Remembrance itself, all worth time before or after the procession. Merrion Square, where the afternoon continues, borders the National Gallery and a block of Georgian garden squares that reward an hour of wandering. There is more to see in Dublin and across Co. Dublin.
Heading to Garden of Remembrance 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.