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festivals · Friday 26 June 2026 · Various 
Swords Festival 2026
At Swords Village Green · Swords, Dublin 9
At Swords Village Green · Swords, Dublin 9
Swords Festival is a free, three-day community celebration held on the Village Green at the centre of one of north Dublin’s most popular towns. Running from Friday 26 to Sunday 28 June, it brings together carnival rides, street performers, live music, food stalls and family entertainment in a setting that is easy to reach and costs nothing to enjoy. If you are looking for a relaxed day out with children, or you simply want to see a town come alive in the middle of summer, this is a good reason to head north of the city.
The festival takes over Swords Village Green for three full days, turning the town centre into a large open-air celebration. Carnival rides are a centrepiece - the kind that suit a wide age range, from young children through to teenagers. Street performers work the crowds between the stages, and live music runs through the weekend at various points during the day. Food and drink vendors set up across the green, covering the usual festival fare: hot food, sweet treats, and something to drink while you watch the entertainment. The atmosphere is community-led rather than commercially polished, which gives it an easy, local feel. There is no single headliner or ticketed element - the whole event is free to enter and move through at your own pace.
Swords sits about 15 km north of Dublin city centre, just off the M1 motorway and close to Dublin Airport. By car, it is a straightforward drive; parking in the town centre is available across several surface car parks off Main Street, though the festival weekend will be busy, so arriving earlier in the day helps. By public transport, Dublin Bus routes 16 and 17 run from the city centre to Swords and take roughly 20 to 35 minutes depending on traffic. The Airlink 747 also passes through Swords en route from the airport. If you are coming by train, the nearest DART station is Malahide, about 5 km away, with onward bus connections.
Swords has a compact old town worth a look before or after the festival - Swords Castle, a restored medieval archbishop’s castle, sits along the Ward River near the Town Park, and the round tower on the site is one of the older surviving structures in the area. There is more to see in Swords and across Co. Dublin.
Heading to Swords Village Green in Swords? Dublin has plenty more to see. Read the Swords area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.