← All events
heritage · Saturday 15 August 2026 · Various 
National Heritage Week Dublin 2026
At Multiple Venues Dublin · Dublin, Co. Dublin
At Multiple Venues Dublin · Dublin, Co. Dublin
Every August, for one full week, Ireland opens doors that are usually kept shut. National Heritage Week 2026 runs from 15 to 23 August across the country, and Dublin - with its density of historic buildings, archives, libraries, and cultural institutions - has more open doors than almost anywhere else. The 2026 theme is “Heritage at Risk”, which puts the focus on what we stand to lose: medieval streetscapes, traditional crafts, living languages, and natural habitats under pressure from climate change and social shift. If you have ever meant to visit that church ruin, attend a talk on local history, or watch a stone mason at work, this is the week to do it - and most of it is free.
The Heritage Council coordinates the week nationally, and in recent years the programme has grown to well over 2,000 events across Ireland. Dublin alone generates dozens of listings - expect guided tours of historic buildings normally closed to the public, open days at archives and libraries, archaeology talks, craft demonstrations, and community walks through Georgian and Viking-era streets.
The 2026 “Heritage at Risk” theme means organisers are being encouraged to highlight threatened sites and disappearing skills. That translates into events like thatching demonstrations, storytelling sessions in Irish, biodiversity walks along the Liffey and Royal Canal, and talks on at-risk built heritage in areas of Dublin under redevelopment pressure. The National Museum of Ireland, the Royal Irish Academy, Trinity College Library, and Kilmainham Gaol are among the institutions that typically take part. Some events need booking in advance - the popular ones fill quickly in the first week of August.
The full 2026 Dublin programme is published on heritageweek.ie in July, and you can filter by location once it goes live.
Dublin is the most accessible city in Ireland. If you are coming from outside the city, the main intercity train and bus routes all terminate centrally - Heuston and Connolly stations are well connected by Luas and Dublin Bus. Most Heritage Week events in the city centre are within walking distance of a Luas stop or a DART station. Because venues are spread across the city, check the individual event listing on heritageweek.ie for exact addresses before you travel. Parking in central Dublin is expensive and limited; the Luas Red and Green lines, Dublin Bus, and the DART are all practical alternatives for moving between venues during the week.
Heritage Week is a good excuse to look at the city more slowly than usual - a guided walk through the Liberties or a talk in a Georgian townhouse reveals layers that ordinary tourism misses. There is more to see in Dublin and across Co. Dublin.
Heading to Multiple Venues Dublin 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 Venues Dublin? These Dublin tours book out in summer.