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sport · Tuesday 7 July 2026 · Various 
Listowel Racecourse Summer Festival
At Listowel Racecourse · Listowel Racecourse, Listowel, Co. Kerry
At Listowel Racecourse · Listowel Racecourse, Listowel, Co. Kerry
Listowel Racecourse has been hosting horses and crowds since 1858, and the Summer Festival carries that same long tradition into the heart of July. Four days of live flat and National Hunt racing across a left-handed circuit that suits front-runners and rewards punters who know the form - this is the kind of event where the racing is the entertainment, not a backdrop to it. It suits anyone who enjoys a day at the races properly: standing at the rail as the field rounds the bend, reading the form in the morning, and doing it all again the next day.
The festival runs Tuesday 7 July to Friday 10 July 2026, with a full card of racing each day. Listowel runs both flat and jumps meetings, so the programme mixes speeds and disciplines across the week. The track is compact and the atmosphere is close - the stands are never far from the action. On-site bookmakers, hospitality and dining facilities, and family areas are all available. The course’s September Harvest Festival is the bigger of the two annual meetings, but the summer fixture draws a strong local crowd and carries genuine prize money. Bring layers if the weather looks uncertain; Kerry in early July can swing either way.
Listowel sits on the N69 in north Kerry, roughly 30 km north of Tralee and about 45 km from Killarney. By car, take the N21 or N69 depending on your direction; the racecourse is on the edge of the town centre and well signed. Ample free parking is available on-site. Bus Eireann serves Listowel from Tralee and from Limerick on the 14 route; check current timetables on buseireann.ie before travelling. If you are staying overnight, Listowel town has several guesthouses and hotels, and Tralee is a short drive with a wider range of accommodation.
Listowel is a literary town as much as a racing town - home of the annual Listowel Writers’ Week and birthplace of several notable Irish writers, so the town centre repays a walk between races or on a rest day. There is more to see in Listowel and across Co. Kerry.
Heading to Listowel Racecourse in Listowel? Kerry has plenty more to see. Read the Listowel area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.