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heritage · Sunday 16 August 2026 · 2:00pm 
Dancing the Walls of Limerick Festival
At Old Clare Street · Old Clare Street, Limerick, Co. Limerick
At Old Clare Street · Old Clare Street, Limerick, Co. Limerick
Dancing the Walls of Limerick Festival brings traditional Irish dance to the site of the city’s medieval fortifications on Sunday, 16 August 2026. Organised by Limerick City and County Council with funding from the Irish Walled Towns Network, the free family festival pairs dance performance with a guided tour of the surviving City Walls, treating the two as connected strands of the same local heritage. It runs through the afternoon at Old Clare Street, one of the best-preserved sections of the old walled city.
The afternoon opens with a parade from the Milk Market to Old Clare Street led by the City of Limerick Pipe Band and the Boherbuoy Band. From 2pm to 3pm, three local Irish dance schools perform alongside Ukrainian and Indian dance groups, reflecting the mix of communities now living in the city. From 3pm, the festival turns participatory, with a group session teaching the ceili dance The Walls of Limerick Reel to anyone who wants to join in, no experience needed. A guided tour of the City Walls sets off at 3.30pm, taking in the surviving stretches of medieval fortification around Old Clare Street. Street entertainment, face painting, printmaking and children’s sports run throughout, alongside an exhibition of a City Walls drawing competition entered by pupils of St John’s Girls School.
Old Clare Street is a short walk from Limerick city centre and the Milk Market, where the opening parade begins. City centre car parks at Arthur’s Quay and the Parkway are within easy walking distance.
The festival is a good excuse to walk the rest of Limerick’s medieval quarter around King John’s Castle afterwards. There is more to see in Limerick and across Co. Limerick.
Heading to Old Clare Street in Limerick? Limerick has plenty more to see. Read the Limerick area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.