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heritage · Saturday 15 August 2026 · Various 
National Heritage Week 2026 in County Meath
At Various heritage sites across County Meath · County Meath
At Various heritage sites across County Meath · County Meath
Nine days in August when County Meath’s ancient landscape opens up in ways that don’t happen the rest of the year. National Heritage Week runs from Saturday 15 to Sunday 23 August 2026, and Meath - with more UNESCO World Heritage sites, passage tombs, and ringforts per square kilometre than almost anywhere in Europe - is one of the country’s most active counties for the week. Guided walks, evening talks, family archaeology days, living history displays, and open days at private heritage properties all land in the same nine-day window. The 2026 theme is “Heritage at Risk”, so expect a strand of events focused on what climate change, flooding, and neglect are doing to Ireland’s built and natural heritage - and what communities are doing about it. Good for curious adults, genuinely excellent for children.
Over 125 events are typically spread across the county, coordinated by Meath County Council’s Heritage Office alongside the national Heritage Council programme. The OPW runs special events at all of its managed sites during the week, which in Meath means Newgrange and Knowth in the Boyne Valley, the Hill of Tara, Trim Castle, and Loughcrew Cairns near Oldcastle.
A regular feature at the Hill of Tara during Heritage Week is a hands-on archaeology session for families - children get to handle replica Iron Age artefacts and learn from guides on site. Loughcrew, the lesser-visited but equally striking hilltop passage tomb complex in the west of the county, often hosts dawn or dusk access events during the week that aren’t available at other times. Local historical societies across Meath - in Navan, Kells, Slane, Trim, and Dunshaughlin - typically run evening talks on townland history, old maps, and vernacular buildings.
Most events are free. Some, particularly guided walks at popular sites and specialist talks, require advance booking. The full programme goes live on heritageweek.ie in July 2026, with events added right up to the week itself, so check back regularly.
Navan sits at the centre of County Meath, about 50 km north-west of Dublin, with direct Bus Eireann services from Busaras on the 109X route (roughly an hour). For the wider county - Newgrange, Tara, Trim - a car is the most practical option, as public transport links between heritage sites are limited. The M3 motorway connects Dublin to Navan quickly; the N51 and N3 give access to Trim and Kells respectively. Parking at heritage sites during Heritage Week can fill early on weekends, so arriving before 10am is sensible for popular events.
The town sits at the confluence of the Boyne and Blackwater rivers, and the Boyne Valley Drive is one of the better heritage road routes in Ireland, linking Navan to Slane, Newgrange, and Drogheda along the river. There is more to see in Navan and across Co. Meath.
Heading to Various heritage sites across County Meath in Navan? Meath has plenty more to see. Read the Navan area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.