In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Dublin Castle’s Christmas market is not running in 2026. The city’s markets are TwinkleTown at Smithfield Square (20 November to 31 December) and St Patrick’s Park (27 November to 23 December), both free to enter, and Everwinter at the RDS in Ballsbridge (25 November to 3 January 2027), which charges for entry and is closed on Mondays. Wonderlights, a ticketed light trail at Malahide Castle, runs on select dates from 12 November to 29 December. There are covered ice rinks at Smithfield Square and the RDS. Or book an afternoon: the Dublin: Afternoon Tea Vintage Bus Tourad is from €57 for 75 minutes.
⚠️ No Dublin Castle market, and no market on Mondays at the RDS. The Office of Public Works said in November 2025 that Christmas at the Castle was not scheduled for 2025 or 2026, because the castle is a central location for Ireland’s EU Presidency. Everwinter is closed every Monday.
Dates and entry
| Event | Where | Dates | Hours | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wonderlights | Malahide Castle and Gardens | Select dates, 12 November to 29 December | A night walk; the booking calendar has the times | Ticketed |
| TwinkleTown | Smithfield Square | 20 November to 31 December | Mon to Fri 11:00 to 21:00; Sat and Sun 10:00 to 21:00 | Free; ice skating and Santo Panto ticketed |
| TwinkleTown | St Patrick’s Park | 27 November to 23 December | Mon to Fri 11:00 to 21:00; Sat and Sun 10:00 to 21:00 | Free |
| Everwinter | RDS, Ballsbridge | 25 November to 3 January 2027 | Tue to Fri 14:00 to 21:00; Sat and Sun 12:00 to 21:00; closed Mondays | Ticketed; children 12 and under free with a ticket holder |
Everwinter’s full site closes after 23 December, and from 26 December to 3 January only the ice rink is open.
The markets
TwinkleTown, Smithfield Square
Smithfield Square, Dublin 7 · Luas Red Line, Smithfield · 20 November to 31 December
A funfair and market on the square beside the Jameson Distillery Bow St. It has a covered ice rink with skate hire in the ticket price, the Santo Panto, a 33-metre Big Wheel, a vintage fairground, a Spiegeltent, an Irish makers’ market and the TwinkleTavern for food and drink. Entry is free. The ice rink and the Santo Panto are ticketed, booked through Scope Tickets, and the organiser recommends booking ahead. It also runs sensory-friendly skating sessions on select days, at reduced capacity with dimmed lights and no music. Dublin City Council says 600,000 people went to TwinkleTown at Smithfield in 2025.
Smithfield Square at dusk, with its row of coloured lamp posts and the brick chimney at the far end. Photo: David Morris, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
TwinkleTown, St Patrick’s Park
St Patrick’s Park, the Liberties, Dublin 8 · 27 November to 23 December
The second TwinkleTown, in partnership with Dublin City Council, in the Liberties. It has lighting displays, carousels and rides for younger children, the Twilight Garden, a craft market, food and the TwinkleTavern, and choirs from Sing Ireland perform on its stage. Entry is free. The organiser puts Smithfield Square a 20-minute walk away.
Everwinter, RDS
RDS showgrounds, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 · 25 November to 3 January 2027 · DART to Lansdowne Road or Sandymount
New in 2026, produced by Equinox Events, which organises Taste of Dublin and which Everwinter’s own site calls the curators of the Christmas market at Dublin Castle. General entry covers the Irish makers’ Christmas market, live music, and the food and drink areas. The ice rink is covered, with 45-minute sessions. Robert Fossett’s Circus and the vintage fairground rides are booked separately. Children aged 12 and under go free with a ticket holder. There is no event parking, and the site is five minutes from Lansdowne Road and Sandymount DART stations. The site is step-free throughout and carers get free tickets.
Wonderlights, Malahide Castle
Malahide Castle and Gardens · select dates, 12 November to 29 December · DART from Connolly takes about 25 minutes
A night walk through the castle gardens lit with over a million lights, in its sixth year at Malahide. It is ticketed on dates listed in the organiser’s booking calendar, children under 2 go free, there are student and senior rates, and the trail is wheelchair and buggy accessible. An alpine-style village sells hot food and mulled wine.
The city’s lights and the rest
Dublin City Council’s Christmas programme, announced on 24 September 2026, adds light projections on the GPO and City Hall, a TwinkleTrail of up to 20 twinkle stars along O’Connell Street and other city-centre spots, the Christmas tree of over 13 metres on O’Connell Street and the Live Animal Crib at the Mansion House. The rainbow lights on the Millennium Bridge are switched on too. The council publishes the full programme in November on dublincity.ie.
The Christmas tree on O’Connell Street, beside the General Post Office. Photo: Miguel Mendez, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Dublin Winter Lights, the council’s light festival, takes place in December, and the council’s expanded lighting programme runs on through January.
Chandelier lights over Grafton Street. Photo: Miguel Mendez, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Christ Church Cathedral holds one-hour candlelit concerts of “Christmas with the Choir” on Tuesday 8 December at 20:30 and on Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 December at 18:00 and 20:30. See Dublin’s cathedrals for the ticket.
What is shut over Christmas
From the operators’ pages:
- Kilmainham Gaol: closed 24 to 27 December, and it closes at 16:15 on 23 December. See Kilmainham Gaol tickets.
- Croke Park: closed 24 to 27 December and 30 December to 1 January, reopening on Saturday 2 January 2027. See the Croke Park stadium tour.
- Dublinia, the National Gallery and MoLI: closed 24 to 26 December. MoLI is closed on 1 January too, and the National Gallery opens on 1 January from 11:00.
- Marsh’s Library: closed from 13:00 on 23 December to 5 January.
- The National Museum: closed on 25 and 26 December, and open from 10:00 to 12:00 on Christmas Eve.
- Dublin Castle and the Chester Beatty: both closed to the public. See Dublin Castle and the Chester Beatty.
Planning the day
- Daylight and weather. The sun sets at about 16:07 on 21 December and 16:09 on Christmas Eve. December’s mean daily high at Dublin Airport is 8.3°C and its mean low 2.6°C, with rain on 13.3 days and 72.1 mm in the month, and 1.7 hours of sunshine a day (Met Éireann, 1991 to 2020). The other months are in the best time to visit Dublin.
- Getting there. The Luas Red Line stops at Smithfield, Everwinter is five minutes from Lansdowne Road and Sandymount DART stations, and Malahide is on the DART. Fares and the Leap card are in Dublin public transport.
- Taxis. A higher national maximum fare applies from 20:00 on Christmas Eve to 08:00 on St Stephen’s Day.
Where to stay
The links go to the hotel on Hotels.com. Where to stay in Dublin compares the areas.
Maldron Hotel Smithfield
Smithfield Terrace, Dublin 7 · in Smithfield, for TwinkleTown · Hotels.comad
A four-star hotel in Smithfield with the Luas moments away and the Grain & Grill bar and restaurant. Croke Park is within walking distance, and the hotel calls itself a base for the November rugby internationals at the Aviva Stadium.
The Hendrick Smithfield
6-11 Hendrick Street, Dublin 7 · in Smithfield, for TwinkleTown · Hotels.comad
A design-led hotel with compact boutique rooms, round the corner from Smithfield Square and the Jameson Distillery, and its own Hendrick Bar.
Herbert Park Hotel
Ballsbridge Terrace, Dublin 4 · about 300 m from the RDS · Hotels.comad
A four-star hotel over the road from the 48-acre Herbert Park, with self-catering studio apartments in the Park Residence. It is the closest of the hotels in this guide to Everwinter.
Next
For the days after Christmas, see Dublin on New Year’s Eve 2026. The next festival is St Patrick’s Festival 2027, and 3 days in Dublin fits the sights round the closures. Pubs with sessions are in traditional music pubs in Dublin, and Temple Bar covers the area’s pubs and what a pint costs. The markets in Edinburgh and Berlin have their own guides.
Common questions
Is there a Christmas market at Dublin Castle in 2026?
No. The Office of Public Works said in November 2025 that Christmas at the Castle was not scheduled for 2025 or 2026, because the castle is a central location for Ireland's EU Presidency, which runs from 1 July to 31 December 2026. Dublin's markets in 2026 are TwinkleTown at Smithfield Square and St Patrick's Park and Everwinter at the RDS.
When do the Dublin Christmas markets open in 2026?
Wonderlights at Malahide Castle opens on Thursday 12 November, on select dates. TwinkleTown at Smithfield Square opens on 20 November and runs to 31 December, TwinkleTown at St Patrick's Park from 27 November to 23 December, and Everwinter at the RDS from 25 November to 3 January 2027.
Do you pay to enter the Dublin Christmas markets?
TwinkleTown is free to enter at both sites; ice skating and the Santo Panto at Smithfield Square are ticketed. Everwinter charges for general entry, and children aged 12 and under go free with a ticket holder. Ice skating, the circus and the fairground rides are booked separately. Wonderlights is ticketed.
Is there ice skating in Dublin at Christmas 2026?
Yes, on two covered rinks: TwinkleTown at Smithfield Square, where skate hire is in the ticket price, and Everwinter at the RDS, in 45-minute sessions. Everwinter's rink stays open from 26 December to 3 January, when the rest of the site is closed.
What is closed in Dublin on Christmas Day?
Kilmainham Gaol is closed from 24 to 27 December, Croke Park from 24 to 27 December and again from 30 December to 1 January, and Dublinia, the National Gallery and MoLI from 24 to 26 December. Dublin Castle's campus is closed to the public until January 2027.
How much daylight does Dublin have in December?
On 21 December the sun rises at about 08:37 and sets at about 16:07, 7 hours 29 minutes of daylight. Met Éireann's 1991 to 2020 averages for Dublin Airport give December a mean daily high of 8.3°C and rain on 13.3 days.
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