Christmas in Dublin 2026: Markets, Lights & Festive Events Guide

Christmas in Dublin is smaller, warmer and more pub-shaped than Christmas in the big continental cities. There is no medieval square packed with chalets and no famous Christkindlmarkt. What Dublin does well is everything else: lit streets from mid-November, cathedral carols, a pantomime generations of Dubliners grew up with, a Christmas Eve that is the best pub night of the Irish year, and a Christmas morning when hundreds of people walk into the Irish Sea at the Forty Foot for the sheer joy of it. The price of all that is a city that shuts harder on 25 December than most capitals in Europe — no buses, no trams, no trains and no pubs.

This guide covers Christmas in Dublin for 2026, with dates checked against the organisers themselves in October 2026: the markets that are actually running this year (and the ones older guides still list that are not), the lights, carol services, pantos and light trails, exactly what is open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day, where you can eat on the 25th, and how to build a trip around the shutdown rather than walk into it. It is written for anyone choosing dates for a festive city break, and for anyone already booked who wants to know what they will actually find.

For the rest of the year’s calendar, the guide to Dublin festivals and events shows where Christmas fits.

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Quick Answer: Is Christmas in Dublin Worth It?

Yes — if you come for the atmosphere rather than the markets, and if you plan around three days. From mid-November to 23 December the city is at its most sociable: the lights are on, TwinkleTown is running in Smithfield, the carol services and the panto are on, and every pub with a fireplace has it lit. The markets themselves are modest by Vienna or Strasbourg standards. They are an hour, not a day, and the real Dublin Christmas happens in the pubs, the churches and the streets.

The three days are 24, 25 and 26 December. Christmas Eve is wonderful, but shops and attractions close early. On Christmas Day there is no public transport at all, the pubs are closed by law and nearly every attraction is shut. St Stephen’s Day brings back the buses and the pubs, but the big attractions stay closed. If you want sightseeing, come between late November and 23 December. If you want Christmas itself, choose a hotel that serves Christmas dinner and enjoy a slow, walkable day.

Christmas lights	Grafton Street in mid-November, then Henry Street, South William Street and Capel Street within days; DublinTown sets the date each autumn
Main Christmas market	TwinkleTown, Smithfield Square: 20 November – 31 December, free entry
Second market site	TwinkleTown, St Patrick’s Park: 27 November – 23 December
Light trail	Wonderlights, Malahide Castle: 12 November – 29 December, tickets from €17.50
Pantomime	Robin Hood at the Gaiety: 22 November 2026 – 3 January 2027
Christmas Eve	Thursday 24 December: the charity busk, and the busiest pub night of the year
Christmas Day	Friday 25 December: no Dublin Bus, Luas or DART; pubs closed by law
St Stephen’s Day	Saturday 26 December: transport on a Sunday timetable; Leopardstown racing 26–29 December; the public holiday is observed on Monday 28 December
New Year’s Festival	30 December – 1 January
Closed all season	Dublin Castle and the Chester Beatty, until January 2027 — so no castle Christmas market

The sweet spot for Christmas in Dublin is the first half of December, Monday to Thursday, when everything is running and the streets are busy but passable. The last two Saturdays before Christmas turn Grafton Street and Henry Street into one slow-moving crowd.

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Dublin Christmas Markets in 2026

A lot of what is written about Dublin Christmas markets is out of date. This is what is running in 2026, from the organisers’ own listings in early October.

TwinkleTown, Smithfield Square: 20 November – 31 December

TwinkleTown is the main event and the market to plan around. It fills Smithfield Square, the long cobbled plaza in Dublin 7, with wooden craft chalets, food and drink, a big wheel and its own bar, the TwinkleTavern. Entry is free; ice skating and the Santo Panto family show are ticketed, as are the rides. Listings give the opening hours as 11:00–21:00 on weekdays and 10:00–21:00 at weekends. Christmas-week hours were not listed in early October, so check twinkletown.ie before going on 24–26 December. It is the only city market that runs through to New Year’s Eve, which makes it one of the few festive things still going in the quiet week after Christmas.

The Luas Red Line stops at Smithfield, and the square is about fifteen minutes’ walk west of O’Connell Street along the north quays. Make an evening of it in Smithfield and Stoneybatter: the Cobblestone, one of the best traditional music pubs in the city, is at the top of the square.

TwinkleTown, St Patrick’s Park: 27 November – 23 December

TwinkleTown’s second, smaller site is in St Patrick’s Park, the garden beside St Patrick’s Cathedral on the south side of the river. It is free to enter and a natural stop between the cathedral, the Liberties and Christ Church. Note the closing date: it finishes on 23 December, not on Christmas Eve.

Dublin Loves Christmas, RDS Ballsbridge

The RDS in Ballsbridge runs Dublin Loves Christmas in its Main Arena, with an ice rink, an observation wheel, big rides, a Spiegeltent and market stalls. In 2025 it ran from 15 November to 23 December, with free entry and pay-as-you-go rides. The 2026 dates had not been confirmed in early October. It is a funfair for families rather than a craft market.

Smaller and seasonal markets

Weekend craft markets pop up at the castles in Swords, Ardgillan and Rathfarnham, at the National Botanic Gardens and at the Fumbally in the Liberties. Most last a weekend or two, and their dates are announced late. They are better for Irish-made gifts than for evening atmosphere. For the markets that run all year, see Dublin’s best markets.

What is not happening in 2026

• No Dublin Castle Christmas market. The castle, courtyards included, is closed to the public until January 2027 while Ireland holds the presidency of the Council of the EU. In other years the market fills the castle yard. Our Dublin Castle guide tracks the reopening.
• No St Stephen’s Green Christmas market. A large chalet market ran around the edge of the Green in 2014 and has not been back since. Guides that still send you there are repeating a listing from 2014.
• No continental-scale market. Dublin has nothing on the scale of the big German or Austrian markets. Set your expectations accordingly and the city will not disappoint you.

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Christmas Lights, Windows and the Christmas Eve Busk

The lights are the best free thing about Christmas in Dublin. DublinTown, the city-centre business group, switches on the Grafton Street chandeliers in mid-November from the balcony of Bewley’s. Henry Street, South William Street and Capel Street follow within days. The 2026 date had not been announced in early October; DublinTown publishes it during the autumn. The switch-on itself is free, short and crowded. Seeing the lights on an ordinary weeknight is the better experience.

The classic route takes about an hour on foot. Start at the top of Grafton Street by St Stephen’s Green and walk down to College Green. Cross O’Connell Bridge, walk up O’Connell Street, then turn left along Henry Street and Mary Street to Capel Street. Come back along the quays. The Brown Thomas windows on Grafton Street are an attraction in their own right. At the top of the street, St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre does big trees and decorations under its glass roof. Our Grafton Street shopping guide covers the stores, and Dublin’s shopping centres covers the rest.

The Christmas Eve busk

The busk is Dublin’s newest Christmas tradition and already one of its best. It began in 2010 as an impromptu sing-song on Grafton Street led by Glen Hansard. It has grown into an organised Christmas Eve session outside the Gaiety Theatre on South King Street, raising money for the Dublin Simon Community, the homelessness charity. In 2025, its fifteenth year, more than 30 acts were lined up, Hansard opened it, and Bono and Imelda May sang. Nobody publishes a line-up and nobody sells tickets, so there is no guarantee who will turn up. Follow the Dublin Simon Community’s channels on the day, bring cash for the collection buckets, and expect a very large crowd that knows all the words.

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Carols, Concerts and Pantomime

Music is the heart of Christmas in Dublin, and much of the best of it is free.

St Patrick’s Cathedral

St Patrick’s Cathedral runs one of the city’s biggest choral programmes of the season. It is a Church of Ireland cathedral, so its Christmas services are Eucharists and carol services, not Mass. In 2025 the programme was:

• an Advent Procession by Candlelight on Sunday 30 November at 18:00;
• Carols for All on Sunday 14 December at 15:15;
• the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols on Sunday 21 December at 15:15, and again on Christmas Eve at 16:00, when admission is by ticket only;
• a Christmas Day Choral Eucharist at 11:15;
• a ticketed concert by the cathedral choir and orchestra on 19 December;
• a free family performance of The Snowman on 23 December at 16:00, with pre-booking advised.

Expect the same pattern in 2026. The cathedral publishes the list in November on stpatrickscathedral.ie, and the Christmas Eve tickets go quickly. There was no midnight service at St Patrick’s in 2025, whatever older guides say.

Christ Church Cathedral and the Pro-Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral, also Church of Ireland, traditionally holds a late-evening Eucharist on Christmas Eve and a service on Christmas morning. It confirms the times on its website in December. For a Catholic Midnight Mass, Dublin’s cathedral is St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral on Marlborough Street, home of the Palestrina Choir. Check the parish website for this year’s times, as some “midnight” Masses now start earlier in the evening.

Pantomime, theatre and concerts

The Gaiety pantomime is a Dublin institution, and in 2026 it is Robin Hood, running from 22 November to 3 January 2027. Weekend and school-holiday performances sell first, so book through gaietytheatre.ie early. Bewley’s Café Theatre, upstairs at Bewley’s on Grafton Street, has staged a short lunchtime Christmas play in recent Decembers, with tickets around €10–€15. The National Concert Hall’s December programme leans heavily on Christmas concerts. For the city’s music the rest of the year, see live music in Dublin.

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What Is Open at Christmas in Dublin

This is the section that saves trips. Ireland closes hard for Christmas, and the closures are wider and longer than most visitors expect.

	Christmas Eve, Thu 24	Christmas Day, Fri 25	St Stephen’s Day, Sat 26
Dublin Bus, Luas, DART	Running; check TFI for early finishes	No service at all	Sunday timetable from about 09:00
Pubs	Open and packed	Closed by law	Open
Guinness Storehouse	Closed	Closed	Closed
National Gallery	Closed	Closed	Closed
National Museum	Mornings only (2025)	Closed	Closed
St Stephen’s Green	Open	09:30–12:30 only	Open
Dublin Castle, Chester Beatty	Closed	Closed	Closed until January 2027
Taxis	Special premium rate from 20:00	Special premium rate all day	Special premium rate until 08:00

Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December

Christmas Eve is a good day to be in Dublin, as long as you are not trying to sightsee in the afternoon. Shops and restaurants close early, the big attractions are mostly shut, and in 2025 the National Museum opened for the morning only. The day belongs to last-minute shopping, the busk and the pub. From early evening every pub in the city fills with people home for Christmas, and it is the most sociable night in the Irish calendar. Go early, because nobody is getting a table. Our cosy pubs guide lists the ones with open fires, and traditional pubs covers the rest.

Christmas Day, Friday 25 December

Dublin shuts. There is no Dublin Bus, Luas, DART or Irish Rail — not a reduced timetable, but nothing at all. Pubs are closed by law, and hotels may serve drinks only to their own residents. Shops, restaurants, museums and attractions are closed. St Stephen’s Green opens only from 09:30 to 12:30. Taxis do run, but they are scarce and charge the special premium rate all day, so book one in advance if you need it; see Dublin taxis.

A few things do happen: church services, the Forty Foot swim (below), an empty and beautiful walk along the quays, and the meal you booked months ago. Planned on foot from your hotel, it is a lovely, quiet day. Planned around transport, it falls apart.

St Stephen’s Day, Saturday 26 December

The city reopens halfway. Buses, the Luas and the DART return on a Sunday timetable from about 09:00, the pubs open, and the post-Christmas sales start in the shops that open that day. The big event is the Leopardstown Christmas Festival, four days of racing from 26 to 29 December at the racecourse in south County Dublin and one of the great social days of the Irish year. Book tickets and check the racecourse’s race-day transport. Most big attractions stay shut until the 27th. Because the 26th falls on a Saturday in 2026, the public holiday is observed on Monday 28 December, when banks and government offices close. In parts of rural Ireland St Stephen’s Day is still Wren Day, when “wren boys” in straw costumes go from door to door, but you are unlikely to see them in Dublin.

27 to 31 December

The quiet week is a pleasant one. Museums and the big attractions reopen, some on shorter hours. TwinkleTown in Smithfield keeps going to the 31st, the sales are on, and the national museums are free and warm. The New Year’s Festival runs from 30 December to 1 January. See New Year’s Eve in Dublin for the night itself and Dublin in December for the whole month.

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The Forty Foot Christmas Day Swim

The Forty Foot is a deep-water bathing place beside the Martello tower at Sandycove on the south side of Dublin Bay, where James Joyce set the opening of Ulysses. People swim there all year. On Christmas morning, hundreds of swimmers and many more onlookers gather for what is, for a lot of Dubliners, the proper start to the 25th. There are no tickets, no start time and no single organiser. People go in from early morning, many in Santa hats, and plenty raise money for charity as they do. The sea is around 10 °C in December.

• There is no DART on Christmas Day. On a normal day Sandycove & Glasthule station is a 10–15 minute walk away. On the 25th you need to stay within walking distance, drive (parking is very limited), or pre-book a taxi at the special premium rate.
• Watch rather than swim unless you are a regular cold-water swimmer. Cold-water shock is real, the steps and rocks are slippery, and a crowded Christmas morning is no time to learn.
• Bring dry, warm clothes and a hot drink. The wind off the bay bites, even for spectators.

Our Dún Laoghaire, Dalkey and Killiney guide covers Sandycove and the coast around it, and Dublin’s best beaches covers sea swimming the rest of the year.

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Eating and Drinking: Christmas in Dublin Without Going Hungry

Festive afternoon tea

Afternoon tea is the easiest festive treat to book, and it runs right through the season. The Shelbourne is the classic. In 2025 its Festive Afternoon Tea in the Lord Mayor’s Lounge cost €79 a head, €102 with Champagne and €39 for children, from late November to early January, with sittings at 12:00, 14:30 and 17:00. Standard afternoon tea at The Merrion (its Art Tea) was €79 in September 2026 and at The Westbury €75; festive versions can cost more. Our afternoon tea guide compares them properly.

Festive lunches and dinners

From late November most hotel restaurants switch to festive set menus. As a price guide, in 2025 The Shelbourne’s Saddle Room charged €80 for a three-course festive lunch and €105 for dinner from 28 November to 4 January, excluding Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve dinner. Christmas Eve lunch there was €140. Book in October or November, before the Christmas parties fill the dining rooms. For the top end, see Dublin’s Michelin-starred restaurants.

Christmas Day dinner

Christmas Day dinner needs more planning than anything else in a Christmas in Dublin trip. Almost every independent restaurant closes on the 25th, so the meal is a hotel meal, and many hotels sell it mainly, or only, as part of a stay. In 2025, for example, The Shelbourne’s Christmas Day lunch or dinner came inside Christmas packages from €915 per room per night, with a two-night minimum over 24–26 December. If dinner out on the day matters to you, choose the hotel for its Christmas Day menu, book it when you book the room, and get the menu and price in writing. Hotels that do take outside bookings for the 25th fill early. Our luxury hotels and city-centre hotels guides are the place to start.

A drink on the 25th

The law is simple: no pubs. If a drink by the fire on Christmas night is part of the plan, stay in a hotel with a bar, because residents are the only people who can be served. Do your celebrating on Christmas Eve and St Stephen’s Day.

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Christmas in Dublin with Children

• TwinkleTown: the free market in Smithfield, with a big wheel, ice skating and the Santo Panto (all ticketed). It is the best all-round family outing of the season.
• The Gaiety panto: Robin Hood, from 22 November to 3 January. Matinees in the Christmas holidays sell first.
• Wonderlights at Malahide Castle: an evening light trail through the castle grounds from 12 November to 29 December, 17:00–20:30, with tickets listed from €17.50. Take the DART to Malahide; the castle is about 15 minutes’ walk from the station. Details are on malahidecastleandgardens.ie, and our Malahide Castle guide covers the rest of the visit.
• The Snowman at St Patrick’s Cathedral: a free family concert with the cathedral choristers, held on 23 December in 2025. Booking is advised.
• Festive afternoon tea: The Shelbourne’s children’s festive tea was €39 in 2025.
• Santa: the big shopping centres and department stores run grottos and Santa visits. Book online as soon as the slots open, because the weekends go first.

On Christmas Day itself, with no transport and nowhere open, children need a plan more than anyone: a hotel lunch, a walk, and a few things brought from home. Our Dublin for families and family attractions guides cover the rest of the year.

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Day Trips from Dublin at Christmas

• Malahide: the DART, the castle grounds and Wonderlights in the evening make this the easiest festive trip out of the city.
• Howth: take the DART to the end of the line for the cliff path and fish and chips by the harbour. Sunset is around 16:06 in mid-December, so be off the cliffs by mid-afternoon; see the Howth Cliff Walk.
• Belfast: the Enterprise from Connolly takes about two hours and eight minutes, and Belfast runs its own Christmas market at City Hall. It is in the UK, so you will pay in sterling. See our Belfast day trip and Dublin–Belfast train guides.
• Newgrange at the solstice: the rising sun lights the chamber of the 5,000-year-old passage tomb on the mornings around 21 December, with places inside allocated by lottery. See Newgrange from Dublin.

Rail and coach timetables change over the holiday, so check before booking any trip between 24 and 27 December.

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Where to Stay for Christmas in Dublin

Location matters more at Christmas than at any other time. It is dark by half past four, and on the 25th your hotel is your base for the whole day, with nothing beyond walking distance. Stay between Trinity, Grafton Street and St Stephen’s Green, or near Smithfield if TwinkleTown is the draw. Before booking, ask what the hotel serves on 25 December and whether its bar is open to residents that day. See where to stay in Dublin.

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Christmas in Dublin: Weather and Daylight

Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages for Dublin Airport give December a high of 8.5 °C and a low of 2.6 °C, with 75 mm of rain over about 13 wet days and around 1.5 hours of sunshine a day. It is damp, windy and dark rather than properly cold. Snow falls on about six days in an average winter and rarely settles in the city, so do not count on a white Christmas. The whole year is in our Dublin weather guide.

Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Daylight
1 December	08:17	16:11	7h 54m
15 December	08:33	16:06	7h 32m
21 December	08:38	16:07	7h 30m
25 December	08:39	16:10	7h 30m
31 December	08:40	16:15	7h 35m

Pack a hooded waterproof rather than an umbrella, because the wind off the Liffey destroys umbrellas. Bring shoes with grip for wet cobbles, and layers for the swing between a cold street and a hot pub.

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Christmas in Dublin on a Budget

Hotel rates climb from late November and peak at New Year, and restaurants move to set menus. But the best of Christmas in Dublin is free: the lights, the windows, entry to TwinkleTown, most carol services, the busk, the Forty Foot and the national museums. If cost decides it, come in the second half of November for the lights and markets at lower hotel rates. See Dublin in November and Dublin on a budget.

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Gotchas

• No public transport on 25 December. No buses, trams, DART or trains. Services return on the 26th on a Sunday timetable from about 09:00.
• Pubs are closed by law on Christmas Day. Hotels can serve their own residents and nobody else.
• The big attractions close for longer than you think. The Guinness Storehouse and the National Gallery are shut from 24 to 26 December, and the National Museum on the 25th and 26th.
• St Stephen’s Green closes at 12:30 on Christmas Day.
• The two TwinkleTown sites end on different days. St Patrick’s Park closes on 23 December, and Smithfield runs to the 31st.
• There is no Dublin Castle market and no St Stephen’s Green market. The castle and the Chester Beatty are closed until January 2027.
• St Patrick’s Christmas Eve service is ticketed, and the cathedral, which is Church of Ireland, held no midnight service in 2025.
• Christmas dinner must be booked, often with the room. Many hotels sell it only as part of a package.
• Taxis charge the special premium rate from 20:00 on Christmas Eve to 08:00 on St Stephen’s Day, and from 20:00 on New Year’s Eve to 08:00 on New Year’s Day.
• The St Stephen’s Day holiday is observed on Monday 28 December, so banks and government offices are closed that day.
• Sunset is at 16:15 or earlier all December. Plan outdoor sightseeing for the morning.

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Christmas in Dublin FAQ

Is Dublin good at Christmas?

Yes. Christmas in Dublin is about atmosphere: the lights, the pubs, the carols, the panto, TwinkleTown and a famously sociable Christmas Eve. The markets are small by continental standards, so they should not be the reason for the trip. The best window is late November to 23 December. Christmas Day is very quiet, with no transport and nearly everything shut, so plan it around your hotel.

When do the Dublin Christmas markets open in 2026?

TwinkleTown opens in Smithfield Square on 20 November and runs to 31 December. Its second site, in St Patrick’s Park, runs from 27 November to 23 December. Both are free to enter. There is no Dublin Castle market in 2026, because the castle is closed until January 2027. The RDS’s Dublin Loves Christmas ran from mid-November to 23 December in 2025, and its 2026 dates had not been confirmed in early October.

What is open in Dublin on Christmas Day?

Very little. Hotel restaurants serve pre-booked Christmas meals, churches hold services, and St Stephen’s Green opens from 09:30 to 12:30. Pubs, shops, museums and attractions are closed, and there is no Dublin Bus, Luas or DART. Taxis run but are scarce and charge the special premium rate. The Forty Foot swim goes ahead on Christmas morning if you can walk or taxi there.

Is there public transport in Dublin on Christmas Day?

No. Dublin Bus, the Luas, the DART and Irish Rail do not run at all on 25 December, not even on a reduced timetable. Services return on St Stephen’s Day on a Sunday timetable from about 09:00. On the 25th, taxis are the only option, and you should book one in advance.

Are pubs open on Christmas Day in Dublin?

No. Irish licensing law keeps pubs closed on Christmas Day, and hotels can serve only their own residents. Christmas Eve is the opposite, the busiest pub night of the year, and the pubs reopen on St Stephen’s Day.

Where can I eat Christmas dinner in Dublin?

At a hotel, booked well ahead. Almost all independent restaurants close on 25 December, and many hotels sell Christmas Day lunch or dinner mainly as part of a stay. In 2025, for example, The Shelbourne included it in Christmas packages from €915 per room per night. If dinner out matters, choose the hotel for its Christmas Day menu and book both together.

When do the Grafton Street Christmas lights go on?

In mid-November. DublinTown switches on the Grafton Street chandeliers from the Bewley’s balcony, and Henry Street, South William Street and Capel Street follow within days. The 2026 date had not been announced in early October, so check DublinTown’s listings. The lights stay up all season.

Does it snow in Dublin at Christmas?

Rarely. Dublin gets snow on about six days across a whole winter, and it seldom settles in the city. The December average is a high of 8.5 °C and a low of 2.6 °C, with about 13 wet days, so rain is far more likely than snow.

What is the Forty Foot Christmas Day swim?

On Christmas morning, hundreds of people swim at the Forty Foot, a deep-water bathing place at Sandycove on Dublin Bay, while many more watch. There are no tickets and no fixed start time, and the sea is around 10 °C. There is no DART on Christmas Day, so stay nearby or pre-book a taxi. Unless you already swim in cold water, it is a spectacle to watch rather than join.

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Keep Planning

• Dublin in winter — how November, December and January compare.
• New Year’s Eve in Dublin — where to be on the 31st.
• Afternoon tea in Dublin — prices and sittings compared.
• Dublin for couples — a festive weekend for two.
• Getting around Dublin — Leap Cards, the Luas and the DART.

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Keep Reading

• Dublin in December — the full month around the festive season, including the total Christmas Day shutdown.
• Dublin in November — when the lights actually go on, when the markets open, and why the first three weeks are the cheapest of the year.