Ireland’s biggest annual Festival reveals Five Great Days and Nights celebrating the Nation’s Treasures 13-17 March 2020, Dublin.

The programme for the National St. Patrick’s Festival, 13-17 March 2020, Dublin, was unveiled today by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, Tom Brabazon. With the theme SEODA – Treasures from Ireland, the Festival will celebrate Ireland’s rich heritage with a spectacular, world-class programme showcasing both contemporary and traditional Ireland over five great days and nights. St. Patrick’s Festival is made possible through the continued support of Fáilte Ireland, Dublin City Council, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and many generous partners and funders.

St. Patrick’s Festival 2020 will feature a host of fun-filled family experiences, large-scale outdoor events, newly commissioned collaborative performances, a myriad of musical treats including two World Premieres, as well as the magnificent National St. Patrick’s Festival Parade and an expanded four-day Festival Village and Food Market at Merrion Square, Dublin. This years’ Festival will offer a richly diverse programme including ABAIR – a remarkable programme of performances celebrating Ireland’s oral traditions, art exhibitions, poetry and literary events, the all new Festival After Dark club series, hidden Dublin tours and trails, an exciting Port to City Treasure Hunt, Céilí Mór, and so much more. The full Festival Programme is available now at stpatricksfestival.ie, where all information can be found.

Susan Kirby, CEO of St. Patrick’s Festival, said: “St. Patrick’s Festival is one of the world’s largest cultural celebrations and one of the most important and powerful tools that brand Ireland has in promoting our country. St. Patrick’s Festival continues to be five great days and nights where Ireland welcomes the world. This year’s Festival will present today’s culture creators and celebrate who and what our contemporary national treasures are, as well as taking pride in our traditions. 3,000 people will come together to create St. Patrick’s Festival 2020. Recent years have seen more than 500,000 attend the Festival Parade alone, and the economic benefit is in excess of €73 million.”

Speaking of the Festival programme announcement, Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, Tom Brabazon said: “It’s a wonderful honour for me to launch the 2020 St. Patrick’s Festival. As a boy I remember coming into the Parade each year, and now our national festival has grown into a five-day extravaganza celebrating all that is great about Ireland today. We have so many modern-day treasures, people creating our contemporary culture each day and it’s fantastic that the Festival will showcase these across five days and nights of fun and celebration. I have no doubt that Dubliners and visitors to the city will enjoy memorable experiences and leave with lasting memories. I would also like to congratulate the St. Patrick’s Festival Board for all their hard work, professionalism and dedication which results in the Dublin Festival being such a fantastic showcase for our Irish culture and heritage.”

Artists and performers set to take part in the diverse 2020 Festival Programme include; Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Lisa Hannigan, This is How we Fly with Iarla O’Lionaird, Annie Mac, Kojaque, Soulé, Denise Chaila, Crash Ensemble, Mango X MathMan, Richard Egan, Dublin Gospel Choir, Mount Alaska, Bronagh Gallagher and many more, plus performances from international artists including Gruff Rhys, The Breath, Brìghde Chaimbeul, Aidan O’Rourke and Jessy Lanza. Talks and discussions during the Festival will feature Brendan Balfe, Dave Fanning, Marian Richardson, Deirdre O’Kane and more. Traditional performers and storytellers at the Festival will include Macdara Yeates, Landless, Doireann Glackin, Rosie Stewart, Liz Weir, Steo Wall, Eddie Lenihan and Dermot Bolger amongst many others.

Speaking about Fáilte Ireland’s support of the St. Patrick’s Festival, Orla Carroll, Director of Product Development at the National Tourism Development Authority said: “We are delighted to see some of Ireland’s national treasures highlighted at this year’s St. Patrick’s Festival. Festivals are crucial to the tourism sector and play an important role in both attracting overseas visitors and delivering brilliant visitor experiences. With significant investment from Fáilte Ireland, this year’s St. Patrick’s Festival will not only celebrate our culture, people and places with a line-up of music, dance, literature and art, it will also showcase Ireland as a fantastic tourist destination to global media.”

St. Patrick’s Festival 2020 invites the world to discover a vibrant, dynamic, contemporary Ireland, where heritage and tradition are proudly embraced. Through music and performance, art and theatre, film and literature, clubs, food, fun and community spirit, St. Patrick’s Festival will uncover Ireland’s great bounty of treasures and showcase them to the world. The full St. Patrick’s Festival 2020 Programme is now available on the Festival website, where further event information, tickets, Festival news, information and accessibility information can be found: www.stpatricksfestival.ie