USA Today readers name Dublin Irish Festival third-best in nation

Belinda M. Paschal, The Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·2 min read
Mike Murphy of the Northwest Side carries a mug of Guinness beer during the 2022 Dublin Irish Festival.
Mike Murphy of the Northwest Side carries a mug of Guinness beer during the 2022 Dublin Irish Festival.

The Dublin Irish Festival has been ranked third in the nation's 10 Best Cultural Festivals of 2023 by USA Today's annual reader’s choice travel awards, beating out more metropolitan locales like San Francisco and Baltimore.

The list was released last week, citing Dublin's yearly celebration of Celtic dance, music, art and culture as the only Ohio-based festival to make the Top 10.

Debuting in 1988, the Dublin Irish Festival drew 500 attendees in its inaugural year and skyrocketed to more than 100,000 by 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic shut things down in 2020. Attendance wasn't recorded for 2021's scaled-down, socially distanced Dublin Irish Days, but in 2022, the festival bounced back with 83,000 visitors.

This year's festival will be held Aug. 4-6 in Coffman Park, 5200 Emerald Parkway, with a wide variety of online and at-the-gate prices for one-day tickets, weekend passes, family packs and the new VIP experience. Tickets can be purchased online at dublinirishfestival.org/tickets.

Scenes from 2022: Dublin Irish Festival

Music is an integral part of the Dublin Irish Festival, with bands playing everything from Celtic rock to traditional Irish ballads on seven stages.

This year's lineup will feature such national acts as Gaelic Storm, Dervish and Red Hot Chili Pipers, plus more than a dozen others. Regional and local acts are on the bill as well, among them the Dublin Silver Band, Irish Fiddle Fetish (made up of students from Dublin Scioto High School) and Killashandra, who have played the festival for more than 25 years.

Celtic dancing is a staple of the Dublin Irish Festival.
Celtic dancing is a staple of the Dublin Irish Festival.

Dance and pipe organizations will include the Columbus Celtic Dancers, the Columbus Police & Fire Pipes and Drums, and the Shamrock Club Pipes and Drums.

Nearly 100 vendors will be selling more wares than you can shake a shillelagh at, from crowns, kilts and replica weapons to art, jewelry and handmade instruments. And no festival would be complete without food ― both traditional Irish options like lamb stew and fish and chips, and many American favorites including pizza.

The festival also offers storytelling, folklore, hands-on workshops, lessons about Ireland's traditional instruments, and the chance to be transported back in time to a 10th-century Irish village.

One of the displays of unique artistry at the Dublin Irish Festival
One of the displays of unique artistry at the Dublin Irish Festival

In addition, a 5K and two kids' dashes — one for children 5 and younger, the other for 6 and older — will be held on Aug. 3 in Historic Dublin. The events are limited to 1,000 registrants in the 5K, and 75 registrants in each of the kids' races.

For those who wish to plan ahead, the Dublin Irish Festival app offers the ability to build your own custom entertainment schedule, map out your day, get festival updates and more. The app can be downloaded on the festival website.

For festival hours, a full entertainment lineup and other information, visit dublinirishfestival.org.

bpaschal@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Dublin Irish Festival named third best in US by USA Today readers