Join the Wren Boys and the crowds on a Dublin 8 street
Step out of a house in Dublin 8 on the morning of 26 December and you will catch it: a small group in straw masks and old clothes, a fiddle, a bodhran, a door opening, a few bars of music and a collection for charity. These are the Wren Boys, and St Stephen's Day is their day. In Ireland the 26th is the day for racing, for visiting, and for this costumed door-to-door music, the equivalent of Boxing Day in Northern Ireland and Britain. In 2026, Christmas Day falls on a Friday, so St Stephen's Day lands on a Saturday — a full weekend day for it. Walk the residential streets of the south inner city and the older suburbs and you will meet the tradition where it lives: informally, on doorsteps, in the street.
Take the air at Sandycove and walk off Christmas
South Dublin's great St Stephen's Day ritual is a swim. The Forty Foot at Sandycove is the best-known Christmas swim spot in the country, and it is informal: there are no guaranteed lifeguards, and it is very crowded. Go early, watch as much as you swim, and bring something warm to put on afterwards. Sunset comes around 4pm in December, so plan the walk for the middle of the day and keep the afternoon for the fire.
Drink a pint and eat well — the city is open
Unlike Christmas Day, St Stephen's Day is a working day for Dublin's hospitality trade. Pubs in the Republic open on 26 December, closed by law only on the 25th, and hotel and restaurant bars open too. Off-licences open as well, so you can stock up for the evening. This is the day to book a long lunch in a hotel or restaurant dining room, or to settle into a pub with a pint and whatever the kitchen is putting out. On the 26th you may also find seasonal food at Dublin's Christmas markets: TwinkleTown, run by Dublin City Council, takes over Smithfield Square from 20 November to 31 December 2026 and St Patrick's Park from 27 November to 23 December 2026, with free entry and ticketed ice skating, panto and a Big Wheel. Check twinkletown.ie for what is running on the day itself.
See the lights before they come down
Dublin's city-centre Christmas lights on Grafton Street and Henry Street, organised by DublinTown, usually switch on in mid-November and stay up until about 7 January. The 2026 switch-on date has not yet been announced, so check dublintown.ie. On the evening of the 26th, walk the two streets as the shops stay open and the city fills with people visiting and spending. It is the last stretch of the season and the streets know it.
Head for the races, or plan a day trip
Racing at Leopardstown begins from St Stephen's Day, and the same is true at Limerick — the traditional sporting fixture of the 26th. Check the racecourses' own fixtures for the 2026 running times and going. If you would rather leave the city, the wider Christmas season gives you options: Galway's Christmas Market in Eyre Square ran 7 November to 31 December in 2025, closed Christmas Day, with 50-plus chalets, though 2026 dates are not yet published; Waterford Winterval runs weekends 13 November to 23 December 2026, with a market at John Roberts Square and an ice rink on The Quay; and Belfast Christmas Market at City Hall runs 14 November to 22 December 2026, free entry, Monday to Wednesday 10am–8pm, Thursday to Saturday 10am–10pm, Sunday 12–6pm. Note that Dublin Castle is closed to the public until January 2027, so there is no Christmas at the Castle market in 2026.
Know how the city moves on the 26th
Public transport on 26 December is thin, and the 2026 timetables are not yet published. Based on 2025, Irish Rail and DART ran no trains, Dublin Bus ran a Sunday service with no Nitelink, Luas ran a reduced service from 9am, and Bus Éireann ran a Sunday service from 9am. Taxis in the Republic charge a special rate until 8am on the 26th. Dublin Airport is open from early morning on 26 December, closed on the 25th only. Book your transport in advance and plan the day around a walkable part of the city.
St Stephen's Day in South Dublin is a day of small, repeatable pleasures: a swim at Sandycove, a Wren Boy at the door, a pint in an open pub, the lights on Grafton Street after dark. Look up twinkletown.ie and dublintown.ie for the 2026 details, check the Leopardstown fixture, and book your table and your transport now — then leave the rest of the day to the city.