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17th December 2024
01:03pm GMT
Every December, something new tries to outshine the old, while timeless traditions like Christmas pints and the Forty Foot swim quietly hold their ground.
Dublin becomes Christmas. We are a city that couldn’t sit still if it tried. The city evolves— sometimes hilariously. We are a place where a thousand fairy lights festoon Grafton Street to compete with the warmth of the pub. This is where even Bono, Glen Hansard, Dermott Kennedy will wander out on Christmas Eve to sing on the street.
There’s nothing like the end of the year to make you pontificate on how things change. Pubs come and go. The markets shift. Your favorite café might turn into a vintage shop by the New Year. But at Christmas, Dublin holds onto what makes it special: a people that no amount of frosty weather can dim. Sure, other cities have their well polished holiday offerings. But Dublin is where you’ll find magic in the mess—a city that feels alive with the energy of real people.
Here, we’ve rounded up 6 Reasons Why Dublin Is the Best Place to Be at Christmas. Some are fleeting, some are forever—but all of them are blue through and through.
There are pubs, and then there are Irish pubs. Then there are Dublin pubs at Christmas. It’s almost church-like and for some, it is church. The Long Hall, Mulligan’s, and Grogan’s all feel like they were built to host reunions. The kind where a friend you haven’t seen in years suddenly appears, dragging you into a round of “just the one more.”
The Christmas pint is so integral to us as a people that it has been immortalised in A Compendium of Irish Pints by Ali Dunworth. When it gets booked, you know it’s legit.
Dublin’s Christmas lights represent. Grafton Street’s Nollaig Shona Duit signs glow in soft amber hues. A reminder that this city wears its culture on its sleeve. Add the as Gaeilge twists on everything from market signage to ice rink announcements, and Go Thobban, even waiting in line feels poetic.
The Wild Lights at Dublin Zoo might not be in Irish, but when you’re walking beneath a glowing phoenix and sipping mulled wine, you’re still immersed in Dublin’s signature blend of whimsy and wonder.
This one has its haters. But it’s objectively pretty unique and cool that people with all the money in the world shoes to hit up our national busking street to sing their little hearts out on Christmas Eve. Bono and Glen Hansard’s annual Grafton Street performance for the Simon Community is chaotic, magical, and quintessentially Dublin. There’s no schedule. No official announcement. Just pure spontaneity and a crowd of people hoping to hear Fairytale of New York. Sure, other cities have big-name concerts. But where else does a superstar belt out tunes two feet from the crowd just cos they feel the love?
We don’t need to fly to lapland. Santa’s very own herd of enchanting fallow deer roam free in the sprawling 1,700 acres of the Phoenix Park. There's something undeniably magical about spotting these graceful creatures against a backdrop of frost-tipped grass and ancient oak trees during December.
If Dublin had an official Hallmark Christmas card, you can bet it would be a picture of these majestic creatures prancing with the city sky line in the background. The deer have been part of the park’s story since the 1660s. Come Christmastime popping to the Phoenix Park is an annual tradition for many. A gentle word of advice. While they make for the perfect festive Instagram shot, keep your distance— Santa keeps them fed so you don’t have to. Plus they’re training to fly round the world in a night. And that takes some serious focus.
The Forty Foot Christmas Day Swim isn’t for the faint of heart. It is for many a Dub a rite of passage. As the sun rises, hundreds gather at this iconic South Dublin spot. Some dressed as Santa. Others in nothing but their togs and a brave smile. It’s freezing, chaotic, and absolutely euphoric. The sense of camaraderie as you plunge into the icy water is unmatched.
There’s no better way to feel alive (or sober up) before a long day of turkey, ham, pudding and a whole box of celebrations with a glass of Five Farms.
At Christmas, that spirit of céad míle fáilte is in full swing. From strangers chatting in the queue for a hot chocolate to bartenders sharing a joke as they pour yet another pint of Guinness, Dubliners know how to make you feel at home, no matter where you’re from. We might not have snow-dusted cobblestones. Or Alpine chalets. That said we have craic galore and that’s what Christmas is really all about.
