17 March
Killarney, Tralee, Dingle, Listowel
Saint Patrick's Day Parades
County-wide parades on 17 March. Killarney hosts the largest. Tralee Chamber's parade is long-standing. Dingle has the most eccentric. All free, all family-friendly.
What's on in The Kingdom
Kerry events 2026 — full-year calendar
Every significant Kerry event this year, month by month. Rose of Tralee, Puck Fair, Dingle Food Festival, Listowel Writers' Week, the Dingle Marathon, Kerry Film Festival and 25+ more. Buy Tickets Now buttons go straight to the official ticket page.
Jump to month
March — St Patrick's and the first hills
Early March
Killarney National Park & the Reeks
Killarney Mountain Festival
Ireland's premier mountain festival — four days of guided walks, climbing clinics, film screenings, and talks by leading mountaineers. Glenflesk, Gap of Dunloe, Reeks and Torc walks all guided.
April — Spring festivals
Easter weekend
Dingle · west Kerry
Dingle Food & Wine Spring Market
A one-day market in Dingle run by the same team behind the Dingle Food Festival. Kerry artisan producers, oyster tasting, live cookery stages. Free to attend.
May — Writers' Week & walking festivals
Late May · Bank Holiday
Listowel · north Kerry
Listowel Writers' Week
Ireland's oldest literary festival, since 1970. A week of readings, workshops, book launches and pub sessions. Past guests: Sebastian Barry, Anne Enright, Edna O'Brien, Seamus Heaney.
May · 4 days
Dingle Peninsula · Gaeltacht
Féile na Bealtaine
Four-day Irish-language arts festival across the Dingle Gaeltacht since 1995. Music, poetry, visual art, cinema, walks — most of it through Irish with English translation.
Late May
Killarney National Park
Killarney Walking Festival
Five days of guided walks in Killarney National Park and the surrounding Reeks. Organised by Killarney Mountaineering Club. Gentle lake loops through to full summit days.
June — Long days and summer festivals
Late June
Cahersiveen · Iveragh
Cahersiveen Festival of Music & the Arts
Four days of traditional music, céilí dancing, workshops and poetry in Cahersiveen's pubs and halls. Combines with a Knocknadobar or Cnoc na dTobar walk.
Early June
Killarney town & brewery
Killarney Beerfest
Three-day craft-beer festival at the INEC and Killarney Brewing & Distilling Co. Fifty Irish breweries, street-food village, live music. All-weather marquee.
Late June
Glenbeigh · Ring of Kerry
Glenbeigh Summer Festival
Village summer festival on Rossbeigh Beach. Horse-racing on the strand (a Kerry tradition), live music, funfair, community events. Free to attend, races ticketed.
July — Cycle, cliff concerts & trad
First Saturday
Ring of Kerry · Killarney start
Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle
Ireland's biggest single-day charity cycle — 170 km around the Iveragh Peninsula. 10,000+ participants. Starts and finishes in Killarney. Over €20 million raised since 1999.
Mid-July
Ballybunion · north Kerry
Ballybunion Bachelor Festival
Three days of music, dancing, beach events and the infamous Bachelor & Bachelorette competition. Running since 1986. Ballybunion's summer high point.
Late July
Siamsa Tíre, Tralee
Kerry International Summer School of Music
A two-week international classical festival at Siamsa Tíre — Ireland's national folk theatre. Masterclasses, chamber concerts, and a final weekend gala.
August — Puck Fair & Rose of Tralee
10–12 August
Killorglin · Iveragh
Puck Fair
Ireland's oldest fair, continuously held since at least 1613. Three days: Gathering Day, Fair Day, Scattering Day. A mountain goat is crowned King Puck. Street music, horse trading, funfair. Unmissable.
Late August
Tralee · north Kerry
The Rose of Tralee International Festival
Kerry's best-known festival — a week of parades, carnival rides, street performance and live music in Tralee town, culminating in the televised selection of the Rose. Main events free.
Late August
Kenmare · south Kerry
Kenmare Fair Day
Annual country fair on Kenmare's triangular square. Classic cars, horses, cattle, crafts, food stalls. A proper old-school Irish country fair that draws the whole peninsula.
September — Marathon & harvest
Early September
Dingle · west Kerry
Dingle Marathon
Widely regarded as one of the most scenic marathon courses in Europe — a full 42 km loop starting in Dingle and sweeping around the Slea Head Drive. Half-marathon and 10 km options. Entries cap early.
Early September
Cahersiveen · Iveragh
Skellig Coast Wildlife Festival
Guided boat trips, bird-watching walks and talks on the Skellig Islands and the Iveragh ecosystem. Family-friendly. Puffins gone by early September but dolphins and basking sharks likely.
October — Food festival & film
First weekend October
Dingle · west Kerry
Dingle Food Festival
Ireland's flagship food festival — three days of Kerry producers, Atlantic seafood, artisan bakers and cheesemakers. The Taste Trail tickets are the must-buy. Accommodation sells out months ahead.
Mid October
Killarney town
Kerry Film Festival
Ireland's fourth-longest-running film festival. Irish and international features, shorts, documentaries across Killarney cinemas. Strong Irish-language programme. Passes sell fast.
Late October
Kenmare · south Kerry
Kenmare Pumpkin Festival
Halloween-weekend family festival — pumpkin carving, face-painting, a monster trail around Kenmare town, and a Halloween market on the Square. Dog-friendly costume parade on Sunday.
November & December — Christmas in Kerry
December weekends
Killarney town
Killarney Christmas in Town
Month-long Christmas market, carols in Killarney cathedral, a winter light trail in Killarney National Park. The Malton and the Park Hotel both run Christmas weekend breaks.
26 December
Dingle town
Dingle Wren (Lá an Dreoilín)
Stephens Day in Dingle — the county's great folk spectacle. Straw-suit Wren-boy groups (Wren lads) parade through the town with pipe, drum and accordion. An authentic, still-living Gaeltacht tradition.
Year-round attractions
Year-round
Killarney National Park
Muckross House & Traditional Farms
Guided tours of the Victorian Gothic mansion and working traditional farms at Muckross. Excellent wet-day activity; combines with the Torc Waterfall walk.
Year-round
Valentia Island
Skellig Experience Visitor Centre
The mainland museum for everything Skellig — the early-Christian monastery, the lighthouse, the Star Wars filming, the underwater life. Essential if you can't get on a boat.
Year-round
Dingle town
Dingle Distillery Tours
Small-batch Irish whiskey and gin distillery in Dingle. Tour and tastings. Single Malt Whiskey is a rising star. Book ahead in summer.
Year-round
Fossa · Killarney
Killarney Brewing & Distilling Co.
Major new Kerry whiskey distillery and brewery at Fossa — tours, tastings, restaurant. One of Ireland's most ambitious whiskey projects and a fine wet-day refuge.
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