Dublin Gay Pride
About This Event
Dublin Pride has its roots in a killing. In 1983 Declan Flynn was beaten to death in Fairview Park, his attackers walked free with suspended sentences, and several hundred people marched in protest that March. The first Pride parade followed on 25 June 1983, from St Stephen's Green to the GPO. Ireland decriminalised homosexuality only in 1993 and voted for marriage equality in 2015, and the parade now ranks with St Patrick's Day as one of the country's biggest street events.
How it works: a festival of talks, club nights and smaller events runs for most of a week in late June, ending with the Saturday parade and a Pride Village. The parade is free. In 2026 it left O'Connell Street at about 12:30, went along the north quays, crossed the Talbot Memorial Bridge, and finished at Merrion Square, where the Pride Village was. Route and village site have moved around in recent years, so check before you go. Afterwards the crowd spreads into the George, Pantibar and Street 66, and queues are long.
Practical: Dublin hotels are expensive any weekend and worse that one, so book months out. June weather is mild and often damp; a light rain jacket earns its place.
On numbers, Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride says over 100,000 take part each year. GCN's 2026 report said tens of thousands filled the streets, and we found no independent count.
The 2026 festival ran 24 to 28 June with the parade on Saturday 27 June, under the theme One Story – Many Voices. Grand marshal was author and activist Philippa Ryder. Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris walked; Belong To brought the largest group, more than 600 young people. Trans & Intersex Pride Dublin staged a "political funeral" in the style of ACT UP to protest waiting times at the National Gender Service. The parade is normally the last Saturday in June; the 2027 dates hadn't been announced when we checked.
Where to stay during Dublin Gay Pride
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