New Tours and 100+ Events Bring Dublin Port’s Heritage to Life This Summer
8 April 2026
Expanded 2026 programme features tours, talks, exhibitions and performances across the Port from April to October
Dublin Port has launched its 2026 Cultural Events Programme, unveiling a wide-ranging series of exhibitions, tours, talks and performances running from April to October.
The programme also marks the launch of a new Great South Wall self-guided walking tour on the Dublin Discovery Trails platform, alongside the unveiling of new murals at Poolbeg Lighthouse, further enriching public engagement with one of Dublin’s most significant maritime landscapes.
From April to October, the 2026 programme will deliver more than 100 events, including 75 behind-the-scenes bus tours, 15 public lectures at The Substation, as well as three exhibitions and one theatre production. For the first time Dublin Port will also offer 10 boat tours and architectural tours of some of its heritage buildings.
Dublin Port will again participate in national and citywide cultural initiatives including Heritage Week, Open House, Culture Night and the Dublin Festival of History, supported by Dublin City Council.
A central element of the programme is the continued opening of Dublin Port as a place of memory, culture and community, offering the public access to a working port and sharing the stories of its people, places and collections. Events will take place at The Substation, on the Dublin Port Greenway, on Dublin Bay and across a range of port locations.
Lar Joye, Heritage Director at Dublin Port Company, commented on the launch, “Dublin Port is first and foremost a working port, with €165 billion worth of trade moving through it each year, but it is also a place shaped by people, memory and change,” he said. “Through our cultural events programme, we are opening the Port to the public in meaningful ways, telling the stories of those who worked here, the communities connected to it, and the role the Port continues to play in the life of the city. The 2026 programme builds on that approach, offering more opportunities to engage with Dublin Port’s heritage and living landscape.”
The summer lecture series at The Substation will feature a strong lineup of speakers and themes, including a History Ireland Hedge School examining Captain Bligh: hero or villain? lectures on the 258-year history of the Lloyd’s Register Office in Dublin, talks exploring Guinness and the River Liffey, and a lecture on selling leisure and urban electrification in 20th-century Dublin.
In partnership with the National Monuments Service, Dublin Port will co-curate a major new exhibition, Shipwrecks, exploring the wrecks of Dublin Bay. The exhibition will run at The Substation from June to September 2026.
Other exhibitions and cultural highlights throughout the season include Substrata, a site-responsive exhibition at The Substation; Wordspace, a sound installation on the Dublin Port Greenway; and Exile, a theatre and music production exploring the life of Fenian, poet and writer John Boyle O’Reilly.
The newly launched Great South Wall self-guided walking tour forms part of Dublin Discovery Trails, a collaboration between the four Dublin local authorities and Fáilte Ireland. The trail uses immersive storytelling and digital interpretation to explore the engineering, coastal heritage and historical significance of the Great South Wall.
Through its 2026 Cultural Events Programme, Dublin Port Company continues its commitment to Port City Integration under Masterplan 2040, promoting public engagement with the Port’s heritage, culture and amenity assets while supporting its role as Ireland’s busiest port.
Full programme details, booking information and updates are available at www.dublinport.ie/explore