This March, EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum is partnering with St. Patrick’s Festival to deliver a four-day celebration in the Docklands from 14–17 March, embracing this year’s theme of Roots.
And at the heart of it is live music and events.
Live Music and Culture
Across the festival weekend, EPIC will host exciting live events that bring cultural celebrations to the historic CHQ Building. St Pat and Snakey are back for the ultimate chase through the museum vaults. Lose yourself in the immersive storytelling sessions of Moth and Butterfly. And, musicians Sweet Jayne and Dee Armstrong will have you moving to traditional Irish music across the weekend.
Rather than simply staging background entertainment, EPIC is leaning into performance as a central part of its programme. The artists on site across the four days will add atmosphere, energy and contemporary edge to the weekend — reinforcing the idea that Irish culture is something living, evolving and very much in the moment.
In the context of this year’s Roots theme, the music feels especially fitting. It’s a reminder that while heritage grounds us, it’s creativity that keeps those roots alive.
A Cultural Programme with Depth
Of course, this is EPIC, so there’s substance behind the celebration.
The museum’s permanent exhibitions trace the journeys of Irish emigrants and the global influence they’ve had over centuries. During St. Patrick’s Festival weekend, that global story sits alongside live performance, creating a layered experience that moves between history and the here-and-now.
It’s a natural partnership: a national festival celebrating identity and belonging, hosted within a museum dedicated to Ireland’s diaspora story.
Cúpla Focal Tour
Language plays its part too.
EPIC’s special Cúpla Focal Tour offers visitors the chance to engage with the Irish language in a fresh and accessible way. Weaving Gaeilge into the wider narrative of migration and identity, the tour explores how language shapes connection — to place, to culture and to each other.
It’s another thoughtful nod to the theme of Roots, highlighting how heritage is carried not just through stories, but through words.
Trace Your Irish Roots
For visitors inspired to dig deeper, EPIC’s genealogy experience helps visitors to trace their Irish roots, offering the opportunity to begin uncovering family history of their own.
With expert guidance and access to extensive archival resources, participants can explore ancestral connections and migration paths — a particularly meaningful offering during St. Patrick’s Festival, when many members of the Irish diaspora are in the city.
Few festival experiences offer something quite as personal as discovering where your own story begins.
Family-Friendly Moments
Celebrating with children in tow? EPIC’s interactive museum experience makes it an easy win for families across the long weekend. With hands-on digital galleries, motion-activated exhibits and immersive installations throughout, younger visitors can explore Ireland’s global story in a way that feels playful and engaging rather than passive.
It’s the kind of environment where kids can move, discover and participate — giving parents the chance to enjoy the cultural depth of the museum while everyone stays entertained.
The Irish Crisp Experience
One of the more unexpected (and very Irish) additions to the programme is an Irish crisp tasting experience — a celebration of one of the country’s most beloved snack traditions.
Nostalgic and distinctly local, it’s a reminder that our roots aren’t only found in archives and folklore. Sometimes they’re found in the everyday rituals and flavours we grew up with.
A Different Way to Experience St. Patrick’s Weekend
Located in the Docklands, EPIC offers a slightly calmer counterpoint to the city-centre crowds while remaining firmly within the festival atmosphere. It’s an ideal stop before or after the parade — or a destination in its own right across the long weekend.
By combining live music, language, genealogy and immersive exhibitions, EPIC’s partnership with St. Patrick’s Festival creates a celebration that feels both energetic and grounded — a space where heritage and contemporary culture meet.
Plan Your Visit
EPIC’s St. Patrick’s Festival programme runs from 14–17 March. Advance booking is recommended due to increased footfall across the city.
If you’re looking to balance spectacle with substance this St. Patrick’s Day, the Docklands might just be where the real roots of the celebration are waiting.
More info available at: www.epicchq.com/st-patricks-festival-hub-at-epic
