Cork Christmas Market

An Irish Christmas wouldn’t be 100% authentic without the Cork Christmas Market, held every year in Cork city center! It’s a chance to discover the city from a whole new angle, with its lights, its Christmas decorations and, of course, its festive market!

Visit the Cork Christmas Market

A magical family Christmas market: the longest in Ireland!

Every year, the Cork Christmas Market is a much-anticipated event for locals and travellers alike, who come to celebrate Christmas in Ireland! And the city doesn’t take the matter lightly: the market lasts from November to January, making it Ireland’s longest running market!

Finally, the event is held at two separate venues:

on Grand Parade (Cork’s main thoroughfare)
and in Bishop Lucey Park (a city park literally transformed for the occasion).

The event on Grand Parade :

On Grand Parade, the event is simply magical. With its chalets and music, the market is a festival of smells and colors that will take you back to your childhood!

And the program is enchanting: you’ll find a host of artisan chalets selling everything from Christmas-related items (decorations, soaps, artworks, clothes, handmade gifts… etc.) to food (including savory dishes, cinnamon cakes, Christmas specialties, chocolates and mulled wine).

There’s also a Ferris wheel, so don’t hesitate to buy a ticket and hop on for a magical ride overlooking the city of Cork!

For the little ones, there’s also a smaller wheel, so they can enjoy the moment too!

A wide range of events are also scheduled for each edition:

traditional Christmas carols performed by local artists and groups,
a Santa Claus workshop to delight children,
a small express train from the North Pole,
a merry-go-round for children

The Glow in Bishop Lucey Park

Alongside the Grand Parade market, another complementary event takes place in Bishop Lucey Park, also in Cork city center. It’s called “Glow in Bishop Lucey Park”.

The whole park is transformed into a Christmas wonderland. In 2021, the park was decorated on the theme of “The Night Before Christmas in Old Cork”. Although the theme of 2022 is still unknown, we’ll update this article as soon as we have more information.

In any case, Glow in Bishop Lucey Park is well worth a visit… if only for its ice tunnel, where you can get inside! The park also offers a peek through the windows of Santa’s house.

It’s also possible to visit the old post office (Padaí the letter carrier is at reception, showing children where to post their letters to Santa)!