Brigit 2026 Parade: Dublin’s Streets Awaken with Art, Myth and Women’s Power

The Brigit Parade returns on Sunday 1 February 2026 as part of Brigit: Dublin City Celebrating Women, transforming Dublin into a vibrant city-wide celebration of women’s strength, creativity, resilience and community.

Beginning at the top of Capel Street at 3.30pm, the Brigit Parade will journey through Dublin’s historic streets, uniting large-scale puppetry, dance, music, ritual performance and community participation. Rooted in themes of renewal, creativity, care and connection, the parade is both a joyful celebration and a powerful tribute to women past, present and future.

Now in its fifth year, Brigit: Dublin City Celebrating Women, brought to you by Dublin City Council, runs from Friday 30 January to Monday 2 February 2026, marking St Brigid’s Day, Imbolc and the enduring impact of women across Irish culture and society. This milestone edition features the festival’s most ambitious programme to date, with over 120 events taking place across the city.

Parade highlights this year include:

Brigit Rising–Stilt walker and Dance Procession: At the head of the parade, Brigit Rising features a stilt walker embodiment of the goddess, wearing a bespoke costume designed by Sabine Dargent. Leading an ensemble of dancers, this performance brings Brigid’s presence directly into the public realm, combining height, choreography, and symbolic movement to open the parade with strength and momentum.
Luna: One of the most striking visual centrepieces of Brigit 2026 is Luna, a fully animated giant puppet standing 4.5 metres tall. Inspired by ancient female divinities and religious iconography, Luna is the largest puppet in the parade. Her slow, ceremonial movement is accompanied by an original, immersive soundscape composed by Sal Stapleton, creating a sense of awe and reverence as she towers above the procession.

50 First Skates: Returning to the Brigit Parade, 50 First Skates is a collective of roller skaters whose synchronised movement and bold visual style bring energy and playfulness to the streets. Their performance celebrates the strength, visibility, and collective power of women, combining rhythm, colour, and motion in a joyful, forward-moving spectacle.

Na Bandéithe / The Goddesses: Na Bandéithe / The Goddesses return with drumming, theatrical presence, and mythic force. Formerly known as Na Gaiscígh (Female Warriors), the group features Irish and international goddesses and figures of power, including Ériú, An Cailleach, Morrigan, Badhbh, and Brigid herself. Their performance draws on ritual, rhythm, and embodied storytelling to animate ancient archetypes within the modern city.

A Cloak of Community – St Brigid’s, the Coombe: A Cloak of Community is a large-scale collaborative artwork created by the students of St Brigid’s, the Coombe, in partnership with artist Paula Mongey. Each student designed a textile panel inspired by Brigid’s associations with weaving, healing, poetry, flame, nature, and protection. Combined into a single cloak worn during the parade, the work represents collective creativity, care, and intergenerational connection.

Polaris Fusion Dance Company: Founded in 2014 by Stacey McPartlin, Polaris Fusion Bellydance Company is an inclusive, multi-award-winning performance troupe blending Middle Eastern dance traditions with Irish and global influences. For Brigit 2026, Polaris presents Irish-fusion choreography inspired by Celtic rhythm and symbolism, celebrating Brigid’s themes of creativity, renewal, and strength through bold, expressive movement.

Sliabh na mban Brigid's Cloak: The Sliebhnamban Brigid’s Cloak is a community-led artwork designed by Theresia Guschlbauer and made from textile patches created by 100 women from Tipperary. The cloak is worn by stilt walker Dee Tierney and carried by a group of 20 Clonmel women, accompanied by drummers and singer-songwriter Breege Phelan, who performs an original chant honouring Brigid as goddess of fertility and patron saint of biodiversity. First created for the inaugural Brigid’s Day Bank Holiday in 2023, the cloak returns in 2026 with an extended train made by 50 Italian women, ahead of its journey to Florence later in February.

Bringing Brigit To Life: Multidisciplinary circus artist Gesabel Rastelli contributes expressive performance using hula hoop, ribbon dance, and character-led movement. Based in Ireland for the past decade, Rastelli’s work emphasises connection, embodiment, and collaboration. Her performance adapts dynamically within the parade, offering a human-scale interpretation of Brigid’s spirit through movement and presence.

Brigit By Bike: Brigit by Bike is a cycling pageant created by artist Donna Cooney in collaboration with Dublin Cycling Campaign, first presented during the inaugural Brigit festival. For Brigit 2026, up to 60 cyclists take part, wearing hand-crafted golden-yellow cloaks developed through intercultural community workshops in Dublin’s North East Inner City. The procession combines cycling, live music, and portable sound systems carried on cargo bikes, highlighting sustainability, participation, and shared celebration.

The High Kicks Irish Dancers: The High Kicks Irish Dancers bring traditional Irish dance into the moving parade format. Performing soft-shoe steps while walking the route, the dancers integrate hops, spins, and rhythmic footwork into the procession, connecting contemporary celebration with Ireland’s dance heritage.

Iníonacha na glas: iníonacha na glas is a ritual performance inspired by Imbolc and the cyclical return of light. Three performers, costumed in natural materials such as moss, ivy, bark, and twigs, process through the parade with bells, bodhrán, and accordion. Using handmade tools of grass and ivy, they enact gestures of cleansing and sowing, leaving natural traces along their path. The work explores themes of fertility, renewal, and the relationship between land and body.

Brigid's Story: Brigid’s Story weaves fire dance, storytelling, music, song, and prayer to retell the myth of Brigid within a contemporary context. Rooted in ancient tradition and living ritual, the performance invites audiences to witness Brigid’s story as one of light returning, creativity igniting, and community gathering.

Brigit 2026: Dublin City Celebrating Women is brought to you by Dublin City Council, with kind support from Dublin.ie.