Heritage Week 2026

National Heritage Week celebrates Ireland’s cultural, built and natural heritage every August. In 2025, over 2,500 events took place across the island, a record year.

The 2026 theme is ‘Heritage At Risk’. This year, the Heritage Council invites one and all to seek out heritage places and practices that are endangered and need our attention. At a time of environmental change and rapid technological shift, the theme asks us to reflect on what is putting our heritage at risk, and how we might respond.

For a lighthouse, that question has practical implications. Working buildings on the most exposed edges of the coast, they face storm damage, coastal erosion and the slow loss of lighthouse keeper knowledge that has kept them running for centuries. Every tower still standing is there because someone chose to look after it. Every visit helps keep them in use rather than abandoned.

Explore Irish Landmark Trust lighthouses

So what better way to explore these cultural, built and natural facets of our heritage than with a look inside the Irish Landmark Trust’s four lovingly maintained Republic of Ireland lighthouse properties – St. John’s Point, Co. Donegal; Wicklow Head, Co. Wicklow; Galley Head, Co. Cork; and Loop Head, Co. Clare.

Make time in your calendar to visit one of these exceptional sites on Sunday 16 August to discover just what makes them so important to Ireland’s built heritage, tradition and culture. All properties will be open 10am-4pm for a self-guided tour. 

Entry is free but booking is required. Book your place via heritageweek.ie or irishlandmark.com

Please note that Wicklow Head has strictly no parking. Visitors arriving by car should walk up from the Glen Beach Cliff Path car park.

If you can’t make it to a lighthouse during National Heritage Week, you'll get a second chance as Northern Ireland's contribution to European Heritage Days will see over 200 of Northern Ireland's historic buildings, monuments and landmarks open their doors to the public for free.

Taking place on Sunday 13 September from 10am-4pm it’s the perfect opportunity to visit St John’s Point Lighthouse, Co. Down or Blackhead Lighthouse, Co. Antrim. 

Find out more europeanheritagedays.com

The 2026 theme is 'Heritage at Risk: Revive, Resist, Reimagine'. Both properties open 10am-4pm for a free self-guided tour. Booking ahead is recommended, particularly for Blackhead, where footfall on the day can be very high.