St. Patrick’s Festival is opening it’s 2027 sponsorship programme to retail and grocery brands, with a new Food Showcase among the opportunities available.
The Festival, established in 1995 by the Government of Ireland, has grown from a single day's parade into a five-day citywide celebration of Irish culture, creativity and community. Its 2027 edition runs from 13th to 17th March, culminating in the Parade on St Patrick's Day, with a programme spanning more than 200 events across ten locations. In 2026 the Festival drew 605,000 attendees and generated an estimated €138 million in economic impact.
For retailers, the standout addition for 2027 is the new St. Patrick's Festival Food Showcase, offering title sponsorship or activation across food stalls, cooking demonstrations and entertainment - a direct route to an audience with a strong appetite for food-and-drink experiences. It sits alongside a wider sponsorship menu that includes the flagship Overarching Festival Partner position, associated with the Festival's national campaign and a marketing reach of over 500 million from 2026; Parade float presence or a pre-Parade activation along a route that drew more than 500,000 spectators last year; and sponsorship of a performance location or cultural event across the Citywide programme, which brought 65,000 attendees to more than 200 events across ten hubs in 2026, from Parliament Street to a new city-centre location.
The Céilí Mór, the largest event of its kind on Irish soil and the official Parade after-party on Merrion Square, drew 8,000 participants in 2026 and offers title sponsorship or a standalone activation. The After Dark programme, which drew 7,000 attendees across ten locations and three fire-performance sites last year, offers sponsorship of a location or performance. Brands can also get involved in the Festival's Sustainability and Community initiatives, from standalone artistic presentations to backing a community group or performance.
The sponsorship proposition is backed by significant audience and media reach. Fáilte Ireland research from 2026 found 57% of attendees were local or domestic, while 36% travelled specifically for the event in adult groups and a further 13% came solo. Six in ten were unconstrained adults under 45, and one in three attendees discovered the Festival through online channels. The 2026 campaign delivered a combined social reach of more than 2.4 million across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn, alongside more than 14 million in paid digital and social activity, 7.7 million in out-of-home, further reach through radio, print and TV, and 118.5 million in PR coverage.
Retail and grocery names already feature prominently among the Festival's past partners, including Tesco, Aldi, Guinness Storehouse, PTSB, Disney, TikTok and Dublin Airport. Dundrum Town became a satellite Citywide location for the first time in 2026, and Laura Bergin, the centre's marketing and placemaking manager, said the collaboration "brought fantastic energy and cultural vibrancy to the destination, creating a really engaging experience for our visitors and the wider community."
Existing sponsors point to strong returns from their involvement. Kia Ireland has partnered with the Festival for six consecutive years; Cathal Kealey, the brand's head of marketing and PR, said organisers responded to a short briefing process with a detailed activation plan built around Kia's sustainability strategy, producing five cars for the Parade and an on-site activation on the use of recycled materials in its vehicles. "Overall, feedback from attendees was excellent, and we were delighted with this partnership," he said. Tayto's marketing manager, Carol McCaghy, described her brand's involvement as "a tremendous success, showcasing exemplary teamwork and collaboration," adding that objectives were "not only met but well exceeded."
Sustainability now runs through every part of the Festival's operations, from production choices to community climate action, giving retail partners a way to align a St Patrick's Day campaign with demonstrable environmental credentials, a value increasingly important to the Festival's under-45 audience.
Every sponsorship is built around the individual brand rather than a fixed template. Interested retailers can email bridget@stpatricksfestival.ie to begin a conversation, ahead of an in-person or online meeting to shape a partnership for 2027. St. Patrick's Festival runs 13th–17th March 2027 in Dublin.
