National Heritage Week is an initiative managed by the Heritage Council, it celebrates all things heritage. The aim is to build awareness about the value of heritage and support its conservation.
National Heritage Week 2026 will take place from 15th – 23rd August.
Since 2005, National Heritage Week has grown from a small 500 event to almost 2,000 events across the country.
This year’s theme is “Heritage at Risk”. It invites us to reflect on what heritage is at risk — and how we can respond with care, creativity, and collective responsibility.
Heritage at Risk encourages us to explore the built, natural and cultural aspects of our heritage that are endangered, for us to reimagine and revive these sites, artefacts and practices.
The theme for National Heritage Week is also the theme for over 40 European countries? As National Heritage Week is part of the European Heritage Days network, Ireland along with other countries collectively decide the theme for Heritage Week each year. Since 2010, National Heritage Week has had its own theme.
Click here to see what’s happening around the country.
