Dublin City Council launches ‘The Beatles Weekend’

This inaugural celebration of The Fab Four will take place from August 22nd to 24th at a number of venues across the city. 

The Lord Mayor of Dublin Councillor Ray McAdam said: "This really is going to be a fab weekend and comes to us with every good wish from our twin sister city of Liverpool and their world-renowned Cavern Club who also celebrate their annual international Beatles week at the same time. I want to thank my predecessor as Lord Mayor Cllr Emma Blain. Her official engagement with Liverpool in spring this year, including visiting Rice Lane Primary School in the Penny Lane ward, ensured we revitalise our long-standing twinning relationship with the great city of Liverpool. We share deep and affectionate family and social relations over many generations with Liverpool. We have come together, and with a little help from our friends, we are delighted to be presenting a varied and rich artistic programme for our Beatles weekend. So the message is, don't let me down! Check out Dublin.ie/beatles for details. Come be a day-tripper, or an all-weekender, with us on Dublin's inaugural Beatles weekend. I've got a feeling it will be a great few days in the life of Dublin and, all together now, will continue to strengthen and broaden our cities’ social, cultural and economic relations”.

The Beatles famously played in Dublin in 1963 at the Adelphi on Abbey St, so it’s fitting that we will have music and dance Beatles events happening in Wigwam on Middle Abbey Street, as well as family-friendly activities in Temple Bar's Meeting House Square and Parliament St. 

Jon Keats, Director of Operations and Music, The Cavern Club said:

"The Beatles, Liverpool and the Cavern Club will be forever connected, as indeed will Liverpool’s relationship with our neighbours over in Dublin. The Cavern today is a place of pilgrimage for Beatle fans and indeed, music fans, from all over the world and arguably the place people feel closest to these four lads from Liverpool. Our role as custodians of this unique venue, is to protect this musical and cultural heritage, whilst nurturing and supporting the next generations of artists. The inaugural Dublin Beatles weekend very much seems to be a continuation of this ethos - a foot in the past and a hand in the future!"

Councillor Barabra Murray, Lord Mayor of Liverpool, said: “Liverpool and Dublin share a deep cultural and historical bond, and nothing exemplifies that better than our mutual love for The Beatles. It’s wonderful to see Dublin launching its own Beatles Weekend, echoing the spirit of our own International Beatles Week. This celebration not only honours the legacy of four lads who changed music forever, but also strengthens the friendship and twinning between our two great cities. We’re proud to stand beside Dublin in this musical tribute and I’m sure everyone will have a fab time.”

Kevin McManus, Head of UNESCO City of Music, said: “As a UNESCO City of Music we are constantly celebrating our rich, and diverse music offer as well as our incredible music heritage. Of course the ‘Four Lads Who Shook the World’ have pride of place whenever we talk about Liverpool music history. Their legacy is celebrated constantly not just in the city of their birth but around the world and it is fitting that our close friends in Dublin are now holding this joyous event which draws attention to the close connection between The Beatles and Dublin. The Beatles famously all had family connections to Ireland and their music was definitely rooted in the strong Irish connections of their home city.”