Founder & Editor · Last reviewed 2026-08-19
The Fairyhouse Easter Festival is three days of National Hunt racing at Fairyhouse, Co. Meath, run over the Easter bank-holiday weekend and built around the Irish Grand National on Easter Monday. It is the biggest crowd date in the Irish jumps calendar, long nicknamed the "Dubs' Day Out" for the Dublin crowds it draws out to Ratoath, about 23 to 25km north-west of the city centre.
In 2026 the festival ran Saturday 4 to Monday 6 April, with over €1.25 million in prize money across the three days. For 2027, fairyhouse.ie lists the dates as Saturday 27 to Monday 29 March.
The card builds across the weekend: Saturday's Style Day sets the tone with fashion awards and live music, Easter Sunday adds two Grade 1s (the WillowWarm Gold Cup and the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Novice Hurdle), and Easter Monday closes with the €500,000 Irish Grand National, Ireland's most valuable and best-known steeplechase.
This page covers the schedule, the history behind the National, how to watch from home, and what to expect if you are going. For the most recent winners, see our 2026 Fairyhouse results hub. For a fuller look at the festival, see our Fairyhouse Easter Festival guide, and for betting angles at the track, our Fairyhouse betting guide.
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2026 Festival schedule
2026 festival schedule
The Easter Festival runs across three days, each with its own character.
| Day | Date (2026) | Theme | Feature racing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Saturday 4 April | Style Day / Ladies Day | Style awards, prizes and live music open the festival |
| Day 2 | Sunday 5 April (Easter Sunday) | Gold Cup & Family Fun Day | Grade 1 WillowWarm Gold Cup; Grade 1 Irish Stallion Farms EBF (Honeysuckle) Mares Novice Hurdle; a €100,000 Tattersalls bumper |
| Day 3 | Monday 6 April (Easter Monday) | Irish Grand National Day | The €500,000 Irish Grand National, off around 5pm |
For 2027, the festival is scheduled for Saturday 27 to Monday 29 March.
The Irish Grand National itself is run over about 3 miles 5 furlongs (5,834 metres) and 24 fences, for horses aged five and older, and is capped at a maximum of 30 runners. It is a premier handicap chase rather than a Graded race in the Group sense, but it is the richest jumps race run at the course and the one the whole weekend builds towards.
Sunday's card adds serious quality alongside the National build-up: the WillowWarm Gold Cup is a Grade 1 novice chase over about 2 miles 4 furlongs, and the Mares Novice Hurdle (renamed in honour of triple Champion Hurdle winner Honeysuckle) is the calendar's only Grade 1 for novice mares.
Free children's entertainment, including an Easter bonnet competition, runs on the Sunday, and the "Dunboyne Castle & Spa Most Stylish Lady" competition takes place on Irish Grand National Day itself.
History and the Irish Grand National
History and the Irish Grand National
The Irish Grand National was first run at Fairyhouse in 1870, when the grey gelding Sir Robert Peel won for connections who received 167 sovereigns. It has been run every Easter Monday since, missing only 1919 (Irish War of Independence), 1941 (foot-and-mouth) and 2020 (Covid-19).
The race's history runs deep. Tom Dreaper is the leading trainer with 10 wins, including seven in a row from 1960 to 1966, a run that took in his stable star Arkle, who carried 12st to victory in 1964. Brown Lad is the only three-time winner (1975, 1976, 1978) for Dreaper's son Jim, and remains the most successful horse in the race's history. Pat Taaffe rode six winners, more than any other jockey, most of them for Dreaper.
More recent winners have gone on to bigger things: Bobbyjo (1998) and Numbersixvalverde (2005) both later won the Aintree Grand National, and I Am Maximus followed his 2023 Irish National with the 2024 Aintree National.
The 2026 running went to Soldier In Milan, a 6/1 favourite trained by Emmet Mullins and ridden by Donagh Meyler, who led from the back straight to win by 16 lengths. It was the horse's fifth start under rules and gave Mullins his first Irish Grand National win, having already trained the 2022 Aintree National winner Noble Yeats. The previous year's race went to Haiti Couleurs at 13/2.
Source: Stablebet's Irish Grand National race-registry dossier, cross-checked against Wikipedia and Racing Post's 2026 result reporting.
TV coverage and how to watch
TV coverage and how to watch
The Irish Grand National is shown live in Ireland on RTE2, part of the national broadcaster's terrestrial coverage of Irish racing; the 2025 running drew a peak television audience of 333,000. The 2026 race was also carried live on ITV in Britain and on Racing TV.
Racing TV holds media rights across every Irish racecourse, including Fairyhouse, so its subscription service is the day-in, day-out way to watch the rest of the festival card, both live and via replay. RTE's coverage on Irish Grand National Day itself is the only card during the festival shown free-to-air.
Streaming is available through the Racing TV app and Racing TV Extra, and RTE Player carries RTE's own coverage of the National for viewers in Ireland.
Raceday at Fairyhouse
Raceday at Fairyhouse
Fairyhouse sits off the R155, about 3km from the M3 (Exit 5, signposted Ratoath/Fairyhouse), roughly 23 to 25km north-west of Dublin city centre and around a 30-minute drive in normal traffic. The 105 Bus Eireann service stops outside the course, and on festival days extra buses run from Dublin's central bus station. The nearest train station is M3 Parkway, about 7km away, with a complimentary shuttle bus laid on for the Easter and Winter Festivals.
On-site parking is free, including wheelchair-accessible spaces, and under-16s are admitted free, with a playground and free children's entertainment on the Sunday making the festival a family occasion as much as a betting one.
There is no strict dress code across the general enclosures. Smart casual is encouraged in the Bobbyjo Bistro and the private suites, and Ladies Day (the Saturday) is when most racegoers make the effort, with the Dunboyne Castle & Spa Most Stylish Lady competition running on Irish Grand National Day itself.
If you are planning to bet across the weekend, our Fairyhouse betting guide covers the track and the going, and our Fairyhouse Easter Festival betting offers page compares verified free bets for the meeting. For the wider picture on how the festival works year to year, see the Fairyhouse Easter Festival guide.
Responsible gambling: if you are betting on the festival, set a budget before you start and stick to it. Free, confidential help is available at BeGambleAware.org. 18+.
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