A selection of things to do in Ireland over Easter.
Easter is known as the 'moveable feast.
It can be celebrated as early as March 22nd or as late as April 25th. This year it falls in the middle on April 9th which is hopefully late enough for us all to enjoy some spring sunshine during the school holidays over the next couple of weeks.
It is also the start of the outdoor season with the last of the family friendly farms and zoos opening their doors to the eager public. Most will also host some special Easter events.
However, it the weather doesn't cooperate there are also plenty of family activities to enjoy in any conditions. Below are some suggestions to entertain your family from around the country.
Have fun!
The popular funfair returns to Creamfields, Tramore Road over the Easter holidays with plenty of thrills and spills to suit all ages and all level of adventure.
- Where: Creamfields, Tramore Road, Cork.
- When: Open daily from March 30th - 23rd April, 2023.
- Admission: Admission tickets can be purchased at the entrance or online, then pay for any attraction(s) you wish to experience.
Spring is the best time on any farm as it is the time for regrowth and cute new baby animals. Don't miss out on their Easter eggstravaganza over the Easter weekend with lots of extra family fun and games.
- Where: Newgrange Farm, Meath
- When: Daily over the Easter Holidays with special Easter event on April, 8th, 9th & 10th, 2023 at 10:00-13:30 and 14:00-17:30
- Admission: Pre booking online essential
EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum
There are two fun family events scheduled on Easter Monday starting with an interactive family tour where you must be prepared to play word games, become artists and designers through drawing challenges and practice your teamwork and problem solving skills as a family – all while learning about Ireland’s history of emigration exploring EPIC’s engaging digital and sensory galleries!
There is also a special pop-up activity in the museum in the afternoon where you will discover how Easter is celebrated in Ireland and abroad. Using a variety of objects to represent Easter traditions all over the world, you will pack two suitcases, one for an Easter trip to Ireland, and another for an Easter trip abroad. Will you be able to decide which objects belong to each suitcase?
- Where: CHQ Building, Dublin
- When: Explorers Family Tour on April 10th 11am-12:10 with Easter Around the World from 13:00-15:00.
- Admission: Family tour booked separately, while the pop-up is included in admission ticket price.
Easter Week Fun, Brigit's Garden
The Easter Egg Hunt in Brigit's Garden is back on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday from 12 – 4pm.
Younger children can take part in a Mini Hunt and older children can enjoy the Mighty Hunt around the Gardens. Follow the egg clues around the trail – solve the Easter-themed puzzle and go to the Roundhouse to get your reward! Every child receives a chocolate nest with little eggs as a prize. The Mini and Mighty Hunts are available throughout the day and can be done at your own pace.
- Where: Brigit's Garden, Galway
- When: April 9th & April 10th
- Admission: Booking online in advance.
If the weather turns against us (as it usually does!) then GoQuest might be the solution for a fun indoor day out. GoQuest is a multi-challenge themed arena for older children, teenagers, and adults. Their custom designed arena has 27 unique challenge rooms for you to try and complete, against the clock during a fun-filled session, whatever the weather.
- Where: GoQuest, Carrickmines
- When: Open Daily
- Admission: Online, in advance
Westport House | Pirate Adventure Park
Inspired by the Pirate Queen of Connacht, Grace O’Malley, the Pirate Adventure Park offers a fun family experience for all ages. Reopening on April 1st!
- Where: Westport House
- When: Daily over the Easter Holidays
- Admission: Pre booking online
Easter Egg Hunt, The Ark Puddenhill
Not only can children enjoy playtime in the two indoor soft play areas, two outdoor play areas, indoor petting barn, outdoor padlocks and the enclosed duck pond but they will also be given a treasure hunt map and clues (indoor and outdoor) that, once solved, will earn them an Easter Egg. There will also be a visit from the Easter bunny!
- Where: The Ark, Puddenhill
- When: Easter Saturday, April 8th, 2023 | 10:00-13:00 and 14:00-17:00.
- Admission: Booking online, in advance
Easter Activity Day | Rediscovery Centre
The Easter Workshops include a variety of Easter-themed activities including an egg hunt challenge, egg science, Easter games, arts and crafts and exploring nature in springtime. It will be egg-cellent! The Easter camps are suitable for children aged 6 to 12 years old.
- Where: The Rediscovery Centre, Dublin
- When: Tuesday, 4th April 2023 and Thursday 6th April 2023 | 09:00 - 14:00. Note: The same programme is on both days.
- Admission: Booking online in advance only
SKYPARK's aerial adventure course is a must for adventure seekers but it's not all about heights as they also have some fantastic land activities including FootGolf, Ireland's Ancient East Maze, Axe Throwing and Aeroball to name a few!
There is an Easter Adventure Camp running from the 3rd to 13th April with residential and non-residential options available. With laser combat, aerial adventures, kayaking, rock-climbing and lost more adventures for kids aged 10 - 17.
Finally, they have their 'aMAZEing Easter Egg Hunt' running on Easter Sunday and Monday 10am to 1pm with special activities and Easter characters. Check out the Ireland's Ancient East Maze and see what surprises and chocolate you can find on your way!
- Where: Sky Park, Carlingford, Co. Louth
- When: Open daily
- Admission: Book online, in advance. The hunt is €10 per child or is included in a €20 kids activity pass for those days.
The Playcentre will be open daily over the holidays with a visit from the Easter bunny who will be calling by on Friday 7th & Saturday 8th hourly from 11am, with egg hunts throughout the day, free face painting and a free photo with the Easter Bunny.
- Where: Kingscourt, Cavan
- When: Open daily, Saturday 1st - Sunday 16th
- Admission: Pay on arrival
Tearaway's Pet Farm & Activity Centre
At Tearaways Pet Farm & Activity Centre there are indoor and outdoor activities to keep all the family happy and active, whatever the weather, including a 6,000 square foot indoor activity centre with slides, crawling tunnels, ball pits and a separate toddler area. Tearaways has a coffee shop for you to relax in whilst your kids play and have fun.
The outdoor facilities include a pet farm, outdoor playground, sports area, sledge run, games area, go-cart track and of course the ever popular barrel train.
- Where: Tearaway, Clonmona, Rathcabbin, Co. Tipperary
- When: Daily during Easter (closed Easter Sunday)
- Admission: Online, in advance
Easter School Holiday Camps | Kidspace
Kidspace Playcentres, located in Rathcoole and Rathfarnham have a fun school holiday camp planned over the Easter holidays. You can book a full week or just a single day or two if it suits you more. Each camp is a four-hour drop off with a lunch served too.
- Where: Kidspace Rathoole & Rathfarnham, Dublin
- When: Various during school holidays.
- Admission: Online, in advance
The Minions want to organise their own special Easter event, but they’ve lost all their Easter eggs!
They’ll need your help in finding them. Along the way, learn which animals lay eggs, and which animals don’t (bunnies definitely don’t!) and explore the forest along with the Minions. Make sure you solve all their puzzles in order to make their supervillain boss Gru happy!
This fun trail will be suitable for younger family members ages 4-9, who would like an active day of walking, playing, and colouring!
- Where: Castlecomer Discovery Park
- When: Running from 1st April to 16th April.
- Admission: Online booking highly recommended.
Easter Activities at Airfield Estate
Visit Airfield Estate, Dublin’s only working Urban Farm, this Easter for tasty family fun!
There is a scavenger hunt, easter activities, storytime and guided nature walks to enjoy. You can meet their new lambs on the farm and watch the donkey grooming. Then stop by the coffee shop some hot chocolate—it's Easter after all!
- Where: Airfield Estate, Dundrum, Co. Dublin
- When: April 1st - 16th | 09.30-17:00
- Admission: Prebook online or pay on arrival
Enjoy a special Easter Egg Trail for Easter week (from Good Friday 7th April to Thursday 13th April inclusive) at Wild Ireland Animal Sanctuary. There will be a nature hunt to complete and at the end the kids will receive Easter treats and a certificate!
Also the Easter Bunny will be visiting on Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday so you can get a photo with them as they hop around the park (11-3).
- Where: Wild Ireland, Burnfoot, Donegal
- When: Open daily over Easter
- Admission: Booking online, in advance
Easter at Red Mountain Open Farm
The annual Easter Treasure Hunt will take place on Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday & Easter Monday. There will be two sessions per day with plenty of activities in their large open barns; so regardless of the weather you are guaranteed to have a good time where you can drive toy tractors, play in sandpits, visit their farmyard friend, see their day old chicks and lots more.
- Where: Red Mountain Open Farm, Meath
- When: Open daily over Easter. Closed Monday 3rd.
- Admission: Booking online
A fun family day out with events this Easter including bottle feeding baby goats, meet their giant Flemish rabbits, keeper talks, & Easter Egg treasure hunt and free face painting!
- Where: Secret Valley Wildlife Park, Wexford
- When: Open daily during mid-term
- Admission: Online, in advance
Easter Egg & Fun Family Fun Event
This action packed family fun session will be the perfect way to celebrate Easter in the great outdoors with six fantastic activities for your family to enjoy including Easter Egg Hunt, Inflatable Obstacle Courses & Slides (Child must be 1 meter tall or more), Football Golf Adventure,, Off Road Pedal Go-Karting and more.
- Where: Navan Adventure Centre
- When: April 8th, 9th and 10th, for ages 3 to 12 years with parents / guardians
- Admission: Online, in advance
Easter Trail at Malahide Castle
The Fairy Trail becomes the Easter Trail over the Easter hols, and you are invited to find all the clues to complete the easter puzzle. Through a self-guided tour through the trail you can use your worksheet to find all the mising pieces to crack the code. So hop around all you bunnies and match the jigsaw pieces so you can enter a special draw to win a easter basket! There is also a special Easter Eggstravaganza on Easter Saturday.
- Where: Malahide Castle & Gardens
- When: April 1st - April 9th.
- Admission: Online, in advance
Easter Bowling and Indoor Fun, Leisureplex
Are you looking for some family fun over the Easter holidays? Leisureplex offers you the ultimate family bowling experience with kiddie ramps and ball walls for the youngest bowlers so they can strike out too!
The Zoo Playland soft-play adventure zones offer a maze of slides, tunnels and ball pools with comfortable seating areas for parents to relax and watch the kids while they run off some of the chocolate energy! (Zoo Playland not available in Cork)
- Where: Leisureplex Tallaght, Leisureplex Charlestown, Leisureplex Coolock, Leisureplex Blanchardstown and Leisureplex Cork.
- When: Open Daily – Bowling 10am-10pm, Zoo Playland 10am-7pm (last entry 5.30pm)
- Admission: Pay on arrival or book online
Easter Event, Castleview Open Farm
Enjoy a special Easter Event on Easter Saturday and Sunday 11am to 6pm. The Easter bunny will be on the farm passing out chocolates and sweets and talking to families. There will also be an Easter treasure quiz on the day with prizes to be won! You can also feed a baby lamb at 12pm and 4pm, but you can't take any cute baby animals home!
- Where: Castleview Open Farm, Laois
- When: Open April 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 22nd, 23rd, 29th and 30th.
- Admission: No booking required.
Highlight Tours of the National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology
Discover what life was like from Stone Age to Medieval Ireland with a free guided tour. Learn about perfectly preserved fish traps from the Mesolithic, gold objects from the Bronze Age, and iconic Early Medieval treasures of the ‘Tara’ Brooch and the Ardagh Chalice from Early Medieval Ireland. Also on Thursday, 13th April, hear some of the many Myths and Legends of Ireland, retold by storyteller Nuala Hayes at 2pm.
- Where: National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology, Kildare Street, Dubin
- When: Various days and times throughout April
- Admission: No booking required, places allocated on a first come first served basis.
Polly's Creative Mini Moments & Kids Yoga provide a fun Easter camp for the kids next week in Ballon. They will experience & enjoy mindfulness & yoga in a creative way with arts & crafts, fun & games, sweet treat decorating & sensory play. Suitable for both boys and girls aged 4 to 10 years. There is also a Steam Og workshop on Wednesday 12th & Thursday 13th of April at 10am.
- Where: Ballon Business & Training Service Ltd.
- When: Monday 3rd, Tuesday 4th, 10:30am & Wednesday 12th & Thursday 13th of April at 10am.
- Admission: Book online in advance
Easter Treasure Trail at Kilruddery
Enjoy two days of family fun over the Easter weekend in partnership, once more, with the DSPCA. Eggs-plore the beautiful grounds of Killruddery with a very special Easter themed treasure trail and family event. There will be a raffle, Spring Stories in The Orangery, a goodie bag (per family), baby animals to visit, traditional garden games and much more!
The funds raised from this event will go directly to support the DSPCA's cause to purchase a blood diagnostic machine for the DSPCA Veterinary Department, significantly decreasing the amount of time to receive blood test results from 3-6 days, to 12 minutes - a truly life saving change for the animals that arrive to the shelter and increasing productivity for the vet team.
- Where: Kilruddery House, Wicklow
- When: Sunday 9th & Monday 10th April.
- Admission: Online, in advance
Meet the Easter Bunny & Chase from Paw Patrol at Crazy Cave on Easter Sunday. They will be their special guests during all of the play sessions that day & will have a chocolate Easter treat for each child.
- Where: Crag Cave, Kerry
- When: Easter Sunday play session at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00
- Admission: Pre booking play slot online essential
Easter Eggs-ploration at The National Reptile Zoo!
The Researcher's Hub will be open all across Easter weekend for egg-plorers who want to come and learn about and see real tortoise, snake and insect eggs and learn all about baby reptiles! There will be egg colouring, Zookeeper talks and much more all weekend, and entry is free with general admission!
- Where: National Reptile Zoo, Kilkenny
- When: Daily from 10am - 6pm all over Easter midterm, including bank holidays.
- Admission: No booking required.
A traditional Easter Egg Hunt will take place on Easter Sunday! The Easter Bunny has left a number of eggs on their fairy themed woodland walk for you to find. Follow the instructions and you’ll receive a tasty Cadbury’s Egg as a reward! There will also be glitter tattoos, a visit from the Easter bunny and more.
- Where: Wells House & Gardens, Wexford
- When: Easter Sunday on April 9th from 11am to 4pm
- Admission: Booking online
Easter Camps | Spraoi Fun World
Spraoi - the Irish word for fun and sport - is a modern, state-of-the-art children’s fun world on Dublin’s Long Mile Road, created to offer a truly memorable experience for groups of children, from toddlers up to pre-teens. They are running their popular school holiday camps over Easter.
- Where: Spraoi Fun World, Dublin
- When: Week 1: 3rd-7th April; Week 2: 10th-14th, 09:30-13:00
- Admission: Pre booking essential
Easter Enchantment, Clonfert Pet Farm
The annual Easter festival in Clonfert Pet Farm returns with all your favourites inclduing Treasure Hunt, Kids Carnival, Face Painting and more.
There are different ticketing options including All Inclusive Child which offers access to the farm, unlimited rides at FunFair, Treasure Hunt and all other Easter activities (excludes Face Painting).
- Where: Clonfert Pet Farm, Kildare
- When: April 1st - 9th; three different session per day
- Admission: Booking online in advance only.
Celebrate the arrival of spring with some crafts at the National Print Museum! There will be an opportunity to make your own daffodils, Easter eggs, and some finger-printing as well. Suitable for all the family. Self-guided activity.
- Where: National Print Museum, Dublin
- When: Tuesday, April 11th, 14:00-16:00
- Admission: Free
Easter Events at Hook Head Lighthouse
Fun for all the family this Easter Sunday & Monday as Hook Lighthouse presents an array of free family fun events with the Pirate Princess and her posse. There will be Easter games each afternoon from 1pm with lots of chocolatey treats. The Pirate Treasure Quest Quest will be the order of the day and if the kids get it wrong – mum has to walk the plank!
Also, the Hook Lighthouse resident Artist Rose will host Easter art and craft workshops through the School Holidays and Easter Weekend from 11 am daily. Arrive along and join in or pre-book to avoid any disappointment.
- Where: Hook Head, Wexford
- When: Easter Sunday, April 9th & Easter Monday, April 10th. Also open daily for tours.
- Admission: Free games on Easter Sunday and Monday.
Easter Bunny Trail @ Cork City Gaol
The popular Easter Bunny Trail will be back from Saturday, 8th April to Friday, 14th April.Children will be invited to find all the Easter Bunnies throughout the Gaol to win a small prize. Visitors can continue to enjoy the self-guided tour – either by Guide Book or Audio-Guide.
- Where: Cork City Gaol
- When: April 8th - 14th. Also open daily for tours.
- Admission: Normal admission rates apply. Booking online
Explore the two fun mazes, three museums of traditional farming life and farm animals, then wander along our nature walks including ponds, wetlands and woodlands, crack the clues on our nature treasure hunt with real treasure at the end if you solve the riddles.
- Where: Greenan Maze, Wicklow
- When: Open daily from April 1st
- Admission: Payment on arrival
A fantastic family day out on Easter Sunday where you can meet the characters with photo opportunities, dance in the Easter Disco Tent, enjoy an Easter egg hunt, relax with some Easter bakes at the coffee counter and take take part in the Local Charity Raffle for the Poppy Lou Fund with a chance to win an Easter Hamper complete with a choice of personalised bracelet (from Poppy Lou) as well as other spot prizes!.
- Where: Pirates Adventure, Tramore
- When: Easter Sunday
- Admission: Call to book slot in advance
The Easter Bunny Loves visiting Luggwoods Forest. He leaves out clue’s to help all the boys and girls crack the code of the Easter Puzzle before they see the Luggwoods Mini Petting farm and of course meet the Easter Bunny who has a chocolate easter egg for all the boys and girls.
- Where: Luggwoods, Wicklow
- When: April 1st - 10th
- Admission: Booking online, in advance
Originally published on Lifestyle on RTE.ie
