Armagh Georgian Festival runs from Thursday 26 to Sunday 29 November 2026, and it lets you sit on a jury, tour a former gaol and eat a banquet in a city planned by one archbishop.
Pic credit – armaghbanbridgecraigavon
Most visitors know Armagh as a cathedral city, a good place to spend a day on the way somewhere else.
Fewer people know that for four days in late November the city dresses as its 18th-century self. The Armagh Georgian Festival fills the streets with costumed guides, walking tours, concerts and a market, and it puts you inside buildings that normally run to a different timetable.
It is also not a new invention. The festival began in 2004 as a one-day market run by local retailers, and it has grown into a long programme featuring ghost tours, surgeons, and stargazing.
Region: Armagh, County Armagh, Northern Ireland
Best for: History fans, couples, families, anyone who wants a Christmas trip that is not a market and nothing else
Getting there: Armagh city centre, with events around The Mall, Armagh Gaol and Vicars’ Hill
Time needed: A full weekend, because the programme runs across four days
Armagh Georgian Festival 2026: The Programme Day by Day
The festival’s events page lists more than 30 events across four days. Many are booked through the festival’s ticketing site, and there are two passes: a Little Georgians Family Pass, which focuses on family activities, and a Georgian Society Weekend Pass, which covers exclusive events, guided tours and living-history experiences.
Thursday 26 November opens with the Rokeby Lecture, titled Gulliver’s Travels Now. Friday 27 November is the first full day. It has the Georgian Banquet, called Courting and Confections; a Georgian Christmas Celebration by the Armagh City Choir; a Paint and Sip session at Armagh County Museum; a stargazing evening; and two walking tours: the Not So Gorgeous Georgian Walking Tour and the Georgian Ghost Tour.
Saturday 28 November is the busiest day, with more than 20 events and activities. They include the Mock Trials at Armagh Courthouse, Behind Bars guided gaol tours, tours of the Archbishop’s Palace, a Palace Demesne walking tour, horse-and-carriage rides, and a Georgian Christmas Afternoon Tea.
Sunday 29 November starts with a Georgian Wedding Breakfast and also features the Arco String Quartet in From Courtship to Courting, handbell-ringing workshops, and Santa on Tour.
Do not try to see everything. Pick one anchor event per day and fit the walks around it.
Where to Stay: The Charlemont Arms Hotel is described by Discover Northern Ireland as sitting in the heart of the Georgian city, a short walk from both cathedrals.
Worth Knowing: The council says the festival began in 2004 as a one-day market run by local retailers, and that the 20th festival took place in 2024.
Behind Bars: Armagh Gaol
The gaol tour is the one most people will not forget. On Saturday 28 November, Behind Bars offers guided tours of the historic Armagh Gaol featuring costumed characters.
The building dates to the Georgian period. The Dictionary of Irish Architects records that Thomas Cooley designed the original nine-bay main block in 1780, with five bays added to the north end in 1819. The Queen’s University Belfast Prisons Memory Archive says the gaol was built around 1780 and closed in 1986.
Its later history is harder. The archive says that from 1920 it was primarily a women’s prison, and that it held female internees and political prisoners during the Troubles. Prison inspectors repeatedly found it short of space through much of the 1800s, and a new C-Wing was built in 1975 to ease overcrowding.
The festival version is a costumed living-history tour, so expect character and storytelling rather than a lecture. Wear shoes you can stand in, because old prison floors are hard.
Where to Stay: The Charlemont Arms Hotel was established in 1936 as a townhouse hotel, according to its listing.
Worth Knowing: The Dictionary of Irish Architects records a new female wing built in 1852 to 1853 and a remodelled Mall front in 1864 to 1866.
Mock Trials at Armagh Courthouse
Sit on the jury. That is the pitch for the Mock Trials at Armagh Courthouse on Saturday 28 November, an interactive living-history session rather than a performance you watch from the back.
The format suits the setting. A Georgian courthouse is built to make a room of strangers feel the weight of a decision, and a mock trial borrows that.
The Armagh Robinson Library says the archbishop who shaped the city’s Georgian look turned The Mall into a public park in 1773. Walk it before or after the trial, because it is the public park Robinson made.
Book the trial through the festival’s ticketing site, and book the gaol tour the same day.
Where to Stay: The Charlemont Arms Hotel has two bars, The Lounge and Turner’s Bar, which, according to its listing, are busy in the evenings and often host live music.
Worth Knowing: The mock trial and the gaol tour are both on Saturday 28 November, so you can do both in one day.
The Georgian Banquet and the Wedding Breakfast
Food is a thread through the weekend. On Friday 27 November, the Georgian Banquet, Courting and Confections, is a fine-dining evening with live music and stories of courtship and social ambition.
On Sunday 29 November, A Georgian Wedding Breakfast covers the food, customs and social rituals of an 18th-century wedding. In between, Saturday has a Georgian Christmas Afternoon Tea and a talk, Dowries and Dalliances, on the business of Georgian marriages.
The theme is courtship, and it runs through the programme from the banquet to the string quartet’s From Courtship to Courting on Sunday. If you want a romantic weekend, this is the one to build around.
Eat at the event if you can. These sessions are the part of the festival that gives you a table, a story and a reason to stay seated.
Where to Stay: The Charlemont Arms Hotel has two restaurants, The Dining Room and The Bistro, according to its listing.
Worth Knowing: The banquet and the wedding breakfast are separate bookings on separate days, so you can do one or both.
The Man Who Built Georgian Armagh
You cannot understand the festival without Richard Robinson. The Armagh Robinson Library states that he became Archbishop of Armagh in 1765, at age 57, and then set about rebuilding the city.
The library records the Archbishop’s Palace in 1770, the Mall as a public park in 1773, a military barracks in 1773, the County Infirmary in 1774, a new Royal School in 1774 and Armagh Gaol from 1780. It also lists the Primate’s Chapel between 1781 and 1786 and the Observatory between 1789 and 1793.
The library itself dates to 1771. Robinson funded the building and donated more than 8,000 books. The Library says it was called Armagh Public Library until 2017, when it was renamed in his honour. The visitor board’s guide gives the same 1771 date and says Thomas Cooley designed the building.
On the festival’s Saturday, tours of the Archbishop’s Palace and the Palace Demesne walking tour put you where he planned it. The palace is now the council offices, according to the library.
For a different kind of November trip in the same part of the island, our guide to Samhain at the Ulster Folk Museum covers the older Halloween traditions.
Where to Stay: The Charlemont Arms Hotel is described as being a stone’s throw from the cathedrals that frame the Georgian city.
Worth Knowing: The visitor board’s guide says Archbishop Robinson founded Armagh Observatory in 1789.
Market, Funfair and Family Events
Not everything is formal. The Festive Artisan Market runs from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November, and the festival describes it as Northern Ireland’s largest festive artisan market. A funfair runs over the same three days at Shamble’s Yard.
Families have their own strand. On Saturday, there is Family Festive Fun, horse-and-carriage rides on 28 and 29 November, and a silhouette cutter. Santa on Tour arrives on Sunday, and Sunday activities run at the Armagh Robinson Library.
In 2024, the council reported that Georgian Day had more than 130 market stalls. Walk the market early in the day, before the main events start to fill the streets.
If you are weighing this against other late-year events, our St Fagans ghost tours guide covers another costumed heritage evening in Wales.
Where to Stay: The Charlemont Arms Hotel is a family-run hotel focused on local hospitality, according to its listing.
Worth Knowing: The Georgian Festival also offers horse-and-carriage rides on both Saturday and Sunday.
Practical Tips
- Book the headline events first: the Georgian Banquet, the Mock Trials, Behind Bars and the Wedding Breakfast.
- Choose a pass if you plan to do several events. The Georgian Society Weekend Pass covers exclusive events, guided tours and living-history experiences.
- Saturday 28 November is the busiest day, with more than 20 events and activities, so decide your priorities before you arrive.
- Wear comfortable shoes. Walking tours, gaol floors and cobbled streets all add up.
- Use the AllTrails app to plan a walk around The Mall.
- Wrap up. Late November evenings in Armagh are cold, and several events are outdoors.
Responsible Visiting
The festival happens in a working city. Keep to the pavements during horse-and-carriage rides, follow the guides during gaol tours, and give costumed performers space to work. Armagh Gaol is a site with real and painful history, so treat it with respect.
Reader Q&A
When is the Armagh Georgian Festival in 2026?
Thursday 26 to Sunday 29 November 2026.
How do I book events?
Events are booked through the festival’s ticketing site, which the visitor board links to from each event listing.
What is the Behind Bars tour?
It is a guided tour of historic Armagh Gaol with costumed characters, on Saturday 28 November.
What happens at the Mock Trials?
It is an interactive living-history session at Armagh Courthouse where you sit on the jury, on Saturday 28 November.
Is there a family pass?
Yes. The Little Georgians Family Pass focuses on family activities, and the Georgian Society Weekend Pass covers exclusive events, guided tours and living-history experiences.
How long has the festival been running?
Since 2004, when it began as a one-day market run by local retailers. The 20th festival was in 2024.
Where to Stay
Charlemont Arms Hotel, Armagh. A townhouse hotel established in 1936, with two restaurants and two bars, a short walk from both cathedrals.
When the last tour ends and the costumes go back in the box, Armagh returns to being a cathedral city with one very long Mall.
