Pride of the Déise 2026 Festival Schedule
Pre-Festival Fundraiser
May 21st | Music Bingo & Raffle Fundraiser
It's the start of Pride season laaaads and we're kicking it off properly. Music bingo, deadly prizes, and the kind of craic that only happens in this city. Join us for a lil' pre-festival fundraiser in aid of Pride of the Déise's 2026 festival. All welcome - and yes, you should come.
📅 Thursday 21 May | 7pm
📍Henry Downes' Bar, Thomas Street, Waterford
🎟️ €5 to play
Wednesday 27 May
Flag Raising Ceremony
Pride of the Déise 2026 opens on Wednesday 27 May at 5:30pm with a flag-raising ceremony at House of Waterford on the Mall. Now in its seventh year, Waterford's volunteer-run LGBTQ+ community festival marks the moment with a free, all-ages public gathering - a declaration, as much as an opening, that queer community in Waterford is thriving. The festival runs through to 6 June under the march theme Super Queeros.
reQueering the Record: LGBTQ+ History Talks
Wednesday 27 May | 6:00–7:00pm | The Garden Room, Medieval Museum, Waterford
Queer lives were always part of Ireland's story. This one's about the ones that got left out.
reQueering the Record opens Pride of the Déise 2026 with history, art, and a few things they didn't put in the textbooks — bringing together medieval historian Dr. Gillian Kenny, Resident Artist Róibí Ó Rua, and your host Amy Uí Ríordáin for an evening of talks and Q&A in one of Waterford's most extraordinary spaces.
Free to attend. Capacity strictly limited
Tea + coffee provided.
Thursday 28 May
Pride @ Garter Lane
Belfast, September 2023. The Sugababes are touring again. Things are looking up for young gay Irish men who want to start over. Confined Spaces is a sharp, funny, and uncomfortably honest new play by Michael Lavery - a dark comedy about toxic relationships, the queer community, and the rocky, horny road to self-acceptance.
Presented by Pride of the Déise and Garter Lane Arts Centre as a rehearsed reading, directed by Em O'Ceallaigh. Followed by a party in the gallery with Déise Doll on the decks and a pop-up bar by Tully's. €5. 15+.
Thursday 28 May
Coffee Club at Spraoi with Pride at Work
Good coffee. Exceptional company. Pride at Work's Coffee Club comes to Waterford and they're bringing Dublin Pride's 2026 Grand Marshal with them.
Join us at Spraoi on Friday 29 May for a free, drop-in morning with Pride at Work and very special guest Philippa Ryder: trans activist, author of My Name Is Philippa, and one of the most important voices in Irish LGBTQ+ life. 10am to noon.
Free, but book a space!
Adult Storytelling with Fáin (@HogandDice)
Stories have always been how we've survived. Join us for an evening of adult storytelling with Fáin - intimate, atmospheric, and the kind of thing that stays with you. This is community in its oldest form.
Saturday 30 May
Youth Takeover Party
Saturday 30 May 2026
Saturday belongs to the young people. The Youth Takeover Party is a free, youth-led celebration for LGBTQ+ young people in Waterford - no adults running the show, no agenda, just a space that is genuinely, completely yours. Come as you are. Bring a friend, make some more!
Contact WSTCYS's ChillOUT Coordinators @ chillout@wstcys.ie
For more information on the ChillOUT Youth Project go to:
https://wstcys.ie/services/chillout-lgbti-youth-project/
Wexford Pride - 30th May
A bunch of us will be heading South-Easter to support Wexford Pride for their Pride Inside festival at Wexford Arts Centre from 12 PM - 6 PM. Due to low demand (and also less funding this year), we're not running a bus down but we hope to see you there!
Wexford Pride - 30th May
A bunch of us will be heading South-Easter to support Wexford Pride for their Pride Inside festival at Wexford Arts Centre from 12 PM - 6 PM. Due to low demand (and also less funding this year), we're not running a bus down but we hope to see you there!
Africa Day
Pride of the Déise joins the celebration of Africa Day on O'Connell Street - a joyful, vibrant, and genuinely class community event honoring the diversity and culture of African communities in Waterford City. All welcome.
Sunday 31 May
Community Breakfast
We're doing this outside this year, and we're going to have a heap of Blaas! Join us in Cathedral Square in the morning
7th Annual Pride March
Speeches will be starting
Block Party
After the march gets to O'Connell Street it's time to Party!
Full line up announcement coming 17th May - keep an eye on our socials and get the news first on our mailing list!
Queer Market
This year our Queer Market will be held in Garter Lane during the Block Party!
More details to come.