What to Wear in Dublin in December

Pack for walking, because for two days you will have no choice. NOAA's 30-year record for Dublin Airport puts December at 8.5°C by day and 2.6°C at night, with rain on about 18 days, only about 14 of them reaching a millimetre, and an average wind of about 21 km/h. Met Éireann's own summary is short: "Winters tend to be cool and windy." Light rain, wind and early dark, with sunset just after 4pm, are the weather. The calendar is the bigger change. RTÉ reported that Iarnród Éireann ran no trains on Christmas Day or St Stephen's Day in 2025, as in 2024, and under the Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Act 2018 Christmas Day is still the one day Irish pubs must close. Add the Christmas Day swim at the Forty Foot, a long walk from the city centre, and you need a coat that handles wind and drizzle for hours, a warm knit, boots for miles, and a hat that stays on.

The capsule

1. 
   01

   Charcoal hooded insulated parka, hip length

   Wind and drizzle for hours at a time is the Dublin December you are dressing for, and an insulated parka with a hood handles both without an umbrella. Hip length is enough at 9°C / 48°F and still lets you sit at a bar. On Christmas Day, with no trains running, it is what you wear on the long walk from the city to the coast.

2. 
   02

   Cream Aran crew with cable and diamond panels

   An Aran is the knit Ireland is known for, and the right weight for 3°C / 37°F nights. The Aran Sweater Market describes the knit as "water-repellent, breathable, and warm", which is the brand's claim, not a lab test, but a dense cabled wool does shed a light shower. Wear it under the parka on the walk and on its own at Christmas dinner.

3. 
   03

   Dark indigo straight-leg jeans

   Dublin wears jeans almost everywhere in December, from a hotel bar to Christmas dinner at a friend's house. A dark rinse hides the grey spray of wet pavements, and a straight leg sits over boots. Pack one pair for a week and let the knits change the look.

4. 
   04

   Dark brown leather Chelsea boots

   Christmas Day is a walking day: with no trains running on the 25th or 26th in recent years, the Forty Foot at Sandycove or a loop of the Phoenix Park is on foot. Leather Chelsea boots shed drizzle, slip off at a door, and have no laces to retie in the cold. Dark brown goes with the Aran and the tweed.

5. 
   05

   Burgundy knit gloves, touchscreen tips

   With sunset just after 4pm, the evening walk to dinner is in the dark and the cold, and you will want your phone for directions. Knit gloves with touchscreen tips keep your fingers covered while you check the map. Burgundy picks up the red in the check scarf.

6. 
   06

   Donegal tweed flat cap

   A flat cap does what a hood does without blocking your view, and it suits a city where tweed is still sold by specialists: Kevin & Howlin, founded in 1936 on Nassau Street, sells handwoven Donegal tweed hats and jackets. Donegal tweed's coloured flecks hide rain spots, and a cap tucks into a pocket indoors.

7. 
   07

   Black structured top-handle bag with a shoulder strap

   One small bag that closes properly and goes across the body for a crowded Grafton Street in Christmas week. Leather sheds rain better than canvas, and a turn-lock keeps it shut. It holds gloves, a phone and a card, and looks right at a restaurant table.

8. 
   08

   Red-and-black buffalo-check wool scarf

   Wound once, a wool scarf closes the parka's collar against an average December wind of about 21 km/h at Dublin Airport, and it is the one festive piece in a capsule of charcoal, cream and denim. Unwound, it goes into the bag in a warm pub. Red is also easy to spot on a dark street.

A suggested look — charcoal hooded insulated parka, cream aran sweater, donegal tweed flat cap, red and black check wool scarf, burgundy knit gloves.

What to avoid

• Christmas Day plans that need a train — none ran on 25 or 26 December in 2024 or 2025
• Christmas Day plans that need a pub — closed by law
• An umbrella — cool, windy winters, and a funnel along the quays
• Lingering in the sea at the Forty Foot — get in, get out, get warm
• The Christmas at the Castle market — not running in 2026