Annual Blessing of the Boats, Clogherhead Harbour

What to Expect

The annual Blessing of the Boats takes place at Clogherhead harbour on Sunday 30 August 2026 at 3pm. Clogherhead is still a working fishing port, and Port Oriel is home to a prawn and whitefish fleet, so this is a ceremony with a real constituency rather than a piece of pageantry. Boats are usually tied up along the pier for it, and crews, families and neighbours gather on the quay.

The service is short and held in the open air. Prayers are said for the safety of those who go to sea and in memory of those lost, and the boats and the harbour are blessed. It sits at the end of a run of parish gatherings on the coast through August: the Legion of Mary lead a Rosary at the entrance to the harbour car park on 15 August at 3pm for the same intention, and the annual cemetery blessings for Clogherhead fall on 16 August. Bring a coat, the pier is exposed and the wind coming off the Irish Sea can be sharp even in late summer.

Good to Know

• Sunday 30 August 2026 at 3pm
• Venue: Clogherhead harbour, Port Oriel, Co. Louth
• Free, no tickets, everyone welcome
• Held outdoors on the pier, with no seating, so dress for the weather
• Related parish events at the harbour: Rosary for those lost at sea, Saturday 15 August at 3pm at the harbour car park entrance
• Sunday Mass in St Michael’s Church, Clogherhead is at 12 noon, and at Ss Peter and Paul, Walshestown at 10.45am
• Clogherhead parish office: 087 379 1443; Mass intentions by phone on 041 982 2224

Getting There

Port Oriel is at the eastern tip of the Clogherhead peninsula, signposted through Clogherhead village. From Drogheda take the R166 through Termonfeckin, roughly twenty minutes by car; from Dunleer and the M1 take the R168. There is a car park above the harbour, but it is small and shared with the pier’s working traffic, so park considerately and keep the slipway and loading areas clear.