Christmas lights switched on in city centre

The Christmas lights were turned on in the city centre last night to mark the start of the festive season in Dublin.

Liam Roche, a teenager from Co.Clare,  flicked the switch remotely from his ward in Children’s Hospital Ireland, Temple Street turning on the one million low-energy LED light bulbs throughtout the city centre.

DublinTown, the business group that puts up the Christmas lights up on behalf of the business community in town each year, switch on the iconic lights on Grafton Street, Henry Street, South William St, Capel St and many more.

It all started last night with the spectacular Grafton Street Christmas Chandeliers.

Given the challenges of the past couple of years, there was no physical event to celebrate the switching on of the Christmas Lights this year.

Instead DublinTown hosted a live broadcast from the balcony of Bewley’s Café, Grafton Street.

The public could watch the official switch on of the Christmas lights through a ten minute live broadcast which started at 6:20pm.

The occasion was streamed simultaneously on DublinTown’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social media pages.

For more than 12 years DublinTown has taken on the task of decorating the city in stunning Christmas lights for the busiest shopping and socialising period of the year.

In that time DublinTown has also grown the number of streets with Christmas lights.

Their presence gives a sense of joy to the city and adds to the buzz and excitement as Christmas approaches.

The DublinTown Christmas lights consist of over 1 million low energy LED light bulbs, over 300,000 individual light bulbs on Grafton street alone and approx. 4km of lights in total.  The lights are now a feature attraction for the public who can be seen each evening taking pictures and selfies under the lights.

Richard Guiney CEO of DublinTown said:  “The DublinTown Christmas lights are by far the biggest task that we undertake for our business members and people of Dublin each year. 2020 and 2021 has been extremely challenging years for Dublin city centre businesses.  DublinTown has shared these experiences with our members.

“This year the erecting of the Christmas lights means so much more than any other year and we would ask people to come and support the city centre businesses at this special time.

“Stores have been gearing up for Christmas and are ready to meet customer needs.

“Customers are asked to support Irish jobs by visiting city centres stores and buying from local retailers in the city.

“Post-Covid, we all want to see a vibrant capital city and to make that a reality we need to make sure we support city businesses at this vital time, and if purchasing on-line the public are encouraged to buy from sites that support Irish jobs.

“Shopping and socialising in the city centre of Dublin under the iconic Christmas lights is a key Christmas experience for many.  We invite everyone to come to town and make new Christmas memories under the magic of the DublinTown Christmas lights.”