Access & Family Friendly

Draíocht is a fully accessible venue.

You can visit us from 10am–6pm, Monday-Saturday.

It is quietest at the start and end of the day, except when we've a school show on. To see a full list of events visit What's On.

Enjoy our Welcome Videos in Multiple Languages

Visual Story

We've Access Information and resources available in the foyer of Draíocht, to the left of the lift, for you to use during your visit, including

Printed Communication Cards
Magnifiers
Colour Overlays
A printed Visual Story Guide and more.

You can also ask at Box Office if you'd like to borrow a pair of Ear Defenders or some Sensory & Fidget Toys.

You can download our Digital Communication Cards below and show them to a member of staff who will assist you with your query.

Digital Communication Cards

Wheelchairs, Walkers & Mobility Scooters

We want everyone to enjoy their visit to Draíocht safely and comfortably.

Please tell us when booking if you have any special requirements and we will do our very best to facilitate you.

To help us provide the best experience:

Patrons using Wheelchairs, Walkers & Mobility Scooters must book their tickets in advance by phoning Box Office on 01-885 2622. They cannot be purchased online.
To ensure that we meet our legislative requirements under Part III Section 18 (2) of the Fire Services Act 1981 and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, audience members who arrive in/with a wheelchair/walker/mobility scooter must remain in/with their wheelchair/walker/mobility scooter throughout their time in the building.
Mobility seats are available in two convenient rows in the Main Auditorium, Row A and Row N, and in Row A in the Studio, and are allocated on a first come first served basis.
In the Main Auditorium (ground floor), we can fit a maximum of 11 wheelchairs in Row A and 2 wheelchairs in Row N.
In the Studio (first floor), we can fit a maximum of 2 wheelchairs in Row A.
Unfortunately it's not possible to sell Row A in the Main Auditorium when a large show has a band positioned in front of the stage, and we therefore have to remove Row A completely. Our Box Office staff can advise when this is the case.
If there are two performances running simultaneously in both auditoria, our policy is to allocate a total of 2 wheelchairs on the first floor to allow for safe exit of patrons.
With most of our events selling out, failure to notify Box Office of wheelchair/walker/mobility scooter accessibility requirements at the time of booking, will most likely result in us not being able to accommodate you on arrival for the performance, and unfortunately you will not get a refund.
Patrons cannot be transferred from a wheelchair/walker/mobility scooter to a theatre seat in either auditoria.
Please note that we cannot store mobility devices on the premises. If you have a walker, please ensure you are booked into Row A, as you must keep your walker with you at all times.
While we try to provide the same number of mobility seats for every show, sometimes the number of mobility seating spaces available can vary depending on the technical specifications of each performance. We remove our theatre seats to create adequate spaces.
The size of one wheelchair space in the balcony on Row N is 100cm wide and 92cm deep.

Level Access: Draíocht is a level access building with no steps and automatic doors at our entrance.

Parking: There are 8 Disabled Parking spaces directly outside Draíocht’s Front Door, as part of the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre complex.

Lift: There is Lift Access to our First Floor Gallery and Studio Theatre for wheelchair/walker/mobility scooter users and Buggies.

Theatres: There is wheelchair/walker/mobility scooter access to both theatres for every show, on a first come first served basis. Early booking is advised by phoning box office.

Ticket Prices: Our wheelchair/walker/mobility scooter patrons and their carers are entitled to discounted concession priced tickets when available. As a registered charity not for profit venue, unfortunately we can't give free tickets to carers.

Loop System: Draíocht has a Loop Induction System in our Main Auditorium.

Guide & Hearing Dogs: Guide & Hearing Dogs are welcome to attend performances with their users. Let us know when you are booking and we can give you an aisle seat with space for your dog.

Adapted Toilets: There are Adapted Toilets on both the Ground Floor and First Floor of the building.

Baby Changing: Draíocht has Baby Changing Facilities on the Ground Floor.

Braille: All of Draíocht’s internal access doors are Braille signed.

Chair Lift to Stage: There is a chair lift back stage to aid disabled performers and presenters get on to our raised stage to perform. Due to fire regulations, only one wheelchair/walker/mobility scooter performer can be on stage at any one time.

Health & Safety & Child Welfare: All incoming theatre companies receive a detailed contract outlining all aspects of their use of the building, including Draíocht’s Health & Safety Policy and our Child Welfare Policy.

Website: Draíocht’s website has been designed and built in accordance with the latest accessibility guidelines and recommendations, allowing for optimum usability and fast download of the site.

Family Friendly

Draíocht has a particular commitment to opening up opportunities of arts engagement for children and young people to explore. It is based on a belief that all of us, no matter how young, are entitled to varied arts and cultural experiences of a high and imaginative quality. Draíocht prides itself on being a family friendly venue. Our staff are welcoming, interactive, very hands on and ready to help when necessary. With 40% of the population of Fingal aged 15 years and under, we are dedicated to catering for our younger audiences and their families in as many ways as we can. Draíocht boasts a wide and varied programme of activities for families and young people including family drama, panto and musicals, dance & drama classes, summer projects and our ever popular free Family Art Days on Saturdays. Draíocht hires professional facilitators at all times ensuring a high quality arts experience for families and young people.

How can we help?

We are committed to constantly improving our services for all customers, and we want to ensure you enjoy your visit to Draíocht. Please don’t hesitate to contact us and give us your feedback so we can provide assistance when needed. Phone the Box Office on 01 885 2622 or email marketing@draiocht.ie

Family Friendly ... Read more

Draíocht is fully accessible, on ground level, making it easy to get around with a buggy.
There is lift access to the First Floor, and baby changing facilities on the Ground Floor.
Whenever possible Draíocht will offer a family ticket price to performances and almost every age appropriate performance will have a concession price for children and young people under 18 and students.
There is no admission charge for Draíocht’s galleries.
Children under 2 go free to performances, unless the performances are specifically aimed at their age range. Please check with Box Office at time of booking for clarification.
Booster Seats are available for all children who might like to use one.
For attendance at performances, children under 12 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. While young people between the age of 12 and 18 years are welcome to attend performances unaccompanied, Draíocht cannot accept responsibility for their safety. Certain productions may also have age restrictions and recommendations, which will be clearly outlined and we would ask all patrons to respect these when booking.
Draíocht implemented its Child Welfare Policy and Children’s Charter early in 2005 (one of the first venues in Dublin to do so). Draíocht’s Children’s Charter is prominently displayed in the foyer for all to enjoy.
Draíocht consults regularly with local school children, getting feedback from them after projects, meaning we can constantly improve our service for our younger participants.
Draíocht is height aware and a portable child’s step is available in the toilets to ensure children can reach the sinks.
Draíocht ensures its family shows are programmed for appropriate age ranges and that the length of the show is appropriate to the specific age range

Draíocht’s Children’s Charter

What you can expect from us:

We believe that this is your arts centre too.
We believe you have something very important to contribute to the life of the arts centre.
We believe that you are very, very welcome and we are delighted to have you here.
We believe that we should keep finding ways to make this building easier for you to get around, for example you should be able to reach things like taps or light switches easily.
We believe that all the staff you meet here in the building should be friendly and polite to you.
We believe that any activity in which you participate here in Draíocht should be the best it can be for you.
We believe that any activity in which you participate should be designed with you in mind. By that we mean that it should suit your age, your needs, your interests and abilities.
We believe that anyone working with you should be very good at what they do, will treat you in a fair and respectful way and help you anyway they can.
We believe that if you have an opinion, we should listen.
We believe we should work hard to make this a safe place for you to play and work and we choose all our staff carefully to make sure this happens.
We believe that you have great works of art inside you, and great ideas and we want to help you find ways to think about and express them.
We believe that trying something new and having a go is important. Very important discoveries are made by trying and then trying again.
We believe that in the arts, all answers are right answers.
We don’t want you to be like anyone else, we think you are really special just the way you are.
We believe in you!

What we expect from you:
We believe you will be a great guest by co-operating with and listening to people around you. These people might include Draíocht staff, your teacher or leader, your friends or the new people you’ll meet in an activity.
We believe that you will work well with the staff here and help them if they ask you.
We believe that you will give new things a try here, even if you’re not sure you’ll like them.
We believe that you’ll treat everyone you meet in the same friendly and polite way in which they will treat you.

Website Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to content published on this site only.

Statement of commitment

Draíocht is committed to making this website accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability.

The pages on this website are built to comply with Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1. 

Compliance status 

This website is partially compliant for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, due to the non-accessible content listed below. 

Non-accessible content

Some content on this website is not fully accessible due to the following reasons:

1. Archived content: Content published before 23 September 2018 is exempt from accessibility compliance under the European Accessibility Act (EAA) unless it is needed for active administrative processes. This includes older content such as Past Exhibitions and Past Resident Artists.

2. Images: Some images on this website are missing alternative text describing what is in the image so users relying on screen readers miss out on the context given by the photos. We are working to address identified issues.

3. Links: Some links on this website are not descriptive, therefore the purpose of each link may not be determined from the link text alone. We are working to address identified issues.

4. Embedded third-party content: The website includes some instances of content embedded from third party platforms such as social media. Draíocht currently has no ability to rectify accessibility issues contained within the iframes of third-party platforms. 

5. PDFs: Some PDF documents may not be fully accessible where they are not essential for administrative processes. We are working to address identified issues.

6. Videos: This website uses YouTube to host videos. YouTube videos are embedded in this website using iframes. Some of the components of these iframes have known accessibility issues including: 

Video player keyboard accessibility: We are aware of some issues with the keyboard accessibility of video players on the website. 
Video captions: Some of our videos may not have captions. We are continuously working on adding them to more videos. 
Some video components do not have sufficient colour contrast. 
Audio description: Some videos on this website do not have audio description.

As these are third-party elements originating from YouTube, Draíocht does not have the ability to rectify these issues.

Our staff are reviewing and improving the accessibility of content on the website on an ongoing basis.

Please contact marketing@draiocht.ie if you encounter an issue not listed above. 

Alternative access methods

If you encounter any difficulties accessing content on this website, you can request an alternative format or assistance by contacting us at marketing@draiocht.ie. We will make every effort to provide the information in an accessible format as quickly as possible.

Preparation of this accessibility statement 

The statement is based on a review of a representative sample of web pages against WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria using a combination of manual and automated testing.

This statement was prepared on 09 April 2025. 

This statement was last reviewed on 09 April 2025.

Feedback and contact information

Draíocht is committed to making this website accessible for persons with disabilities. We welcome feedback on the accessibility of this website.

Please email us at marketing@draiocht.ie if you;

Wish to provide feedback on the accessibility of this website;
Require access to any information or document that is not available in an accessible format; or
Are dissatisfied with our response to any notification or request and wish to submit a complaint.

We make every effort to respond to your email within 15 business days.

Access & Family Friendly

Family Friendly ... Read more

Draíocht’s Children’s Charter

Website Accessibility Statement

Statement of commitment

Compliance status

Non-accessible content

Alternative access methods

Preparation of this accessibility statement

Feedback and contact information

Keep up to date

Compliance status 

Preparation of this accessibility statement 