At an invitation from the lord mayor of Dublin, Ireland, Sacramento State’s marching band participated in the country’s three-day New Year’s festival.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — To help ring in 2026, Sacramento State’s marching band performed last month in the New Year’s Festival in Dublin, Ireland, marking the first time the group has traveled internationally.
Current band members and alumni traveled to Dublin from Dec. 27, 2025-Jan. 2 at the invitation of the Irish city’s mayor to perform in the three-day celebration, which included performances in Dublin Castle and a parade, according to Kaleihiehie Cablay, director of athletic bands.
The band also traveled to Galway, Ireland, about 115 miles west of Dublin, during their trip, Cablay said.
Via a letter sent circa September 2024, Dublin’s lord mayor at the time invited the Sacramento State’s marching band to participate in the festival. An excerpt of that letter, shared last week with ABC10, read:
As Lord Mayor of Dublin, it gives me great pleasure to extend this warm invitation to you to participate in the New Year’s Festival in Dublin. Now in its fourteenth year, New Year’s Festival Dublin is Ireland’s biggest New Year Celebration. The festival includes spectacular events taking place over 3 days. Bands will have the opportunity to march on New Year’s Eve before thousands as part of the NYF Dublin parade. This family friendly event includes street performers, dancers, artists, and bands from across the world.
The New Year’s Festival is an occasion that brings citizens and visitors together in the heart of our capital city.
We very much hope you will be able to join us and you can be assured of a Céad Míle Fáilte – a Hundred Thousand Welcomes.
James Geoghegan
Lord Mayor of Dublin
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