Christmas has been cancelled at Dublin Castle this year, with the Office of Public Works having announced that ‘Christmas at the Castle’ will not be returning this year or next.

This is due to Government business and arrangements for the upcoming EU presidential election.

However, the cancellation has left a hole in many people’s Christmas calendars, and has left some wondering if there should be more of an offering in the capitol city during the holiday season.

Listener Greg told Lunchtime Live that he thinks the market’s cancellation is “an absolute disgrace”.

“I was saying earlier on to someone that these things are actually important; they’re the focal point for raising community spirits, atmosphere,” he said.

“It’s like the life and soul of the city; people can walk around these things, they can spend a fiver on a mulled wine or something like that, but they can take in so much more.”

Greg said he has been to many Christmas markets across the country and particularly enjoyed Killarney’s offerings.

Two women enjoy a Christmas market, Alamy

Listener Brion said he’s been going to the Christmas markets in Hamburg for the last 20 years and would love to see something similar brought to Dublin.

“A mate of mine dragged me off there after my first marriage had broken up and I was just down in the dumps,” he said.

“The last place I wanted to go was Germany in the middle of winter but oh my god, it was fantastic.

“They really known how to run the markets, and I can’t see why we don’t send a gang of Dublin City Councillors off to Hamburg or somewhere else to show them how it’s done properly."

Brion said he can’t understand why some of the “many roads” that have been pedestrianised in Dublin City couldn’t be used to host markets.

Main image: Christmas market.