Celebrations of the ancient festival of Samhain (nestled between harvest time and the winter solstice) take off this month including that time honoured tradition of ‘guising’ (to fool the fairy folk you know).
Ireland will be crawling with creatures from the dark side with sheer terror awaiting the people of Knocknagoshel in the Kingdom of Kerry and their ghost trail while Kenmare hosts a Halloween Howl Village Festival replete with haunted forest and house, spooky bus, storytelling, scary movies, and more to frighten the living daylights out of you.
On the wilder side, you can take a walk at the Sneem Walking Festival over the bank holiday weekend and afterwards soak your aching feet in a 5 star luxury tub at the nearby Parknasilla hotel and resort.
Food lovers will be well catered for at the Savour Kilkenny Food Festival in the medieval city all of next week. Celebrate all aspects of food from growing it, cooking it and our favourite, eating it (someone’s gotta do it).For your just dessert, check out the cheesemaking day at Stoneyford in Kilkenny and learn how to make cheese at home at the Knockdrinna Farmhouse this October 26th.
Go bonkers for conkers this Autumn. Over in Freshford, Kilkenny, release your inner child and compete at the Irish Conker Championship this bank holiday weekend. Afterwards you can soothe your sore fingers with a well deserved manicure at Mount Juliet.
You can also check out the Hooly Nights in Kilkenny at the end of the month with storytelling, dancing (not at the same time) and music galore. And as you’re in Cat country, you can’t avoid it so get your fill of The Kilkenny Hurling Experience while you’re there.
The people of Laois celebrate Halloween with a howl at their comedy Festival in Portlaiose this October bank holiday weekend with Colin Murphy, John Colleary and Maeve Higgins among the many acts on stage.
Over in Carrick on Shannon in Leitrim, the Hunters Moon Festival promises to be one with a difference celebrating the unusual, the minimal, the free, the psychedelic and the strange at their 3 day event this October. Curioser and curioser.
This weekend, the city of Limerick hosts an Open House event showcasing architecture at city venues in a series of free events including a family treasure trail with mystery clues to discover some architectural curiosities. Also featured is a timely trip to the city’s cemetery and its Celtic crosses, tombs and burial vaults. Maybe do a head count on the way out with the time of year that’s in it.
Adare Manor
Dunraven
The Savoy
At the Cuisle Limerick International Poetry Festival next week, you can hear verse in English, Irish, Slovenian and Italian. Further afield in county Limerick at Lough Gur, you can indulge in a celebration of storytelling for kids, puppetry, amateur dramatics, graveyard mystery tours and more this bank holiday weekend.
Gather up your skirts and pinafores for the International Fashion Student Designer Awards at the end of October when wannabee fashion divas will compete for the top prize and visitors get to see the best of Irish and International designer collections in Limerick.
And for some on stage dramatics this bank holiday weekend check out the Festival of One Act Drama at the Friarsgate theatre in Kilmallock,
Longford hosts its Aisling Children’s Arts Festival next week for kids of all ages. And quite timely, the Ardagh School of Witchcraft and Wizardry promises to be, well, magical, of course.
Descendants of former inmates and workers of Dundalk Gaol get together to share their stories this bank holiday weekend.
Storytelling along with singing and lots of trad music lie in store at the Cleary/Coyne Traditional Music Fest in Claremorris, county Mayo this week. Westport House are holding a fireworks extravaganza this Halloween with all ghosts and ghoulies invited to dress to impress for the occasion. At the RoolaBoola Children’s Arts Festival in Castlebar, there will be plenty to keep the little devils busy for the mid-term break.
Ashford Castle
Ice House
Lisloughrey
In a mid-term break for grown-ups the Achill Storytelling Festival takes place this bank holiday weekend with fireside storytelling and drama of all sorts on the island.
The Samhain Abhainn festival in Ballina includes interactive scary night time walks in Belleek Woods as dusk turns to darkness, with ghosts & ghouls coming out to invite you into their nigh-time world. And that’s just the barstaff. Not for the faint hearted.
Unlike, our fabulous range of 5 luxury hotels, who are waiting to cater for your every worldly need this Halloween.
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Over in Carrick on Shannon in Leitrim, the Hunters Moon Festival promises to be one with a difference celebrating the unusual, the minimal, the free, the psychedelic and the strange at their 3 day event this October. Curioser and curioser.
