7 Halloween Festivals Lighting Up Ireland This Fall

Halloween was born in these enchanted lands. Long before costumes and candy crossed the Atlantic, the Celtic festival of Samhain marked the shift from harvest to winter, when the veil between the living and the dead was said to be at its thinnest.

Even today, the ancient fires still flicker, sometimes in new forms. We’re talking grand parades, haunted castles, spooky tours, and stories whispered late into the evening.

If you’re chasing a true Halloween, here are seven places where Ireland does it best.

Derry

Few cities embrace Halloween with as much spirit as Derry. Its medieval walls are lit in fire and color, and the whole city turns into a great, big stage.

Musicians, acrobats, and storytellers wind through the streets as families in costume follow, and the air hums with excitement until fireworks paint the sky.

The highlight is always Derry Halloween, running from October 28th to 31st. The “Awakening the Walled City Trail” will fill the evenings with light installations and performances, while the Carnival Parade on the 31st will draw thousands of people down to the river before the sky erupts in fireworks.

Meath

In the Boyne Valley, the roots of Samhain run deep. Here, myth and landscape blend with hilltop mounds, sacred wells, and ancient ringforts that once held the fires that marked the season’s turning point.

Today, the tradition continues in a festival that draws locals and travelers back to those old crossroads.

Púca Festival takes over Trim and Athboy from October 30th to November 2nd, with outdoor theatre, music, and the ceremonial “Lighting of the Samhain Fire.” 

Acts this year include Groove Armada and Blindboy, alongside parades and folklore-inspired street performances, making the festival a modern-day echo of Samhain’s solemn origins.

Dublin and Fingal

Dublin leans into Halloween with a playful gothic flair. The candlelit streets, Georgian facades, and historical pubs are made for the ghost stories that will set the scene. The capital city loves to tip its cap to Bram Stoker, its most famous Gothic son.

This year, the Bram Stoker Festival will return from October 31st to November 3rd with theater, literature, and eerie pop-up events across the city.

Out in Fingal, the Malahide Castle Festival of Fire on October 31st will bring fireworks, light shows, and a family disco within the castle grounds, tying together Dublin’s urban energy with the county’s historic estates.

Galway

Galway’s medieval streets and harbor views lend themselves to revelry, and Halloween is no exception. The city thrives on performance, and its Halloween centerpiece is as much a spectacle as it is folklore.

Lanterns glow against stone walls, and the crowd follows the beat of the drums through the old cobblestone streets.

This year, the Macnas Halloween Parade is returning on Sunday, October 26th. Titled, “An Treun – The Summoning of the Lost,” it will bring towering puppets, mythic characters, and surreal pageantry to the City Center, keeping the West of Ireland’s deep storytelling traditions alive.