Our Top Picks

1.  🎃 Galway Aboo Halloween Festival are kicking off their spooky celebrations this Friday. For the entire bank holiday weekend, the city’s medieval streets will host many fun and free events planned for the weekend with high-spirits guaranteed including the highly anticipated Macnas Halloween Parade.

2. 👟 The Irish Life Dublin Marathon is back this Sunday! Thousands will take to the streets of the capital to compete in this incredible event. If you don’t fancy lacing up those running shoes then come down anyway, cheer on the runners and enjoy the festivities of the day that’s in it.

3. 🎷 Guinness Cork Jazz Festival is back for the bank holiday weekend. Known for electrifying performances from legends of the genre this 5-day event is an absolute must for music lovers. (And of course, a pint of Guinness would never go amiss).

1. Dublin

🎟️ Hysteria & The Blue Note takes their feature length play ‘Jezahel - Vampires Can’t Weld’ to the Bernard Shaw this Friday, this comedy has been described as “smashing a square peg into the circle of life”.

🎥 What’s your favourite scary movie? Well maybe it will be screened at the IFI Horrorthon which runs from Thursday to Monday. Enjoy a series of classic films that will have you squirming in your seat and a Horror Table Quiz on Friday to test you on your horror knowledge.

🧛‍♂️ Take a bite out of The Bram Stoker Festival this Friday. Four days and nights of deadly adventures as Dublin gets gloriously gothic for the bank holiday weekend. There will be interactive spaces, spooky shows and ghostly storytelling all in the name of the iconic Count Dracula.

✨ Wild Lights, the spectacular, night-time experience at Dublin Zoo, is back with an exciting new theme which will bring you on a ‘A Journey Through Time’. A perfect night for families, couples, groups and anyone who loves adventure.

Hidden Gem 🔍

🏳️‍🌈 This Halloween Bank Holiday Sunday, Mother’s fright-night full venue takeover ‘Disco Bloodbath’ returns to Lost Lane, Co. Dublin. Four dance floors of live performance, drag, DJs & queer divilment.

2. Ulster

🎭 The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival kicks off in Belfast on Wednesday and runs until Sunday. We will gather to celebrate film, music, theatre and all things arts & literature. To find out more about what is on the schedule click here

⚽️ If you fancy an evening of ghosts and ghouls book your place on one of the Halloween Ghost Tours of Armagh. Enjoy approx one hour of gruesome tales of days gone by coupled with a few surprises along the way.

🎼 Hallelujah! The City of Derry International Choir Festival will belt into harmonised song this Wednesday. This year will see the largest ever number of participating choirs taking over the city and its surrounding areas!

🎢 Whether you want a thrill on the more daring rides or a fright through the haunted house, there is something for everyone including the kiddies at Screams and Trickets at V36 Park, Newtownabbey.

3. Connacht

👻 Creggs Harvest Festival is back with favourites such as the children’s Fancy Dress Parade from Dolan’s carpark to the Wildlife Park, along with lots of Halloween fun for the younger visitors, including face-painting and Halloween games.

😱 If you are in Castlebar, Co. Mayo this weekend and fancy a scare, look no further than Horror In The Barracks. Brave visitors will face a series of terrifying pods, such as “The Purge,” “The Clowns,” “The Cabin in the Woods,” “The Salem’s Lot,” and “The Chainsaw Massacre.”

🎹 Sligo Live is back this Thursday! The community centred festival was created by musicians and music lovers to showcase the very best of talent – internationally established and emerging. Artists include Dermot Kennedy, Villagers & Des Bishop.

4. Leinster

🦴 Zoinks! It’s a Scooby Doo Spectacular this Halloween at The K Club, Co. Kildare. All aboard The Mystery Machine to The K Club this Halloween where the hunt will be on to sniff out ghosts and ghouls Scooby Doo-style.

🎩 The Wexford Festival Opera runs from 18th Oct - 2nd Nov and this year's captivating programme explores the intriguing theme of ‘Theatre within Theatre’, offering a glimpse into the world behind the curtain.

🎶 Are you a fan of Leanord Cohen and also in Wexford on Thursday? Then today’s your lucky day! Novelist, song-writer, performer and reviewer Peter Murphy discusses the legacy of Cohen at Wexford Library on Oct 24th.

🍷 Relish a culinary journey featuring six courses of the finest seafood and locally sourced meats from Irish shores and soils with Sip & Savour at Paris Texas, Co. Kilkenny. Each dish is paired with a complementary wine for an extraordinary dining experience.

5. Munster

🌿 Food and drink producers will showcase their produce at The Burren Food Fayre & Burren Beo Winterage Festival this Sunday. The locally sourced food and drink on display on the day will include beef, salmon, pork, oysters, cheese, breads, jams, chutneys along with Burren whiskey and gin.

🎃 Samhain: Limerick’s Hallowe’en Festival is a bespoke festival celebrating the Irish origins of Halloween by re-imagining and retelling local stories through history, folklore and tradition – culminating with a light filled procession through the city streets on Saturday 26th October.

🎵 Who fancies a bit of ceol agus craic this weekend? Well, Hermitage Green will be playing at Tintean Theatre, Ballybunion, Co. Kerry this Friday. For more info on the gig + more tour dates click here.

🎭 The Imagine Arts Festival, Co. Waterford stands as a vibrant celebration of artistic expression, cultural diversity, and community engagement. Nestled in the heart of Waterford, Ireland, this annual event has become a cornerstone of the region’s cultural landscape.

Competitions of the week

We’re delighted to say that, thanks to the Kerry Homecoming Festival, we have two amazing prizes this week. We have a pair of tickets to Kneecap and another pair of tickets to Susan O’Neill up for grabs ☘️ To enter, simply answer the following questions:

These competitions are exclusively for newsletter subscribers and run until 9am Sunday 27th October! Good luck 💚