Shadows & Stories: Halloween in Limerick
Autumn in the west of Ireland has a character all its own. A little outside Limerick city, surrounded by 20 acres of parkland, the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa offers a base where families can dip into the festivities of October and retreat to calm when the day is done. The drive into town takes you past fields streaked with colour and woodlands where the year is turning — a reminder that Halloween here is tied to Samhain, the Celtic festival of transition.
Limerick itself comes alive in October with the Samhain Festival filling the region with storytelling, folklore and performance from 23 – 27 October, culminating in the spectacular Lumen Street Theatre’s Fire & Shadows Parade which winds through the streets in a blaze of light and shadow. Families head for Con Mór, The Giant at King Johns Castle with daily outdoor production of smoke lights and magic, plus pumpkin painting and mask making workshops throughout the week. The Curraghchase Pumpkin Patch, where wheelbarrows and muddy boots are as much part of the ritual as choosing the perfect pumpkin. On the river, Nevsail Watersports brings lantern-lit adventures on water with daily kayak tours, while Castleconnell’s FrightFest trail mixes fun and fright along the Shannon.
Another level of magic awaits at Bunratty Castle & Folk Park where their Monsters, Misfits and Mayhem weekend will be jammed with Halloween games, ghostly characters, witchcraft, a Bed of Nails, tarot reading, street entertainment, and Haunted Train rides past ghosts, grim reapers, and zombies that will appear from the shadows throughout the 26-acre folk park.
Back at the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Limerick, the atmosphere continues. Children rush to Paddocks Open Farm, pausing between feeding the donkeys and goats, and cuddles with the rabbits, before heading indoors to the swimming pool. As dusk arrives, the hotel’s Explorers Kids Club picks up the theme with crafts and games commencing from 5pm daily. Evenings are for balance: a family walk along the hotel’s 2km riverside loop under the last of the autumn leaves, or a quiet glass of wine as younger guests are looked after with supervised kids club dinner and movies to perfectly end their day of ghosts, pumpkins, and play.
Halloween in Limerick is less about jump scares and more about layers. Folklore and history, parades and pumpkin fields, the city’s medieval stories and the countryside’s calmer rituals. With its blend of activity and retreat, it’s a season best enjoyed with a little curiosity and the right base.
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