Features

  Elevate your autumn on the island of Ireland with a selection of festivals that celebrate community, tradition and heritage. From harvest fairs to feasts of local bounty, this is a season to savour There’s something particularly special about autumn in Ireland, and much of it comes down to its links to harvest time. For starters, there’s the food, from orchards...

  On 31st December 1759, Arthur Guinness signed an impressive 9,000-year lease on St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin, creating an Irish icon in Guinness stout, as well as an impressive legacy that can be seen around the world today. With the brand-new Netflix series House of Guinness launching around the world on 25 September, we explore some of the...

  This mid-term break, why not swap pumpkin patches and cinema trips for a stay in a 400-year-old real-life haunted castle? Ballygally Castle, perched dramatically on the Antrim Coast and long-regarded as one of Ireland’s most haunted buildings, is offering a Halloween experience with a difference. Step inside its historic walls on Sunday 26th October for the Trick-or-Treat Castle Retreat, an overnight...

  1. Halloween began over 2,000 years ago in Ireland  It may be celebrated all over the world, but Ireland is the true home of Halloween. Over 2,000 years ago the ancient Celts gathered each autumn for the festival of Samhain (pronounced Sow-in), one of the four great Celtic fire festivals, to mark the end of the harvest season. It was believed to...

    Ireland’s tales of the undead and Dublin’s Gothic architecture inspired the creation of the world’s most famous vampire.   There is one place in the world where Halloween isn’t just celebrated, it’s part of the heritage. Welcome to Ireland, the true home of Halloween, where ancient Celtic traditions and gothic legends collide in a celebration unlike anywhere else on Earth. Long before...

Myths, mischief and mighty celebrations all converge for one of the biggest festivals of the year in Ireland. But do you know where it all started?   When you think about Halloween, you probably think of carved pumpkins, ghoulish costumes and blazing bonfires, with mysterious scenes unfolding in the dimming light. But did you know that many of those traditions actually...

  Brack-obsessed baker Graham Herterich is putting the spotlight back on Ireland’s beloved fruit loaf, with tradition and innovation blending to create some fantastic new flavours. Now is the season to try it Of all the traditional Irish foods associated with Halloween, brack is one of the most beloved and enduring. It’s also hugely versatile, as professional baker, food writer and...

  Experience Halloween in Ireland, where it all began and where extended culturally rich festivals offer an immersive Celtic adventure.   Ireland is the Home of Halloween, so it’s no surprise that the island goes all out to celebrate the festival and its ancient Celtic roots. Across the country, 31 October is marked with all manner of spooky festivities but in seven...

  Are you fascinated by the paranormal and keen to feel the presence of a wandering spirit? Head to Ireland where hauntings abound.       Figures recently released about the fast-growing dark tourism market reveal that people are fascinated by horror, the macabre and the paranormal. Increasingly, travellers want to visit sites associated with tragic events or places that offer a glimpse...

  Living in Space: Space Week Ireland 2025 Invites the Nation to Dream, Discover and Explore Former NASA Astronaut Dan Tani Leads Space Week 2025 Road Trip Ireland’s fascination with the cosmos takes centre stage from 4–10 October 2025 as Space Week Ireland returns with a new theme, “Living in Space.”  Coordinated by MTU Blackrock Castle Observatory (BCO), the week invites students,...