SATURDAY 31 OCT

1.45-3.30pm Costume Photos

Event Hub Selfie-Mirror Booth in Tourist Office

3.30pm gather in Town Park

4PM TRICK OR TREAT PARADE

5.30pm Céilí Chionn tSáile SAMHAIN

(Plaza & Temperance Hall)

SUNDAY 1 NOV

6pm gather at Kinsale Library

6.30PM SAMHAIN PARADE

7.15pm SONGS AT THE THRESHOLD

(in the Plaza)

8pm AN TULCA AFTER DARK

at the Lord Kingsale

Live Music • DJs • Samhain Vibes

Or click this link to donate

Support Our Festival

Support local culture. Invest in our community.

• Our festival brings people together through music, performance, creativity and community participation, celebrating the artists, people and cultural life that make our area special.

• As a volunteer-led organisation, we rely on the generosity of businesses, organisations and community partners to help us deliver an ambitious, inclusive and engaging festival programme.

• By supporting the festival, you help create opportunities for artists, encourage greater participation in the arts and strengthen our local cultural offering.

• Your contribution also helps us welcome audiences, connect communities and create a festival that benefits the wider area.

• We offer a range of sponsorship opportunities to suit businesses of all sizes. Whether you are making a contribution as a Community Supporter or becoming one of our Principal Sponsors, your support makes a genuine difference.

  We are grateful to every organisation that chooses to invest in our festival and our community.

  Our Sponsorship Opportunities

  Community Supporter | €150–€499

  Be part of the festival. Make a difference locally.

  Our Community Supporter tier offers an accessible way for local businesses and organisations to show their support for the arts and the cultural life of our community.

  Benefits include:

  • Acknowledgement on the festival website and in our online festival thank-you communications.

  • Recognition on our social media channels.

  • Your business logo featured on our online festival programme and festival landing page.

  • Inclusion in collective recognition of the businesses and organisations supporting the festival.

  Festival Partner Tier 1 | €500–€999

  Build your profile while supporting local creativity.

  For businesses looking to strengthen their association with the festival and enjoy additional opportunities for recognition.

  Includes all Community Supporter benefits, plus:

  • Inclusion in a grouped sponsor spotlight on our social media channels.

  • Inclusion in a collective festival sponsor thank-you in the Kinsale Advertiser, subject to publication arrangements.

  • The opportunity to feature a business profile of up to 250 words on our festival website, alongside your logo.

  Festival Champion Tier 2 | €1,000–€1,999

  Enjoy enhanced visibility as a festival partner.

  Our Partner Tier 2 package offers a stronger promotional presence and a closer association with the festival.

  Includes all Partner Tier 1 benefits, plus:

  • Recognition as a festival partner in relevant press releases and media communications.

  • Logo placement on key festival promotional materials produced after sponsorship confirmation, subject to deadlines and available space.

  • Prominent logo placement on our festival website and online programme, where the layout allows.

  • A dedicated social media mention or featured sponsor spotlight.

  Principal Sponsor | €2,000+

  Become a leading supporter of our festival.

  Principal Sponsors play a particularly important role in helping us develop our programme, support artists and deliver a strong festival experience for our community and visitors.

  Includes all Partner Tier 2 benefits, plus:

  • Enhanced sponsor recognition across selected festival communications.

  • A dedicated social media spotlight celebrating your organisation's support.

  • Opportunities for on-site branding, such as banners supplied by the sponsor, subject to venue permissions and event logistics.

  • The opportunity to feature your premises in festival promotional videos, where appropriate and subject to production schedules.

  • Recognition as a Principal Sponsor in relevant festival announcements.

  • A post-festival update highlighting key achievements and the difference your support has helped make.

  We welcome conversations with prospective Principal Sponsors about tailored partnership opportunities that align with their interests and the needs of the festival.

  Become a Festival Supporter

  Every contribution helps us build a stronger, more vibrant cultural programme and create opportunities for people to experience and participate in the arts.

  We would love to hear from businesses and organisations that share our commitment to local culture, creativity and community.

  To discuss sponsorship opportunities, request further information or explore a tailored partnership, please

FREE WORKSHOPS

You didn’t come this far to stop

Singing

Lantern Making

Storytelling

FREE COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS

LANTERN MAKING with Tara de las Casas

FAMILY WORKSHOPS - KINSALE LIBRARY

Friday 16 & 23rd October · 3.15–5pm

SINGING with Fiona Tierney/ Lady Fi

Tues 27th FAMILY WORKSHOP-KINSALE LIBRARY

Mon 19th & Thurs 29th 7-9pm Temperance Hall

STORYTELLING with Paddy Doyle

Weds 21st & 28th Upstairs Temperance Hall 7pm-9pm

Thurs 22nd FAMILY WORKSHOP-KINSALE LIBRARY

Workshops Free • advance booking suggested

To book: kinsalehalloweenparade@gmail.com

All of our workshops are building towards this year’s Samhain celebrations on Sunday 1st November. Songs created with Fiona Tierney, stories developed with Paddy Doyle, and lanterns made in our community workshops with Tara de las Casas will come together in this year's Samhain Parade, with singing and lanterns woven throughout. Gather from 6pm outside the Library. The parade leaves from the library at 6.30pm and will finish in the Plaza at about 7.15pm, where the gig rig becomes our Songs at the Threshold finale stage, at the Plaza (Short Quay): a gathering of storytelling, singing and physical performance. Workshop participants can choose to share their stories, or have them performed by others. Carnifølk will once again bring the myths, songs and stories to life through physicalised performance directed by Yvonne Coughlan. This year, we’re opening the threshold wider, inviting greater community participation in creating and performing the work.

An Tulca

Kinsale Halloween Festival

31st Oct. & 1st Nov. 2026

Image John Allen;

inset a winning 2025 costume

Welcome to An Tulca Kinsale Halloween Festival's landing page! 🎃

Two days of parades, music, myth and mischief, and everyone’s invited!

If you’ve arrived here by scanning the QR code on our poster, you’re in exactly the right place. The poster, as full as it is, still only gives you a taste of what’s happening; there’s so much more to discover, so scroll down and have a good look around.

We’re delighted to welcome you to An Tulca Kinsale Halloween Festival, happening on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November. Our festival format is now in its fifth year, and the festival is all about bringing people together through creativity, music, storytelling, dance, and a healthy helping of Halloween magic.

There’s something for everyone, whether you fancy making a lantern, finding your singing voice, sharing a story, dressing up for the Trick or Treat Parade, joining the Samhain Parade, or soaking up the music and atmosphere of our community celebrations. Come along to Songs at the Threshold, enjoy the Samhain vibes, and see where the mischief takes you!

And the very best bit? Everything is free! Yes, that is correct. FREE! No charge. Absolutely everything. No entry fees, no tickets to buy, just come along and be part of it. Our nine community workshops are free, with booking advised for capacity reasons only. You’ll find the dates, times, locations, and all the details further down this page.

A festival made with love, for our community ❤️

An Tulca is a celebration of what happens when people come together and make things happen. We believe that expressing ourselves through art, singing, dancing, storytelling, and simply participating in community life is good for the soul, and good for our community.

This festival is made possible by the hard work, enthusiasm, and generosity of our voluntary committee, led by our artistic director and chairperson, Yvonne Coughlan. We do it because we love Kinsale, we love the arts, and we believe everyone should have the opportunity to take part.

If you enjoy what we do and would like to help us keep doing it, we’d be enormously grateful. Our donation buckets will be out and about during the festival, and if you’d like to sponsor us, you can email us at kinsalehalloweenparade@gmail.com or get in touch with a committee member if you know one personally. Every contribution helps us bring more creativity, connection, and a little Halloween magic to our town.

And if you happen to be a particularly generous supporter with a few extra zeros to spare, please don’t be shy. We’d love to hear from you! Call 086-0479228.

Want to be part of the magic?

We’re always delighted to welcome new faces and fresh ideas. If you’re a musician, artist, performer, storyteller, enthusiastic volunteer, or simply someone who would love to get involved, please get in touch. Tell us what you’d like to do, and Yvonne will be in touch. We believe there’s room for everyone who wants to contribute.

Keep this page handy!

Scroll to explore the workshops, parades, performances, and celebrations, and do come back again! We’ll keep adding information and updates as the festival takes shape, so this page is your go-to guide for all things An Tulca.

And if you forget a time, need to check a location, or want to see what’s been added, you know where to find us.

Most of all, we hope you’ll come along, join in, bring your family and friends, and have a wonderful time celebrating Halloween in Kinsale. Take part, make something, sing something, dance in a parade, meet your neighbours, and enjoy being part of something special.

Can’t make it this year? Don’t worry we’ll be back!

For now, though, let’s make this Halloween one to remember.

Scroll on, get involved, and we’ll see you at An Tulca! 🎃🕯️🎶

Zurito – Live at After Dark

Join us on Sunday, 1st November, for a special evening of live music, DJ fun and games.

Special gust Zurito, a Spanish guitar duo, perform at After Dark our closing event in The Lord Kingsale.

Expect beautiful Spanish guitar sounds in a lively, fun, atmospheric setting as we bring our Festival to a close with An Tulca After Dark.

📅 Sunday, 1st November
🕗 8:00 pm
📍 After Dark in The Lord Kingsale

Come along, enjoy the music and help us celebrate . We look forward to seeing you there!

Many thanks to Maureen and Kate at The Lord Kingsale for their continued support.

🎃 An Tulca After Dark – Kinsale Halloween Festival Closing Party 👻

📍 Lord Kingsale, Kinsale, Cork
📅 Sunday, 1 November
🕗 8 PM – 11:30 PM

Bí linn! Join us for An Tulca After Dark, the big Halloween party in Kinsale, as we bring the festival to a close in style! 🥳

It’s going to be a night of music, connection, and celebration, bringing friends together after an incredible festival. We’d especially love to see all our amazing volunteers there, this is a chance to come together, celebrate, and enjoy the night!

🎟️ FREE ENTRY!

Capacity at Lord Kingsale is limited to 150 people, so we want to make sure all our friends get the chance to join us. We encourage you to secure your admission in advance so you don’t miss out. Admissions will also be available on the night, subject to capacity.

Come celebrate with us, reconnect with friends, and finish the Kinsale Halloween Festival on a high! 🖤🕸️

Saor in aisce - free entry, great music, and good company. We’d love to see you there! 🎶

Thank You to The Lord Kingsale

For generations, The Lord Kingsale has been part of the life and story of Kinsale. One of the town’s oldest pubs, its history stretches back more than 250 years, with a lease recorded in 1778 for the remarkable sum of one old penny a year. Its beautiful original stone-walled function room carries that history into the present, having welcomed generations of families and gatherings, from weddings and celebrations to community events.

We’re delighted to bring After Dark, our Samhain closing gathering, into this special space on Sunday 1 November, from 8pm.

A heartfelt thank you to Maureen and Kate Mortimer for sponsoring our event. Maureen has witnessed so much of Kinsale’s life unfold over the years, and the stories, memories and connections held within these walls are part of what makes this venue so special.

After days of creativity, lantern-making, music and storytelling, After Dark is a chance for our artists, volunteers, organisers and wider community to come together, celebrate what we’ve created, and bring our Samhain journey to a close.

We can think of few places more fitting for that final gathering. Thank you, Maureen and Kate, for helping us bring it all home. Capacity is limited, so Eventbrite link will be shared by Sat. 24th

After Dark

8pm Sun 1st November

Live Music, DJ, Raffle.

Céilí Chionn tSáile SAMHAIN

The Céilí Experience

facilitated by Fionán Cogán

A community céilí presented by

AN TULCA KINSALE HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL

In partnership with

Gaelscoil Chionn tSáile

Kinsale Gaelscoil

Sat. 31st after the Trick or Treat Parade

This 3-piece alternative rock band love doing things their own way. Formed by front man Riley Henry, alongside drummer Evan McGrath and bassist Ella Mullen, thay grew up together in Kinsale, where their enthusiasm for making noise was well known! Drawing inspiration from the alternative-rock sounds of The Smashing Pumpkins & Radiohead, alongside the contemporary indie-rock energy of Westside Cowboy, they bring together their influences into original music with their own identity. This young band are making their mark on the music scene with a passion for guitar-driven rock.

Stone Mad

Meet Carnifølk

Carnifølk are a queer creative co-operative bringing imagination, individuality and a little bit of beautiful chaos to the world of performance. Celebrating community, consciousness and creativity, they weave together music, immersive storytelling, fantastical characters and cabaret to create experiences that invite everyone to step beyond the everyday.

Champions of self-expression, connection and the wonderfully unexpected, Carnifølk believe in making space for people to come together, participate and become part of the story.

We’re absolutely delighted to welcome these wonderfully talented creatives back to An Tulca, bringing their unique energy, artistry and magic to our streets. Expect colour, character, music, mischief and a reminder that the world is always more magical when we create it together.

Meet the Artists

We are a collective of multidisciplinary artists working across theatre, music, performance, clowning and immersive experiences. Based in Manchester and working across the UK and beyond, our practice brings together experimental storytelling, folklore, ecology, live music and playful audience interaction. From touring contemporary theatre to transforming festival spaces into strange, immersive worlds, we create work that invites audiences to step outside the ordinary.

Jake Rayner Blair (he/they)

Jake Rayner Blair is a multidisciplinary creative based in Manchester and a founder and director of Carnifølk. Since 2023, he has helped bring more than 30 immersive theatre shows to life across the UK, with interactive performances at festivals including Glastonbury, Boomtown and Elftopia in Belgium. As a writer and producer with Bitterroot, Jake took his debut play, If It’s to Break, on an Arts Council England-funded UK tour, and is preparing to tour his second play in 2027. A musician as well as a theatre maker, he performs on accordion and piano and is currently developing The Potato War, a one-man musical inspired by the true story of his potato-farming ancestors.

Jack Kennedy (he/they)

Jack doesn't really know what he's doing. He's a mathematician who puts on silly costumes and acts like a madman, and his friends say that's very funny, so he keeps doing it. Over the past year, Jack has been performing and clowning with immersive theatre cooperative Carnifølk, where he plays Seedy Jim: a charming and flexible purveyor of handmade trinkets who navigates the games economy and draws unsuspecting punters into all manner of seedy hijinks.

Anisa Culling (they/them)

Anisa is a drag cryptid, classical soprano and internationally award-winning dancer, on a very specific technicality. Their work explores the relationship between folklore and ecology, often blurring the boundaries between art, nature and the uncanny. They create immersive theatrical experiences that spill into rave spaces, bringing experimental art into conversation with more traditional forms. Anisa also plays fiddle in a naked techno céilí band and works with Carnifølk London as an actor, producer and, most frequently, a large invertebrate.

Chris Richards (he/him)

Chris is a theatre maker, musician and actor based in Manchester. He co-directs Bitterroot, an experimental theatre company creating and touring contemporary theatre across the UK, and helps run Manchester-based immersive theatre cooperative Carnifølk. Chris performs in all his productions and creates their sound design, bringing together his interests in performance, sound and storytelling. A multi-instrumentalist, he also plays in bands and works as a session musician.