Púca is a brand new three-day Halloween festival by Fáilte Ireland that will take place in Athboy, Drogheda and Trim on Halloween weekend from October 31st until November 2nd in partnership with the Meath and Louth County Councils. The festival has been developed to reclaim Halloween and to tell the story of its origins in Irish and Celtic traditions. It aims to capture the “spirit of Samhain across three breath-taking nights of music, food, light and spectacle”.
Trim Castle and St. Laurence’s Gate in Drogheda will be illuminated with with some of the best projection artists in the world, including Seb Lee Delisle, Algorithm, Illuminos, and Ronan Devlin.
Notable to readers of this site are the music offerings:
Music across the weekend includes performances from Lisa O’Neill, David Keenan, DJ KORMAC, Just Mustard, Pillow Queens, AE MAK, and Jerry Fish.
Also taking place as part of PÚCA,
The Púca Food and Craft Market in Trim will offer tasty treats and traditional handicrafts to satisfy Halloween appetites.
The Coming of Samhain at Athboy will kick start the festival on 31st October recreating the symbolic lighting of the Samhain fires.
Check out the full festival line up and grab tickets here.
PÚCA Highlights
ATHBOY
The Coming of Samhain
Thursday 31 October, 5pm – Fair Green, Athboy. Free but ticketed.
A stunning historical and spiritual celebration in the shadow of The Hill of Ward (Tlachtga); the ancient site from which the light of the new year first emanates.
TRIM
Puca Halloween Night
Thursday 31 October
Púca Festival opens with a spectacular series of immersive promenade events that commemorate Samhain and the beginning of the darker half of the year…
Samhain Procession & Arrival of the Spirits
Thursday 31 October, 5.45pm – 7.00pm. Free to join.
Gather on the streets of Trim as dusk falls to join the Spirits’ procession as it weaves its way through the streets to the Púca playground at the Castle.
Púca Light Spectacular
Thursday 31 October – 2 November. Nightly from 6pm. Admission Free.
The grounds at Trim Castle come to life each night with a host of illuminations and interactive interventions – from aerialists and Púca performers to castle projections to laser shows.
Púca Food and Craft Market
Thursday 31 October – 2 November in Trim from
A wonderful showcase of local producers in the grounds of Trim Castle.
Trim Castle Concerts
Nightly from 8pm-11pm
The very best in contemporary Irish music join us for three massive entertaining nights, including:
Jerry Fish’s Púca Sideshow
Thursday 31 October
Jerry resurrects his hugely popular Electric Sideshow – a wicked night of Halloween entertainment.
Just Mustard + Pillow Queens + AE MAK
Friday 1 November
Breaking Tunes Púca Nite with some of Ireland’s best music-makers
KORMAC + Irish Chamber Orchestra
Saturday 2 November
Acclaimed beatmaker and performer, Kormac brings his incredible multimedia Equivalent Exchange with his Big Band and the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
DROGHEDA
Shadows Of The Tain (Táin Bó Cuailgne)
Thursday 31 October & Friday 1 November, Old Mollies, Drogheda. 8pm. Tickets €15
Immerse yourself in the fight between Ferdiad and Cúchulainn, and join Queen Medb and her Connacht forces as they invade Ulster at Samhain, in a unique re-telling by Candlelit Tales of the Irish Epic, Táin Bó Cuailgne.
Haxan
Friday 1 November, Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda. 8pm. Tickets €12
For this special Púca screening a new score has been created by Dublin- based musician Matthew Nolan for Benjamin Christensen’s legendary silent horror Häxan (The Witches).
David Keenan + Sive
Friday 1 November, Crescent Concert Hall, 8pm. Tickets €20
County Louth’s very own David Keenan is a singer-songwriter whose body of work is steeped in the poetic tradition of old but delivered in such a way that is entirely his own. The eerie and inspiring Sive joins Keenan on the bill with her unique, experimental arrangements.
Lisa O’Neill,
Saturday 2 November, Crescent Concert Hall, 8pm. €15
Lisa O’Neill’s distinctive voice draws you into a surreal world influenced by all that is beautiful and strange in traditional Irish music and beyond.
DROGHEDA
de:LUX –
31 October – 2 November, locations to be announced.
Over three nights Drogheda will play host to de:LUX – music and light installations which draw inspiration from tales of Irish folklore and the spirits of Halloween.
