Ireland, home of Halloween
Malcolm Rogers suggests two weekend destinations for the forthcoming Halloween festivities
“No man will travel this country who hasn’t gone sleepless from Samhain, when the summer goes to its rest, until Imbolc, when the ewes are milked at spring’s beginning.”
The Táin — translation by Thomas Kinsella
 As President Kennedy once said, “We have nothing to fear except fear itself.” But what he really meant was that we have nothing to fear but fear itself — plus all those scary things that might jump out at you from behind a wall. Especially at this, the sppokiest time of the year.
Halloween is an ancient pagan Irish invention, although with trick-or-treating rife, and garish Halloween masks on sale at every corner shop, it’s easy to forget that our ancestors took this day extremely seriously.
Our forebears single-handedly invented the festival — they believed a more than usually virulent dose of the occult was about at this time of the year. You see, the eve of Samhain is the appointed time when the souls of the dead return to their old homes.
With the arrival of the Christians, things were toned down. November 1st became All Saints’ Day, and Samhain was transformed into Allhallows Eve. The pagan customs lingered on, unchanged by Christianity (or commercialism) until well into the last century.
As late as the sixties Halloween in Ireland — particularly in the North — was almost as big a celebration as Christmas and now commercialism has hijacked the day. Even in that endeavour the Irish have lent a hand. Bats, black cats & witches have little to do with the Vigil of Samhain and are more likely to have been inspired by Dubliner Bram Stoker. He was very familiar with the Irish legends of the undead walking the Earth and incorporated these in Dracula. So, to sample a true Halloween, you have to go Hibernian, and if you’re thinking of making a weekend of it, the two top Halloween destinations are in Westmeath and Derry.
The first Halloween
Some historians believe that the heart of rural Westmeath is the very source of Halloween, the place where the first festival began. The Hill of Uisneach, also known as The Catstone, lies about ten miles to the west and south of Mullingar, just beyond the village of Loughanavallay.
Uisneach was a site where people gathered for religious rites, the making of laws, the holding of games, and the transaction of business. We’re going back to pre-Celtic times, maybe as far back as five or six thousand years. Autumn was marked with an even greater occult activity than usual by our ancestors, with spirits a-visiting on Samhain Eve. The souls of the dead returned to their old homes and our ancestors headed for Uisneach or Tara, ancient royal and religious sites.
With the harvest in, Samhain Eve — the last day of the year for the Celts — became a huge celebration. The great fire was kept burning and a feast was laid out so that the ghosts would find a welcome. It is believed that places like Uisneach have played a central role in celebrations since Neolithic times.
 The Hill of Uisneach is one of the more credible sites that can claim to be the exact geographical centre of Ireland in Westmeath. Traditionally known as Ail na Míreann, the Stone of Divisions, this point on the map once marked the convergence of Ireland’s ancient provinces of Ulster, Leinster, Connacht, Munster and Meath.
Atop the Hill of Uisneach is a monolithic structure known locally as the Catstone. As you climb through the gorse and thistles that lead the way up the hill the stone starts to resemble a cat ready to pounce.
And from the top of Uisneach roughly two thirds of Ireland is visible. Westmeath’s soft green farmscape gives way to Lough Ree and counties Roscommon and Galway to the west, while to the north lie the endless drumlins leading to Cavan. A board helpfully erected by the local council proclaims the importance of the hill — Seat of the High Kings, site of the Druidic Fire Cult, Twin of Tara, centre of Ancient Ireland, site of the Samhain Festival. Here could be the very source of Halloween, the place where the first festival began, and the source of all other Samhain bonfires around Ireland.
The Banks of the Foyle Halloween Carnival
 Today the centre of Halloween operations has moved from Westmeath to Derry, now more or less the Halloween capital of the world. No-one is quite sure how this has happened but its northerly position has probably been a help. Derry is Ireland’s closest city to Scotland and because of the long connections between Donegal, Derry and Scotland there has always been something of a crossover culture (you only have to listen to Northern fiddling or piping to get evidence of that).
Halloween was long a very important festival in Scotland as well. The Scottish Celts adopted the festival early on in their history and this coming together of the two Halloween superpowers really took off in Derry.
Of course, there is another reason for Derry’s rise to spooky stardom. These days the city is quite simply a centre of excellence for the craic and its people and pubs are known for their warm welcome! Derry boasts the biggest Halloween festival in the world and probably the most boisterous. Between 30,000 to 50,000 people will be on the streets, most of whom will be in fancy dress: witches, ghoulish Gaels and banshees, as well as a fair representation of masks culled from the world of politics. So don’t be surprised to see Dracula walking along hand in hand with Bertie Ahern, or Frankenstein having a friendly chat with Ian Paisley. And if you’re arrested by a member of the PSNI with a large plastic hammer then check out fully his credentials.
Members of the Londonderry Visitor and Convention Bureau have issued an invitation to everyone to attend what they call — with justification — Ireland’s biggest street party. The highlight of the celebrations will be the annual free outdoor carnival, fireworks spectacular and street carnival.The whole festival runs from 24th to 31st October with Friday and Saturday being the big nights.
There’s free outdoor music to be had in Guildhall Square — the Fureys & Davey Arthur, and the Elvis Spectacular Show are just a couple of the acts appearing. Not forgetting the street performers, carnival bands, céilí, calypso, rock and baroque. Added to all this revelry are the many events organised throughout the city including Ghost Tours of Haunted Derry, street theatre, family entertainment and events at many of the city’s cultural and heritage centres.
Walter’s Haunted Castle of Fun at the Guildhall (Oct 29, 30) will feature numerous hands-on workshops and games.
If a Murder Mystery evening is more to your liking get along to the ‘Murder at the Museum’ experience at the Workhouse Museum on Saturday 29, and that’s just a couple of the spooktacular events on offer. The week’s festivities will culminate on October 31st in a new-look Carnival. Throughout the day there will be festive events: the Guildhall will feature an afternoon of music and dance as part of the Halloween Tea Dance and there’s the return of the Fancy Dress Halloween Ball which will take place later that evening.
Halloween night celebrations will reach a climax with the annual, outstanding world-class River Foyle Musical Fireworks display. And that’s not the end of the fun. Many of the venues and hotels about the city will be hosting a variety of Halloween parties. Hotels in Derry are currently offering a huge selection of specially priced breaks over the Halloween Carnival weekend with special deals from as little as £75.00 per person sharing for two nights accommodation plus evening meal.
For further information contact 028 7137 6504
Derry Visitor & Convention Bureau, 44 Foyle Street, Derry BT48 6AT
www.derryvisitor.com or www.derrycity.gov.uk/ halloween |
