Building on the massive success of its inaugural year, Galway City Council is proud to announce the return of ‘Gaillimh Ah-Boo!’—an expanded, city-wide Halloween celebration reclaiming the ancient Celtic origins of Samhain through myth, magic, and community.
As part of Fáilte Ireland’s Home of Halloween Destination Development Scheme, this year’s programme is even more diverse, capturing the vibrant atmosphere and unique cultural backdrop of Galway City. The season marks an extra-special milestone for the city’s arts landscape, celebrating both Macnas’s 40th Anniversary and the 30th Anniversary of the Baboró International Arts Festival for Children.
Check out our ‘All Events’ page for the full schedule of events spanning October into early November. From spine-tingling street spectacles to immersive sound and light installations, Gaillimh Ah-Boo! invites locals and visitors alike to experience Halloween in its authentic, original form, rooted in folklore, feasting, and fire.
Galway's world-renowned Culture, Creativity and Spectacle shared through the Traditions of Samhain.
This October and November Gaillimh Ah Boo! brings Ireland’s Home of Halloween to life in a city already known for creativity, street performance and storytelling.
Rooted in Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival that marked the turning of the year and the thinning of the veil between worlds, Gaillimh Ah-Boo! connects folklore, fire, mischief and imagination with the city’s distinctive cultural energy.
From the world-renowned Macnas spectacle to atmospheric heritage settings and neighbourhood-led activity, Galway’s Halloween story has everything for the family with a programme that truly showcases Galway City as Ireland's city of festivals.