Can Ireland become the Halloween capital of the world?

Tourism Ireland hopes to market Ireland internationally as the ‘Home of Halloween’ due to the day's roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.

The Celts marked Samhain on November 1st, the traditional beginning of winter, and families gathered to feast and play games.

“It’s actually hard to put your finger on what Samhain is,” Halloween expert Dr Sarah Cleary told The Hard Shoulder.

“So, the fact that we are now going to be celebrating a 21st century approach to Samhain in a really concerted fashion, I think is fantastic.”

Halloween bonfires in the Crumlin area of Dublin. Photo Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

Dr Cleary described Halloween as very “multicultural” in the 21st century but noted many of its most iconic traditions can trace their roots back to Ireland and the diaspora.

“Around the mid-1800s, a lot of Irish people emigrated,” she said.

“They brought with them these traditions to America and these traditions morphed over time into the Halloween that we now know.

“So, the turnip turned into a pumpkin and going door to door celebrating or ‘guising’ became trick or treating.”

Children at a Halloween party.

Dr Cleary said she was “absolutely thrilled” with Tourism Ireland’s strategy and believes it has an excellent chance of boosting the country’s tourist industry in October.

“Because really Ireland is the destination for Halloween,” she said.

“I think for a tiny little island, it’s pretty remarkable that… our origins are rooted in not one but two internationally recognised festivals i.e. St Patrick’s Day and Halloween.

“So, we’ve a lot to be celebrating.”

In 2019, Irish adults spent an estimated €49 million celebrating Halloween.

Prior to the pandemic, the tourism industry was worth €13.5 billion to the Irish economy, supporting some 284,800 full time jobs.

File photo of a house at Halloween. Image: Alamy.com