Watch Galway Turn Itself Over to Samhain
By the last week of October, the Latin Quarter and High Street are thick with costumed crowds, and the smell of roasting food drifts off the market stalls. This is the run-up to Samhain, the Celtic festival that gave the world Halloween, and Galway marks it with "Gaillimh Ah-Boo!", an expanded multi-day festival running 23 October to 1 November 2026 with the support of Fáilte Ireland. Events are citywide and many are free, which means you can drift from a projection-lit church to a street parade to a céilí without ever buying a ticket. The October Bank Holiday itself falls on Monday 26 October 2026, the natural anchor for a long weekend here.
Stand in the Crowd for the Macnas Parade
The centrepiece is the Macnas Halloween Parade, an annual free street spectacle that draws up to 80,000 spectators into the city centre. In 2026 it takes place on Sunday 25 October at 5:30pm, and the title is "Fiáin" (pronounced fee-awn), marking Macnas's 40th anniversary. Claim your spot early.
- Family viewing: Father Griffin Road and Eglinton Street.
- Accessible viewing: Galway Cathedral.
Dance, Light and Fire Across the City
The days around the bank holiday are packed with public events, most of them free. Build your evenings around these:
- Samhain Community Dance — Thriller in Eyre Square: 26 October 2026, 6:00pm. Mass-participation "Thriller" choreography with costumed dancers, community groups and fire acts. Free.
- Time by Luxmuralis: 23–31 October 2026, from 6:00pm at St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church. A self-guided projection-mapping and light-and-sound installation, family friendly and accessible.
- Rituals of the Sídhe — Galway Between Worlds: 28 and 29 October 2026, 6:00pm and 8:00pm, at the Circle of Life National Organ Donor Commemorative Garden in Salthill. Fire, storytelling and performance art.
- Gan Múchadh "Fire and Light": 30–31 October 2026, from 6:00pm, a circus-arts walkabout act through the streets of Galway.
- Samhain na mBan: 31 October 2026, from 6:00pm at Áras Na nGael, with women sharing cultural practices through song, music, storytelling and craft.
- A Gathering of Souls: 1 November 2026, 6:00pm, in the streets of Galway. Free, family friendly and accessible.
- Galway Comedy Festival 2026: 20–26 October, at venues including Leisureland and Róisín Dubh.
Eat, Dance and Get Told a Story
Samhain in Galway is as much about the table and the dance floor as the spectacle. The Blas na Gaillimh Supper Club runs across five days with local chefs, artisan producers and restaurants, serving seasonal autumn menus, Samhain-themed pop-up dinners and drink pairings at multiple city venues. The Galway Samhain Céilí, hosted by Galway Céilí Club, pairs a workshop with two hours of dancing to live traditional music, plus a fancy-dress prize for the best costume. For something stranger, book the Creatures of Samhain — Terrors of the Irish Underworld timed-entry experience at DeBurgos: 30 minutes long, very limited tickets, date to be confirmed. The Haunted History Tour of Galway City runs through October at locations including Forthill Cemetery, Lynch's Memorial Window, The King's Head and Galway Cathedral; it's for ages 12 and up, and advance booking is essential. Moth and Butterfly — Riddle Me a Story brings storytelling to citywide locations still to be announced.
Bring the Children, or Take a Day Out of the City
The festival reaches well beyond the headline events. Baboró returns for its 30th edition with family programming, and the Outset Gallery in Cornstore Mall hosts Shona Shirley McDonald's Shapeshifters exhibition from 10–19 October 2026, alongside "Illustrating a Character" workshops for ages 5–10 on 11 October. Younger children can catch Moving Words by Selma Daniels (ages 6–10) at the Mick Lally Theatre on Druid Lane on 10–11 October, or the Spooky Disco at Galway Rowing Club in Woodquay on 18 October at 2:00pm and 3:30pm. If you have a car, the season spills into the county: Spooky Fest at Loughwell Farm Park, the Slieve Aughty Halloween Festival, woodland trails at Kylemore Abbey and Burren Nature Sanctuary, Wildlands Adventure Centre, Turoe Pet Farm, Galway Pumpkin Patch, Brigit's Garden, and Portumna's "Fairies and Scaries."
Start with the bank holiday weekend itself — Sunday 25 and Monday 26 October — and build outward from there, since more events are still being added closer to Halloween 2026. Organisers note that events are subject to change or cancellation, so confirm details with them before you travel, and book anything ticketed well in advance.