Púca Festival 2023: A guide to everything you need to know

The festival, taking place in Trim and Athboy, runs from October 27 to 31 and celebrates Ireland as the birthplace of Halloween, sharing the origin story of Samhain or “Summer’s End’.

Tickets are still available for music and comedy headliners The Charlatans, The Waterboys, Damien Dempsey, Macy Gray, Bingo Loco, and Emma Doran, with comedy shows by Reginald D Hunter, Jason Byrne and Mack Fleetwood already sold out.

Here is everything you need to know about the festival:

Getting to Púca Festival:

The festival is taking place less than an hour from Dublin, across hubs in Trim and Athboy, Co. Meath, in the heart of the Boyne Valley.

Dedicated coaches will be travelling to the festival from a wide range of nearby locations.

Coach tickets must be pre-booked online and will be issued alongside festival tickets, at a cost of €10 and a booking fee.

A festival shuttle bus, taking visitors between the Trim and Athboy hubs, will run free of charge.

Transport routes, as well as bus times and pick-up points for the weekend can be found on the festival’s website www.pucafestival.com. .

Where to eat at the festival:

As Samhain historically marked the end of the harvest season, Púca Festival embraces the enormous wealth and quality of the local produce on its doorstep in the Boyne Valley.

Traditional barm brack, colcannon and baked apples will be on offer at the harvest market, with 40 different food and craft producers serving a range of hot food.

The Harvest Market blends tradition, craftsmanship, and ancient Irish heritage.

Set in Trim’s Porchfields, visitors can experience the art of wood sculpting, discover the secrets of Neolithic bread making, or dive into the age-old pastime of board games.

It will be open from 11am-9pm on Saturday and from 11am-7pm from Sunday to Tuesday.

What to wear on the weekend:

Festival goers and families are being asked by organisers to dress appropriately for the weather conditions as many of the tours and workshops taking place out in the open air.

Daily updates on the expected weather conditions will be distributed by organisers via social media channels.

Organisers have asked that people dress warmly, with comfortable weatherproof footwear and rain jackets.

Who is performing and what shows to see:

Music

Acts include Macy Gray, The Charlatans, The Waterboys, Damien Dempsey, Hot House Flowers, Sharon Shannon, Jack Lukeman, Mack Fleetwood, The High Kings, the Ennio Morricone Experience and a tribute to Joe Dolan on his 15th anniversary.

Comedy

Headliners include Reginald D Hunter, Jason Byrne, Emma Doran, Sinead Quinlan, Sharon Mannion, Ross Browne and John Colleary along with support acts.

Storytelling

Storytelling and folklore will be brought to life with events headlined by Dr Kelly Fitzgerald and Candlelit Tales, as well as Bressie’s (Niall Breslin) live podcast ‘Where is my mind?’.

Events will take place across various venues in Trim and Athboy.

Opening ceremony

The opening procession, 'Samhain Night Between The Years', takes place in Trim on Saturday and is “not to be missed”, according to Puca Festival organisers.

This opening performance will blend outdoor theatre, street performance, and traditional music.

“'Samhain Night Between The Years' weaves together the rich tapestry of Samhain lore, the essence of nature, the echoes of ancestry, and the imminent darkness,” they said.

Organisers are inviting spectators to come dressed in a disguise of nature foraged locally, and to bring along a hag stone (a stone with naturally occurring holes, to view mystical creatures), to safely see who is Púca and who is not. 

Following this spellbinding procession, the celebration continues at Trim Castle, where the ever-popular Pyro Collective will light up the night with a breathtaking fire display.

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony, ‘An Lasadh Suas’, takes place in Athboy on October 31.

This will take the form of a “intimate fire lighting ceremony” at Tlachtga (Hill of Ward), Athboy, paying tribute to traditional Samhain rituals, followed by a procession to the festival’s finale, a spectacular fire and musical celebration at the Fair Green in Athboy.

The closing ceremony will include performances from Sibéal Ní Chasaide and Kíla, as well as a Morrigan (ancient Irish goddess of war) inspired fire performance alongside the rhythmic beat of the Hit Machine drummers.

Athboy is an important hub of Halloween tradition, with ancient manuscripts telling us that Tlachtga or The Hill of Ward was a site of great Samhain gathering.

Festival goers will gather at the Fair Green in Athboy. The flame procession, led by a master of ceremonies, will carry the honorary Tlachtga flame, the fire to light festivalgoers up through the dark season ahead.

Púca Festival, established by Fáilte Ireland and Meath County Council, was devised to encourage more international visitors to visit Ireland during October and November.

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased at pucafestival.com