Not everyone knows that Halloween originated on the island of Ireland around 2,000 years ago in Celtic culture.
Tourism Ireland is promoting Halloween as an iconic reason to visit the island of Ireland in autumn. While Halloween is now a favourite calendar moment and celebrated all over the world, not everyone knows that it originated on the island of Ireland around 2,000 years ago in Celtic culture.
This autumn, Tourism Ireland is inviting travellers to come and experience the magic of Halloween where it all began.
Tourism Ireland’s ‘Home of Halloween’ campaign aims to drive autumn visits and deepen awareness of Ireland’s unique and ancient connection to the festival. There are incredible Halloween festivities across the island of Ireland running from late September into November, from Derry Halloween to the Púca Festival in Meath, Macnas Halloween Parade in Galway to Bram Stoker Festival in Dubin and Fire & Shadows Processions in Longford and Limerick.
In order to drive incremental bookings, Tourism Ireland has been promoting Halloween and reasons to travel since early autumn in 12 key tourism markets, including Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, the Nordics, Austria and Switzerland.
Highlights of the campaign
- Inspiring videos showcasing the magic of autumn in Ireland and the festivals to be enjoyed around the island. Click here and here to view.
- Tourism Ireland, in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland and Tourism NI, has invited 50 international media and content creators, with a reach of over 100 million, to experience the Púca Festival and Derry Halloween first hand; these include renowned travel broadcaster Gabe Saglie, who will broadcast from both events across the United States on the CBS, CNN, FOX, ABC and NBC networks.
- A new documentary titled: Les mystères d’Halloween (meaning The Mysteries of Halloween), which was co-produced by Tourism Ireland, is airing across Mainland Europe on the TV channel ARTE (as well as on its online platforms, including the streaming service ARTE.tv) and will bring viewers through the history of Halloween in Ireland.
- As part of the organisation’s International Programming Ireland Fund, a separate Halloween documentary is in the pipeline for 2026 and will film this week in Derry Halloween, charting the evolution of the festival from mystical Samhain traditions to a global phenomenon.
- Tourism Ireland is sharing the ‘Home of Halloween’ message with its millions of fans and followers on social media worldwide, as well as via its international website, Ireland.com, which has lots of information for potential visitors.
- Tourism Ireland has partnered with travel platforms overseas to promote autumn trips and drive incremental bookings. To date, these partnerships have delivered over €50 million from incremental booked trips to the island of Ireland.
From Madrid to Milan to Sydney, Tourism Ireland teams are bringing the origins of Halloween to life to stimulate future travel.
Alice Mansergh, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said:
“As the birthplace of Halloween, the island of Ireland offers our overseas visitors an authentic and original experience at this special time of year. Our ‘Home of Halloween’ campaign celebrates both our Celtic heritage and the fantastic modern-day festivals that take place across the island, such as the Púca Festival and Derry Halloween, with thanks to our partners in Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Northern Ireland and local authorities. We have seen remarkable uptake on our ‘Home of Halloween’ campaign, from global broadcasters and publications to consumers, as well as from travel platforms which are already seeing incremental bookings.”
