Dad’s World with Jonathan deBurca Butler

I WAS dreading it. The noise, the costumes, the drunkenness, the parties. Halloween on a Saturday night and on the day of the Rugby World Cup Final; it was going to be messy and I was nervous about it.

We had a busy day ahead of us. Ciara’s brother had popped over from London with his wife and one-year-old daughter Leyla and the plan was to bring the cousins trick or treating late in the afternoon.

We had timed the arrivals around the World Cup Final but as it turned out nobody arrived when they said they would so getting to watch it while making coffees, opening beers and going to the door was really rather impossible. But you know what? I genuinely didn’t mind that much. Once I had got over the idea of making sure that everyone was settled in and had a drink in their hand I sat down and caught the last 20 minutes of the game with my Dad and my brother-in-law.

The kids were running around or playing while the wives, girlfriends and grannies were inside...eh...multitasking. There was a nice buzz in the house and I was quite pleased. All these people — three generations of families brought together by a union tempered in the hot, romantic fires of Rome nearly 20 years ago when myself and Ciara got together on Erasmus.

Once the game had finished and the kids had had their dinner, it was time to dress them up. I think Ciara had been looking forward to this part since last Halloween — to say that she was excited would be an understatement. After five minutes upstairs the soon to be trick or treaters appeared. Batman lead the way with a deafening roar and as he crusaded through the house with his cape flowing behind him, everyone asked where Fionn had gone.

Next came the reluctant pumpkin. Luke had no truck with our appreciative gasps at his cuteness and instead grappled with a cumbersome orange hat on his head. Neither he nor his slightly younger cousin Leyla, who was dressed as a fairy, really understood what was going on. Their confusion escalated when we piled them up beside each other on the couch and started taking photos of them.

With the photocall concluded it was time for Ciara and the grannies to take them out onto the streets. Unfortunately, they didn’t last long. Leyla was returned to us after little more than five minutes with beady tears hanging from her cheeks. Some goblin or other had frightened her. The boys didn’t fare much better. Batman came hurtling back through the front door about ten minutes later with his cape between his legs.

“A boy dressed as a skeleton,” his granny whispered to me as she snuck in behind him.

Fionn popped his bag up on the table and got stuck into the plethora of jellies and chocolate that our very generous neighbours had given him. We felt sorry for Luke and decided we’d give him something just to keep him happy — not a good idea.

As everyone gathered up their stuff and headed for the door Luke decided to re-enact that well-known scene from that Halloween classic The Exorcist. It was a pity it had to end that way but as it turned out he was probably better off. When we eventually put him to bed that night he slept,well, like a baby.

Fionn had no such luck. The bangers were just too loud for him so I decided I’d treat him to a movie. Ciara had gone to meet her brother, so the two of us snuggled up and put on Wallace and Gromit. For the first few minutes, he jumped at every firework outside but he soon began to ignore them.

Gradually he melted into me and by the time I brought him back to bed he was ready to sleep through the Blitz. Just as well because when Ciara eventually got home she found me passed out on the couch. The bangers had died down, there was no sign of any parties and the boys were fast asleep.

“That was a nice day,” said Ciara.

“It was a great day,” I said.