Limerick’s 20,000-strong Samhain parade will not take place this Halloween

Lumen Street Theatre says reduced funding and concerns over the tender process made staging this year’s parade unviable

The parade, staged by Lumen Street Theatre since 2018, attracts crowds of more than 20,000 people to Limerick city centre each year. Picture: Brian Arthur.

Limerick’s annual Samhain parade will not take place this Halloween after organisers withdrew from the event following a dispute over funding and the terms of a council open-call.

The parade, staged by Lumen Street Theatre since 2018, attracts crowds of more than 20,000 people to Limerick city centre each year.

Limerick City and County Council has instead advertised a new ‘Mischief’ parade as part of this year’s Halloween programme.

Lumen announced on Monday evening that it would not stage the Samhain parade on October 25, criticising how the funding process had been handled by the council.

The company said it was told in April that the council would no longer fund the Samhain parade through its existing Halloween funding, but invited it to apply through an open call for a new flagship parade.

Lumen subsequently won the bid, but said the €50,000 budget advertised by the council was reduced by €10,000.

It is understood the €50,000 was available under the scheme, but that €10,000 originally due to Lumen was recommended for use by another group staging Halloween activities.

Lumen said the reduced funding was “unrealistic”, with around €20,000 of its allocation required for event-management costs.

The company also said the funding level meant “expectations would require a small arts organisation to decline other revenue-generating work”.

Lumen has raised concerns about the tender process, including a condition it says was not presented to candidates before the competition which prevented the successful organisation from staging other parades during the relevant period.

The company told the Irish Examiner that at a meeting on April 16, a council official told them they could “have as many parades as you want, if you have the relevant permissions”.

Lumen said that when it questioned the reduction in funding, it was told the money had been “redirected elsewhere”.

In its statement, the company said the decision meant the “beloved Samhain Festival Parade scheduled for 25 October will not take place on Limerick’s streets this autumn”.

“Lumen remains committed to ambitious, artist-led and community-rooted cultural work in Limerick, and to the belief that cultural events of this scale require sustainable investment, transparent processes and respect for the creative organisations and communities that build them,” they said.

Halloween funding

For the second year, Limerick City and County Council is participating in Fáilte Ireland’s Home of Halloween Pilot Destination Development Scheme.

The programme provides funding of up to €100,000 annually over three years and aims to develop Halloween experiences rooted in Ireland’s Samhain traditions while attracting visitors and extending the tourism season.

According to Lumen director Martin Shannon, the council’s funding application in 2025 drew substantially on the reputation and content the company had developed through the Samhain parade since 2018.

“Yet Lumen received no financial support or appropriate recognition as the original authors and creators,” he told the Irish Examiner.

The council is due to unveil its full Halloween programme on Friday, with events taking place across the county from October 11 to November 1.

Meanwhile, Lumen will stage its own Halloween festival, Samhain, from October 22 to 26.

In response to a query from the Irish Examiner, Limerick City and County Council said it is looking forward to bringing Halloween in Limerick 2026 to life this October with a fresh and exciting programme of events for people of all ages.

"The Council made considerable efforts to deliver a Halloween Parade/Procession and explored every opportunity to support its successful delivery as part of the Halloween in Limerick programme," they said.

"Our focus now is on delivering a vibrant and varied Halloween programme across the city and county, working with the many community groups, cultural organisations, event organisers, venues and local businesses who contribute so much to Halloween in Limerick."