18/11/2025
See you there !
Effigy to Be Returned to Nature in Closing Samhain Ritual at Tralee Bay Wetlands
The closing event of the inaugural Samhain Chiarraí – A Kerry Halloween Festival will take place at 4.30pm on Friday, 21st November 2025, at the Tralee Bay Wetlands Willow Park, marking the final chapter of this year’s celebrations.
Titled ‘Gabh Buíochas / Gratitude’, the event invites the public to join the Di**le Druid for an atmospheric ceremony of fire, song and ritual, as the carefully crafted Cailleach Willow Effigy — created through community willow-weaving and lantern-making workshops held across Kerry — is ceremonially returned to the earth.
This closing ritual offers a reflective moment to acknowledge the turning of the Celtic year: A time to turn inwards, to gather our inner light in the winter darkness, to rest and regenerate in preparation for the renewal of spring.
The ceremony brings to completion the festival’s month-long celebration of Samhain across Kerry, which has included processions, fire theatre, storytelling, workshops and community events from the Hub towns of Tralee, Killarney and Listowel and sixteen other associated community events and festivals throughout Kerry.
This final gathering at Tralee Bay Wetlands is free to attend via Eventbrite ticketing and all are welcome to share in the closing moment of the 2025 Samhain Chiarraí Festival.
Register here https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/gabh-buiochas-gratitude-tickets-1969274889205?aff=oddtdtcreatorCailleach
**leDruid