Unmasking Halloween: Irish origins explored in Newtown lecture

As October’s shadows lengthen over Tipperary, history will once again take the stage at Reidy’s Bar, Newtown. On Thursday, October 23, at 8pm, Dr Karol Mullaney-Dignam, Associate Lecturer in History at the University of Limerick, will open the 2025/26 lecture season of the Arra Historical & Archaeological Society with a talk on the Irish origins and customs of Halloween.

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Dr Karol Mullaney Dignam is a cultural historian and Director of the MA in Public History and Cultural Heritage at the University of Limerick. Her research explores Ireland’s cultural and social histories from the mid-eighteenth to the twentieth century, with particular expertise in Irish music, country houses and landed estates, gender, class, and the politics of cultural nationalism.

Dr Mullaney has led and contributed to major research projects funded by the Irish Research Council, the Royal Irish Academy, and the Office of Public Works, and heads the Sound Heritage Ireland network, which examines the musical and social worlds of historic Irish properties.

In addition to her academic work, Dr Mullaney Dignam is actively involved in public history and heritage interpretation, collaborating on exhibitions, restoration projects, and media features that bring Ireland’s rich cultural past to contemporary audiences.

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Her lecture on October 23, will trace Halloween’s lineage back to Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival that marked the turning of the year. Drawing on historical records, folklore and regional traditions, Dr Mullaney-Dignam will explore how pre-Christian rituals—bonfires, disguises, divination and feasting—have survived beneath the veneer of modern celebration.

From the mischievous Púca to the hollowed turnip lantern and the fortune-telling slice of barmbrack, the evening promises to reconnect audiences with Ireland’s cultural inheritance and the enduring spirit of Oíche Shamhna.

All are welcome to attend. Admission is €5 for non-members of the Arra Historical & Archaeological Society. Membership will be collected on the night—€20 for individuals and €30 for families.

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