'Hallmark' Christmas planned for Limerick after last year's backlash
Doubling in spend planned for festive season in Limerick
THE COUNCIL is planning to nearly double its Christmas budget as it seeks to turn the festive season in Limerick into a "hallmark event" with a seasonal mile and market.
We may not be at Midsummer's Day yet, but the local authority is already putting plans in place to deliver a memorable festive season in the city with a number of new attractions planned.
A comprehensive document has been published by council seeking companies to help with what it describes as a “signature Christmas festival”.
This, they added, will be built around a “walkable Christmas experience from King John's Castle to O’Connell Crescent that celebrates Limerick’s Georgian character, retail and public realm.”
Council has allocated €455,000 for this year's Christmas programme, compared to a budget of approximately €231,000 for last year's festive offering.
The plan is to elevate the Christmas offering from a “Regional Event which receives a medium tourist demand at present to a Hallmark Event with high tourist demand”.
Mayor John Moran said this represents a “big increase” and added putting plans in place early will ensure a higher quality of offering for Limerick.
In the plans are a “Georgian Christmas Fayre” which, if approved, would operate on Thursday, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in December – and possibly consecutive days the week before Christmas Day.
“The fayre will act as a vibrant civic space where people connect, linger and create lasting memories,” a council document reads. The early preparation for the festive season contrasts to last year. Announced in September 2025, the plans became mired in weeks of political row, confusion over responsibility and, ultimately, the cancellation of a proposed Christmas market.
Mayor Moran has insisted a three-year strategy be developed in a bid to ensure constantly improving Christmas attractions to the end of the decade.
“I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with this,” he said.
Tender documents estimate the overall value of the contract for the next three Christmas seasons at €1.365 million.