'Commercially unrealistic': Limerick’s popular Halloween parade will not go ahead

A POPULAR Halloween street parade will not take place in Limerick city centre this year.

It comes after the theatre firm which has run the event for seven years has said the funding awarded this year would be insufficient to stage it.

Based in Roches Street, Lumen Street Theatre has, for the last nine years, run Samhain-related events in the city. Lumen has ran parades in seven of these.

A spooky parade has sat at the heart of the Samhain celebrations, which the firm says brings more than 20,000 people annually to the streets, with 150 performers.

But this year, due to what it describes as a “commercially unrealistic” reduction in funding, it will not happen.

“The immediate consequence is deeply disappointing. The beloved Samhain Festival Parade, scheduled for October 25, will not take place on Limerick’s streets this autumn,” the company added in a post on social media.

Council tourism boss Brendan Troy confirmed the news at this month’s metropolitan meeting.

He defended the current Halloween programme - to be unveiled in full this Friday - and said what is planned instead will lead to “arguably more dwell time” in the city centre.

“We wanted a parade. We would have loved it if Lumen would have done it. But I would stand behind the programme. I think we have a great programme. We ran into difficulties with the parade. Such is a life,” he told councillors.

In its statement, Lumen Street Theatre said in April it was told that, having applied for €50,000 in funding to run the parade, only €40,000 was awarded - a decision confirmed by Mr Troy, who said the award had been made by an independent expert panel.

“Consider the 2025 parade cost €80,000,” Lumen stated.

Lumen also claimed they were told that they could not undertake other parades in the Halloween period.

“Lumen considers the reduction commercially unrealistic, particularly where €20,000 of the available budget was required for event management costs and where the expectations would require a small arts organisation to decline other revenue-generating work,” they added.

Lumen added given the popularity of its annual parade, it’s not a decision which was taken lightly.

“For the past nine years, Lumen and its artists, performers, volunteers and community partners have built Samhain into one of Limerick’s most distinctive seasonal cultural events,” they said. “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 the communities which build them.”

Metropolitan councillors expressed sadness at the fact no parade will take place this year.

“We’ve all looked forward to the parade and it brought thousands of people into town. Nicholas Street was hopping last year, down as far as the Locke. I do feel we are losing out,” said Independent councillor Ursula Gavan.

Social Democrats councillor Elisa O’Donovan said credit needs to be given to Lumen Street Theatre for building Halloween in Limerick.

She feels that without the group’s input, Limerick would not have received significant national funding.

Cllr Sharon Benson, Sinn Fein, added: “The parade has been the thing that has grown Halloween in Limerick. It’s true to say people expect it now.”

James Clune, the acting director of service in Limerick’s metropolitan district said: “There is obviously disappointment. I’ve been at the parade myself and I know it's an integral part.”