Kate Brayden shares her tips on how to make the most of autumn, and all its spooky, cosy, bracing beauty.

Samhain season is almost upon us, which means plenty of festivals, cosy fireside activities and prancing around leaves in itchy knitwear (if that's what you’re into) before the winter months make it too cold to function.

In Irish culture, the time around Halloween feels especially rich in folklore, whether you pay any heed to ancient Celtic pagan traditions or not. Early literature describes great gatherings and feasts around the new beginnings, and who are we to deny 8th century hobbies?

So instead of dreading the onset of winter and everything that comes with it, here are some fantastic ways to embrace this crisp, cosy and festive time of year.

Fómhair Festivals

Who says festivals are just for summer? Europe’s largest of its kind, Derry Halloween has become a staple of the city’s annual calendar, running this year from October 28 to 31. This year’s theme, ‘City of Bones’, focuses on "shared celebration of imagination, wit, wonder, and folklore", according to the organisers. "For a few enchanted days and nights, people transform, tell the tallest of tales, and make the unbelievable seem believable."

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The North also has the 62nd run of the Belfast Arts Festival slated from October 16 to November 26. Over 30 venues across the city will feature the best international and homegrown artists in theatre, dance, music, visual arts, literature and film.

The Bram Stoker Festival also kicks off, bringing four days and nights of gothic adventures to Dublin during the October bank holiday weekend. The 2024 programme highlights include Slaughterhouse x IFI Horrorthon, Frank & McStein's Monster Laboratory and Samhain Night. If you scare easily, this would be exposure therapy.

Cosy pubs and storytelling sessions

Beer gardens and smoking areas are all fun and games in the summer, but when it starts to get colder, suddenly everyone’s flocking back to the warmth and community in many Irish pubs.

Not just for enjoying a pint*, some of the nation’s best snugs also play host to social events like comedy clubs, trad sessions, Irish language classes, writing groups and more.

Some of our favourite haunts for catching the best musicians include McNeill’s on Capel Street, Walsh’s of Stoneybatter and the Cobblestone. Club Conradh on Harcourt Street is also the perfect autumn spot for learning more about the Irish language in their HQ’s beloved Georgian building.

If the mother tongue is on your mind this Deireadh Fomhair, why not try a céilí at Dublin’s Teacher’s Club, or Gliogar’s céilís in Galway location An Cheathrú Rua? The next one takes place on Saturday, October 19 from 7:30pm in Halla Éinne.

When the nights get darker before 7pm, it’s also trickier to make sure we leave the house in the colder evenings. Another devious way pubs can lure us out of our homes are with competition, and quizzes are back with a bang of late. The Hill in Ranelagh, Barber’s in Grangegorman and The Back Page in Phibsboro are three local pubs with rammed rooms on the days of their iterations. Get a team together and huddle up.

Ceoil Culture

Jazz has seen a renaissance of sorts around the county, with new collectives and jam sessions popping up around Dublin and Cork in particular. Shaku Yard in Rathmines has started holding nights for the city’s creatives of all genres, with trad music performed on Mondays and jazz music every Sunday. They also have amazing jam sessions and open mic nights for fresh talent to show their stuff.

We can’t forget about the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival from October 24-28. One of the country’s best annual festival experiences, it lands at the perfect time of year for immersing in culture and community, hosted by the Rebel County’s best pubs and venues.

Other Voices: Home at the Guinness Storehouse will also take place in November, but tickets will be hard to secure. Subscribe to the OV Patreon and you could be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets through their many competitions.

Soaking up the Outdoors

Seeing daylight as much as possible in the shorter days is key for maintaining a person’s wellbeing. Beaches and parks around Dublin especially have social groups organising weekly meetups for yoga and Pilates outdoors.

We recommend Killiney Beach on a Sunday - but saunas are also popping up to get your temperatures boosted after a freezing swim or tough run outside. Helios Sauna in Bray (and now Dundrum) - and Outcasts’ sauna and cold plunge facility at CowTown Outdoor Food Market in Stoneybatter - get a lot of attention.

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If you really want to embrace the Gilmore Girls Pumpkin Spice Latte ambience of autumn with full force, Ireland has plenty of places to go pumpkin picking.

The Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin has a beautiful sculpture exhibition for when the flowers aren’t in bloom, and you may as well take a jaunt into Glasnevin Cemetery for the epic historical tour afterwards. Finish off with tapas and Guinness in Gravedigger’s, of course, or try the Ghost Bus Tour for a laugh if you need one.

Scannáin Scaries

Movie screenings are a major element of Dublin’s to-do list this time of year, with spooky horror showings and specialised themed one-off events happening every weekend. Dot Theatre in Pembroke Place will host a doggy cinema experience this Sunday, October 13, showing Hocus Pocus.

The lovely Rascals Brewery in Inchicore are also screening Halloween films every Sunday night from 7pm: Scream and Die Hard: 2. The Clockwork Door beside the Ha’penny Bridge is also putting on a Big Spooky Movie Night Quiz on Saturday, October 12.

Get Crafty

Dublin Pottery Painting in Smithfield is curating a Halloween-themed night on October 28, which offers a two-hour pottery painting time slot for all your spooky ceramic inspirations. If creative pursuits are how you tackle autumn, try The Tara Buildings’ storytelling night, or see if you can spin a scéal at Seanchoíche when it returns to Dublin and other Irish spots.

Wickcraft and Wickery: Awaken your Inner Witch at Street 66 takes place on Sunday, October 13 if you’re feeling like alchemy on the weekends. Organisers are calling all seekers, witches, and intuitive souls to explore the mysteries of energy work, shadow work, and connecting with your intuition and deities.

This Must Be the Place has a sustainability workshop called ‘Bits and Beads’, and clothing swap shops have never been more in demand around the country.

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If you’d rather stick your nose in a book or start off a literary career, Frustrated Writers are the group for you. Their crew of scribes has been ever-evolving and growing as of late, but why not dip your toe into essay writing, fiction, poetry, and the like? Or just bring your copy of Intermezzo by Sally Rooney into bookshop cafés or old man pubs by the fire.

Our non-exhaustive October in Ireland list aims to spark your cultural inspiration before hibernation kicks into gear, but we won’t be judging if your month is solely focused on dusting off the hot water bottles and fur-lined leggings. Culture starts in the home, after all.

Make sure your boiler works in advance and spend the new renters credit on some scented candles and overpriced blankets, if you must.

*Always drink responsibly