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festivals · Saturday 31 October 2026 · Various 
Doneraile Samhain Festival 2026
At Doneraile Main Street · Main Street, Doneraile, Co. Cork
At Doneraile Main Street · Main Street, Doneraile, Co. Cork
Doneraile Samhain Festival brings a weekend of Halloween theatre to this North Cork village on 31 October and 1 November 2026. The festival has run under a new name in recent years but keeps the same core promise: a weekend of parades, market stalls and family activities built around the village’s Main Street, with organisers describing a programme of “spells and potions in motion” alongside more grounded historical and wildlife-themed attractions.
The headline attraction is a headless horseman parade of witches, goblins and warlocks through the village, timed for maximum Halloween atmosphere after dark. Alongside the parade, past editions have included Viking reenactments, falconry displays and wildlife talks, giving the weekend a mix of costumed spectacle and more low-key family entertainment. A street market runs along Doneraile Main Street across the weekend, and children’s entertainment is woven through both days. Doneraile itself, best known for Doneraile Wildlife Park and Court demesne, leans into its rural North Cork setting for the festival rather than trying to compete with the scale of city-centre Halloween events.
Doneraile sits off the N20 in North Cork, close to Mallow and around 40 minutes from Cork City by car. There’s no direct rail or Bus Eireann stop in the village itself; Mallow, roughly 10 minutes away, is the nearest railway station on the Cork to Dublin line, from where a short taxi or local transport connection is needed. Parking is available around the village Main Street and near Doneraile Wildlife Park, though it’s worth arriving early for the parade given the narrow village streets.
Heading to Doneraile Main Street in Doneraile? Cork has plenty more to see. Read the Doneraile area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.
In town for Doneraile Main Street? These Cork tours book out in summer.