Halloween in Newry City

Newry City marks Halloween with a free twilight market at the Newry Variety Market on Saturday, 31 October 2026, running from 5pm to 10pm. The evening turns the market on John Mitchel Place into a Halloween-themed street event with live music, children’s activities, face painting, an artisan market, and walkabout characters moving through the crowd.

What to expect

The Halloween Twilight Market builds on Newry’s regular market tradition but shifts it into the evening and into fancy dress: alongside the usual stalls there are seasonal food and craft traders, a stage with live music, and activities aimed squarely at families, including face painting and arts and crafts tables for younger children. Costumed walkabout characters circulate through the market for photos, and the later finish time, running through to 10pm, gives it more of an evening-out atmosphere than a daytime family fair. Entry is free and it is a walk-up event with no ticket required, making it an easy stop for anyone in Newry city centre on Halloween night. It runs alongside other Halloween activity in the city that evening, including a separate storytelling session at the nearby Newry and Mourne Museum.

Getting there

Newry Variety Market is on John Mitchel Place in Newry city centre, within easy walking distance of the Buttercrane and The Quays shopping centres. Newry has good bus links from Belfast, Dublin and the surrounding towns via the Goldliner and Dublin Coach services, and there are several public car parks nearby for anyone driving in.

While you’re in Newry

Newry grew up around its canal and cathedral, the city straddling the old border between Down and Armagh at the head of Carlingford Lough. There is more to see in Newry and across Co. Down.

Good to know

• Date: Saturday, 31 October 2026, 5pm to 10pm
• Venue: Newry Variety Market, John Mitchel Place, Newry
• Free, no booking required
• Family-friendly with face painting, live music and walkabout characters
• Costumes welcome