Up to 1000 people expected to celebrate samhain at tlachtga

Up to 1,000 people are expected to attend the 15th Samhain Festival of Fire and Torchlit Procession, which will take place on Friday night on the Hill of Tlachtga, Athboy.
Visitors are travelling from all parts of Ireland, the UK, Europe and the USA.  The gathering will begin on the Fairgreen in Athboy from 7pm when local historians, led by Joe Conlon, will talk people through the medieval history of the Hill of Tlaghta, locally known as the Hill of Ward.
The Torchlit Procession will be led by a pipe troop who have travelled from the United States especially for the occasion. 
This is just one of over forty events which have been taking place during the Spirits of Meath Festival which has been a huge success story since the concept was launched by Meath Tourism six years ago.
According to Joe Conlon, Chairman of Athboy Heritage Forum and founder and organiser of the Samhain Festival “The period of Samhain marks the end of the old lunar year and the beginning of the new. In ancient traditions this was the time to honour loved ones who had passed that year as this was the time when the veil was thinnest between the two worlds.
Mary Duff, Boyne Valley Tourism said, “The Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival, which is in its 6th year, is a fantastic example of how communities can come together to develop a programme that will attract visitors to Meath and offer ‘spooktacular’ entertainment. 
“The festival has grown from strength to strength each year and we very much appreciate the effort and hard work put in by our members to provide innovative and memorable events for visitors to Meath during October each year.  This year we are delighted to say that we have over 40 spooky and fun events and lots of fantastic accommodation packages for all the family during on our programme of events.”