For four nights in late October, Drogheda's old streets turn into a walking trail of light. Lú Festival of Light projects myths and legends onto landmarks like St Peter's Church, the Old Abbey and St Laurence's Gate, with fire performers, live music and the Spooks Parade around them. It's free, it's family-friendly, and this year it lands on the October bank holiday weekend, 23–26 October 2026.
Here's the full run-down: when to go, what to see, how to plan the evening, and where to sleep afterwards. The official site, lufestivaloflight.com, is the place to check for last-minute changes.
In this guide
1. Know the dates and show times — when the light shows run each night
2. What's on, day by day — the full Friday to Monday programme
3. Plan around the bank holiday weekend — how to handle the crowds
4. Walk the light sites — the story behind each projection
5. Make time for the markets, food and music — the Cottage Market, Spooks Parade and more
6. A simple plan for the night — a route and rough timings
7. Book your stay early — why to sort a room now
8. Why Rathescar Grove works for Lú — a quiet base once the crowds go home
1. Know the dates and show times
Show times for 2026 are:
Friday 23 October: 7pm to 9pm
Saturday 24 October: 6pm to 9pm
Sunday 25 October: 6pm to 9pm, with a sensory hour from 6pm to 7pm (no tickets required)
Monday 26 October: 6pm to 9pm
Shows run every 10 to 15 minutes at each site, so there's no need to queue for a set start time. You can wander, circle back to a favourite and take it at your own pace.
2. What's on, day by day
The light shows are only part of it. There's a full programme of daytime and evening events across the town, and a few just outside it. Here's the schedule by day. Check each event for booking details before you go.
Friday 23 October (8 events)
Light shows 7pm to 9pm.
11am — Funtasia Pumpkin Patch Festival, Funtasia Drogheda
12pm — Path of the Gods: street game, Escape Rooms Drogheda
3:30pm — Lú family event: storytelling and costume swap, Drogheda Library
4:30pm — Drogheda Groove Movement, The Kiosk Project Art Space
6pm — Legends in Clay workshop, Barefood Café
6:15pm — Drogheda Credit Union Spooks Parade, West Street
8pm — PHIVER live music, Odd Mollies, Fair Street
8:30pm — Night Moves, Droichead Arts Centre
Saturday 24 October (9 events)
Light shows 6pm to 9pm.
10am — Pick your own pumpkin experience, Ballymad Farm
11am — Funtasia Pumpkin Patch Festival, Funtasia Drogheda
12pm — Path of the Gods: street game, Escape Rooms Drogheda
4pm — Little Legends in Clay workshop, Barefood Café
4:30pm — Drogheda Groove Movement, The Kiosk Project Art Space
5pm — The Cottage Market, Dominican Church
6pm — Legends in Clay workshop, Barefood Café
8pm — All That Glitters Burlesque & Cabaret: Thriller Night, McHughs (over 18s only)
8pm — NOSTALGIA live music, Odd Mollies, Fair Street
Sunday 25 October (9 events)
Light shows 6pm to 9pm, with the sensory hour from 6pm to 7pm.
11am — Funtasia Pumpkin Patch Festival, Funtasia Drogheda
12pm — Path of the Gods: street game, Escape Rooms Drogheda
3:30pm — Drogheda Classical Music, Droichead Arts Centre
4pm — Afternoon Tea with a Traitorous Twist, Slane Castle
4:30pm — Drogheda Groove Movement, The Kiosk Project Art Space
5pm — The Cottage Market, Dominican Church
7pm — Deadly Craic Comedy Club: Gig for Gaza, Kíla & friends, McHughs
8pm — External Sounds: Daddy G (Massive Attack) & Count Skylarkin (Trojan Records), Sarsfields Bar
9pm — Conor Judge, singer-songwriter, Clarkes Bar
Monday 26 October, bank holiday (5 events)
Light shows 6pm to 9pm.
10am — Pick your own pumpkin experience, Ballymad Farm
11am — Funtasia Pumpkin Patch Festival, Funtasia Drogheda
12pm — Path of the Gods: street game, Escape Rooms Drogheda
4:30pm — Drogheda Groove Movement, The Kiosk Project Art Space
5pm — The Cottage Market, Dominican Church
If you're coming with kids, the daytime programme (Funtasia, the Path of the Gods street game, the pumpkin picking at Ballymad Farm) means you can fill the whole day and then catch the light shows from 6pm.
3. Plan around the bank holiday weekend
Monday 26 October is the October bank holiday, so this is a long weekend for a lot of people, and Drogheda will be busy. We don't have crowd figures, but our advice is simple: get there as the first shows start rather than at peak, leave plenty of time to park or arrive by train, and keep the route flexible.
Friday starts an hour later than the other nights, so it's a shorter window. If you're coming with young children, the Sunday sensory hour from 6pm is worth knowing about.
4. Walk the light sites
The official map shows the main projection sites spread across the town centre. Here's what each one is about.
St Peter's: The Turning of the Year
St Peter's becomes a huge canvas of light, with vines, embers and autumn colours seeming to grow across the building. The story follows the Wheel of the Year from harvest towards Samhain, through scenes about bread, the hearth and the carved turnip lantern, and finishes with the whole church turning into a doorway between worlds.
St Laurence's Gate: The Dagda & Brigid
A four-minute story at the historic gate. It begins at Samhain with the Dagda, guardian of the Celtic year, then follows Brigid and her sacred flame as the story moves towards Imbolc and the first signs of spring.
The Old Abbey: Lugh & Balor
The Old Abbey hosts the battle between Lugh and Balor, the king whose destructive eye casts the land into shadow. It builds to the Battle of Mag Tuireadh, where Balor's eye is shattered and its fragments rise as the moon and the stars.
Methodist Church: Fallen
Fallen is a kinetic light installation about the night sky, ancient constellations and mythology.
Highlanes Gallery: Pulse of the Ancients
An immersive installation built around rhythmic, pulsing light.
More light sites on the map
The map also marks light locations at St Dominic's Church, the Scotch Hall Shopping Centre beside the train station, and Millmount. It's worth checking the official map and site pages before you set out, in case anything has moved.
5. Make time for the markets, food and music
The Drogheda Credit Union Spooks Parade kicks things off on Friday 23 October at 6:15pm on West Street. The Cottage Market runs at the Dominican Church from 5pm on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with extra food traders at the entrance to the Dominican House and an outdoor marquee and music area, a natural place to stop and warm up. The map also marks other activity spots, including Droichead Arts Centre, The Marcy and McHugh's, and some events are ticketed, like Thriller Night at McHugh's on Saturday 24 October at 8pm (over 18s only), so check the details before you go.
6. A simple plan for the night
Arrive early, have a bite to eat, then walk the sites from one end of the town centre to the other, stopping at the market and music area along the way. By the map, the Old Abbey and St Dominic's are at the western end, St Peter's is in the middle, and the Methodist Church, Highlanes and St Laurence's Gate are towards the east. We'd allow two to three hours to see the main sites at an easy pace, and that's our estimate rather than an official figure.
7. Book your stay early
A festival weekend plus a bank holiday is the combination that fills places up. If you want a room, book now rather than the week of. Drogheda itself will be the busiest spot, which is why a lot of people choose to stay a short drive out and head in for the evening.
8. Why Rathescar Grove works for Lú
Rathescar Grove Guest House is in Lismanus, near Dunleer, off Junction 12 of the M1, a short drive from Drogheda. That's the point of it: you get the festival, then you drive home to quiet. Rooms look out over farmland, grazing cattle and the Cooley and Mourne mountains, and quiet hours run from 10pm to 7am.
A few things that help on a festival weekend:
Self check-in. The front door is unlocked between 3pm and 9pm, with no lockbox. Shows run until 9pm, so check in before you head into town. If you're arriving after 9pm, message us in advance to arrange key collection.
Free on-site parking, so there's no hunting for a space in town just to sleep.
Ensuite rooms with a fridge, kettle, microwave and toaster in each, plus bread, milk, tea, coffee, butter and jam stocked. There's no breakfast served, so a slow morning after a late night is easy.
Room options include a Deluxe Room with mountain views, a room with a private balcony, and a Family Room with a king bed and bunks.
Check-out is 11:30am. Late check-out until 2pm is €30, subject to availability, and you should check with us before you pay.
No pets, and no parties or events. It's built for people who want a proper night's sleep. Availability over the festival weekend changes, so check live dates before you plan around it.
One last thing
Wrap up warm, wear good shoes for the cobbles and give yourself time. The Boyne Valley has long been linked with Halloween and Samhain, so this is one of the best weekends of the year to be here.