The star of the Puca Festival.
Brilliant #PucaFestival parade last night in Trim, county Meath. Here's the star of the show...
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The full cover of The First Fire of Halloween. The front features a púca, the mythical Irish shape-changer, as a muscular human figure with a goat's head. He's standing in a field in darkness, with a fire blazing in front of him. Inset in the dark sky above and behind him are a pair of yellow goat's eyes. The title is in orange against the sky, and my name is in black against the fire. The blurb on the back cover reads: Humans have forgotten why they once feared the púca. But he will make them remember. In the small Irish town of Athboy, there is a hill where the first fire was once lit each year to mark the beginning of Samhain. Bonfires would then be lit across the country, launching a festival to celebrate the last harvest before the harsh months of winter. On the night when the boundary with the Realm of the Dead was at its thinnest, it was believed that the spirits of the dead wandered the land. In recent years, that fire has been lit again every Halloween night. Jamie Sheldon is an American girl visiting the town with her parents for an archaeological dig. Rone O’Callaghan lives on a farm near Tlachtga, the ancient site on the Hill of Ward. Both teenagers are close by when a local man is murdered. The circumstances suggest the killer may be acting out some ancient ritual. The truth is even more macabre. This Halloween, as humans wander the streets wearing monster masks, there is a monster among them wearing a human mask. The most treacherous of all the ancient faerie folk . . . The shape-changing púca.
A huge thanks to Antonia Daly of Antonia's Bookstore in Trim for including The First Fire of Halloween in her four recommended books on the Late Lunch on LMFM! A great spot to get. The book section starts at 14min 28 secs in.
shows.acast.com/b693e735-811...
#Samhain #PucaFestival #SpeirGorm
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The First Fire of Halloween stacked on a Halloween display of similarly themed books in the shop.
A close-up of The First Fire of Halloween, with a goat-headed púca on the cover, among a bunch of similarly themed books in the window of Antonia's Books.
One of the windows of Antonia's Books in Trim, Co. Meath, with my book, The First Fire of Halloween sitting among their Halloween display of spooky books. Beyond, you can see the interior of the small shop, filled floor to ceiling with books.
Big thanks to Antonia's Books in Trim for featuring The First Fire of Halloween in their window and table displays in the run-up to Halloween and the Púca Festival!
Support your local indie bookshops!
antoniasbookstore.com/product/the-...
#SpeirGorm #SpéirGorm #PucaFestival #Samhain #BookSky
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Alt-Text: An image of the cover of the book set against a background similar to that used on the cover, a dark sky over a field. Under the words 'Here, why has he no trousers on? Why would someone take his trousers?' The front cover itself features a púca, the mythical Irish shape-changer, as a muscular human figure with a goat's head. He's standing in a field in darkness, with a fire blazing in front of him. Inset in the dark sky above and behind him are a pair of yellow goat's eyes. The title is in orange against the sky, and my name is in black against the fire.
If you're in Ireland, you're looking for a copy of The First Fire of Halloween and you don't want to order one from the Evil Empire, it's available from Antonia's Books, an indie bookshop, at antoniasbookstore.com/product/the-...
A púca comes to #Halloween Hill!
#SpeirGorm #PucaFestival #Samhain
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The Amazon.co.uk Best Sellers page for Children's Multicultural Folk Tales and Myths, showing The First Fire of Halloween at No.1. The front cover features a púca, the mythical Irish shape-changer, as a muscular human figure with a goat's head. He's standing in a field in darkness, with a fire blazing in front of him. Inset in the dark sky above and behind him are a pair of yellow goat's eyes. The title is in orange against the sky, and my name is in black against the fire.
The Amazon.com Best Sellers page for Children's Multicultural Folk Tales and Myths, showing The First Fire of Halloween at No.1. The front cover features a púca, the mythical Irish shape-changer, as a muscular human figure with a goat's head. He's standing in a field in darkness, with a fire blazing in front of him. Inset in the dark sky above and behind him are a pair of yellow goat's eyes. The title is in orange against the sky, and my name is in black against the fire.
THREE DAYS LEFT! Almost your last chance to get this ebook for FREE.
The First Fire of Halloween has reached No.1 on Amazon US and UK in Children's Multicultural Folk Tales.
In the US: www.amazon.com/gp/bestselle...
In the UK: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/bestselle...
#SpeirGorm #Samhain #PucaFestival
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THREE DAYS LEFT. This ebook is FREE for the next three days!
On the night that humans all go out wearing monster masks, there’s a monster in a small Irish town wearing a human mask.
#PucaFestival #Halloween #SpeirGorm #Samhain
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FOUR DAYS LEFT. This ebook is FREE for the next five days!
An illustrated story set in and around the area where the the first fire in Ireland was lit every #Samhain. A story about the power of that hill, and the púca shape-shifter who awakes to claim it.
#PucaFestival #Halloween #SpeirGorm
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Have I mentioned that this ebook is FREE for the next five days?
I know that the web is littered with free books, but this one normally costs money.
#PucaFestival #Halloween #Samhain #SpeirGorm #Octocon2025
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If you're coming to the Púca Festival to celebrate Samhain, look out for the book that brings a púca to Tlachtga. Mythology, horror, farming, the celebration of life, death and spirituality, all explored in a story inspired by the origins of #Halloween.
#SpeirGorm #PucaFestival #Samhain #Tlachtga
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#LegendaryWednesday 🎃👻🕯️
Púca Festival lights up Samhain in Athboy, Ireland!
On Oct 31, a fire 2,000 year old ceremony near the mythic Hill of Ward (Tlachtga) honors the ancient Celtic New Year—when the veil thins between worlds. As dusk falls, flames rise to honor ancestors.🕯️ #PucaFestival #Samhain
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Getting into the spirit of things. Puca Festival, Trim, Co Meath, 2024.
#ireland #discoverireland #loveireland #meath #visitmeath #irelandsancienteast #boynevalley #puca #samhain #pucafestival #halloween #portrait #people
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Smiling in the rain.
A visitor in the spirit of things at Puca festival, Trim, Co Meath, 2024.
#ireland #discoverireland #loveireland #meath #visitmeath #irelandsancienteast #boynevalley #puca #samhain #pucafestival #halloween #portrait #people
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A wall of fire and sparks on a stage in front on Trim Castle, with a large crowd in the foreground watching.
A wall of flame on the stage, a large crowd watching, mostly holding up phones to take a photo/film the show
Various fire performers on stage in front of castle walls, a large crowd watching, illumimated by the flame
The word "Púca" spelled out in fire.
And from the Pyro Collective's show on the Saturday evening.
#PucaFestival #Ireland
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Crescent shaped float, with an someone hanging from it doing acrobatics
Huge sculpture/puppet of The Morrigan - with both a woman's face and a crow's head, and wings spanning most of the road
Float with the large head of an older woman (I think) followed by a tree sculpture
Several hooded figures in large spooky masks, walking through smoke, around an illuminated model of the moon
Some pics from the Púca Procession on the Saturday
#PucaFestival #Ireland
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A Púca effigy made of stick between two large wooden thrones
A view of part of the harvest market in Trim during the Púca festival, showing tents, picnic tables, and flags. Trim Castle is visible in the background, and there is a creature in the foreground made from wood, bones, antlers, and cloth.
A night time view of the illuminated "big top" tent in Trim at the Púca festival, with trees, grass, and the river Boyne in the foreground.
The walls of Trim Castle at night, illuminated with lights and the word "Púca".
Fairly belated, but had a great time at the #PucaFestival this year. It's the first time I've been to it, and it's fun, and a bit spooky, and a class event for Halloween. 💜👻 #Samhain #Ireland
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Happy @artclubie day!!
I drew the Púca for the festival held in Trim and Anthony in Co.Meath. Happy Halloween .
For the theme of Samhain
#puca #samhain #pucafestival #drawing #artclubie #vectorillustration
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Looking forward to the #Pucafestival this October. Getting better each year
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A float in a parade on the main street of Trim on an autumn night. It's a figure of the top half of an old woman with cartoon proportions and blue face markings. She's wearing some kind of skullcap head covering with a crown of small flowers, and a shawl made of dozens of individual pieces of cloth.
A float in a parade on the main street of Trim on an autumn night. It's a figure of the top half of an old man with cartoon proportions and blue face markings. He's wearing a blue and white checked flat cap and what looks like a robe with Celtic swirls on it.
A performer on stilts in a parade on the main street of Trim on an autumn night. It's a figure, hooded and cloaked in white, with small white wings of fabric, lit from behind. A smoke machine clouds the air around it.
A performer on stilts in a parade on the main street of Trim on an autumn night. They're wearing a head of cartoonish proportions of a dark-skinned woman wearing a heavy gold necklace and earrings and a skullcap style headpiece.
The opening procession in Trim on Saturday for the #PucaFestival. It was like a St Patrick's Day parade from the Otherworld. Looking forward to the closing ceremony this evening in Athboy.
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