Kerry Halloween festival that receives ‘pittance’ from council hangs in the balance due to lack of funding

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

Kerry’s Halloween funding has been slammed as an “absolute disgrace” by a councillor as the future of a town’s Halloween festival looks uncertain.

Councillor Podge Foley said volunteers at Killorglin’s ‘An Féile Eile’ were “burnt out” due to lack of funding last year.

‘An Féile Eile’ was a multi-day festival inspired by traditional Irish Halloween, with historic activities such as willow weaving and fermentation workshops.

At a recent Kenmare Municipal District meeting, Cllr Foley said the Killarney had received a lot more than Killorglin had for Halloween, which the council said missed the full picture.

“Killarney gets everything, every year,” said Cllr Foley.

“We’re getting pittance. We’ve burnt out the volunteers…if this happens again, I want answers as to how it’s happened…I’m very suspicious about how funding is given out.”

Councillor Norma Moriarty warned Cllr Foley to be “careful” with his comments and ask for a breakdown of last year’s allocations.

“I fact the facts,” retorted Cllr Foley.

“Never again do I want to have this happen lads, it’s an absolute disgrace…how many festivals are going to collapse before we change the way we do this.”

The council explained last year’s funding consisted of €100,000 from Failte Ireland, which could only be spent in Listowel, Killarney and Tralee, while €25,000 was provided by the council for other festivals in the county.

Killorglin’s ‘An Féile Eile’ organiser, Lisa Sandow, previously told The Kerryman the funding they were given was “no encouragement”.

“We are putting in a lot of work on a voluntary level for the community and it’s hard to enjoy the process when everything is so stressed,” said Lisa.