The crunch of autumn leaves, the nip in the air and the backdrop of burnt orange and gold, Halloween is near and in recent years, a visit to a pumpkin patch has become part of the season’s celebrations.
These vibrant patches - filled with festive spirit - transform a farm to a mecca for families, couples, and Instagram lovers trying to capture the perfect autumnal shot.
There are now over 50 pumpkin patches in Ireland including the Killarney Pumpkin Farm in Kerry.
Otis Buckley, Croí Carroll-O’Connor, Ayla Carroll-O’Connor, and Aliyah Yadav, at Killarney Pumpkin Farm.
Magic in the air
Nestled in the quiet hills of Headford, on the outskirts of Killarney town, it is run by DB O’Connor, owner of the farm, and Áine Buckley, whose family works alongside DB’s in the running of the pumpkin farm experience. This is their third year in business and during that time they have attracted thousands of visitors.
Walking up the ‘bóithrín’ (as described by DB), the Halloween spirit is alive with wheelbarrows filled with pumpkins, a gift shop, fairy lights and farm-style decorations.
Complete with the earthy scent of fallen leaves, it evokes a sense of magic in the air.
Pandemic plan
The idea to open a pumpkin farm started when DB was clearing out his office a few months after the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“I had this land off my father - he was a dry farmer and didn’t really use it much,” he explains. “Johnny, Áine’s brother, always liked the idea of opening a pumpkin farm, so we just decided to go for it.
“We all liked the American concept of Halloween, but we thought, ‘Ireland has so much history around Halloween,’ that we had to showcase it [in our own way],” he adds.
Bonefire not bonfire
DB leads the way to an open-air fire with skeletal bones of a sheep. “Here is our bonfire,” he explains. “The Celts invented Halloween and they would have slaughtered any weak cattle that wouldn’t have made it through the winter [at this time].
“Then they would cook up a big feast and have a bonfire as an offering to their ancestors. Bonfires and food played a really large part in the festivities around Samhain.
“At Samhain, the division of this world and the otherworld was at its thinnest, so spirits could pass through. So that’s where our idea came from, we wanted to keep the experience original and true to Irish traditions,” DB says.
A visit to the seanchaí
An important aspect of the pumpkin farm experience is a visit to the seanchaí which translates as ‘a keeper or bearer of old lore’.
A seanchaí is a traditional Irish storyteller who passes down history, myths, legends and other knowledge of society to Irish towns and villages.
“Ireland has a deep-rooted history in story telling,” DB says. “The seanchaí would pass the doings and the deeds on from generation to generation by word of mouth in the form of song and verse. We bring the experience alive with our own seanchai.”
For some, it might be surprising to learn that pumpkins weren’t always the main symbol used for Halloween. In fact, turnips were traditionally carved by Irish people to celebrate Samhain.
The practice of decorating jack-o’-lanterns actually originated here in Ireland. DB says, “The name ‘jack-o’-lantern’ comes from an Irish sean scéal about a man called Stingy Jack. People carved scary faces into turnips and lit tea lights inside to scare Stingy Jack away - as well as any other spirits.
“Irish immigrants who travelled to America and Canada brought this story and tradition with them.
“They then found that pumpkins, native to America, make the perfect jack-o’-lantern. So that’s why we have hundreds of pumpkins scattered across my farm today,” DB laughs.
“Every year, we grow thousands of pumpkins. They are best sown from seed in mid-spring, and we do this in our greenhouse,” he explains.
Once the seedlings are large enough, he then transplants them outdoors, usually on a hot day in June.
“It’s quite a labour-intensive process, but worth it to see the fields then filled with ripe pumpkins. For the rest of the season, I don’t use the land for much, I get a couple of cuts of silage off the field.
“We plough the waste pumpkins and corn to fertilise the land. It’s not enough in farming terms to make money,” DB adds.
historic and cultural importance
Walking through the fields of amusements, DB talks about the history of the area.
“If you stand with your back to the mountain, go five or six miles east and west and go straight up, you hit the Cork, Kerry, Limerick border - and that’s Sliabh Luachra.
“Roads weren’t developed in this part of the country until the late 1800’s, a unique type of song and dance also developed here which made heavy use of the polka and the slide. It would be the same in the likes of Connemara and rural Donegal.
“The area has also produced a number of Irish poets such as Geoffery Fionn Dálaigh and the Gaelic poet Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin,” DB says.
“People ask me why kids love the farm so much - I think it’s purely because they can run wild in a field, pick grass and make a bit of a mess without anyone giving out to them,” he laughs.
According to DB, bad weather shouldn’t stop families from visiting as even on wet days, the kids have more fun.
“It’s a great opportunity for families to get together and spend some quality time [together]. It gets people out of the house doing something different around Halloween.”
Extra Attractions
Every year Killarney Pumpkin Farm adds extra attractions to make the experience bigger and better, which adds to its family-friendly appeal – and this year is no different.
“We try to add new photo opportunities for our visitors and keep some of the same ones to see the progression of family photos over the years,” DB explains.
“We are also lucky to have such great acting staff on the farm. Most of them have come from the performing arts school in Killarney. It’s great for them, too, because they can put their acting skills into practice and the kids really love it.
“We have our alpacas, witches’ cottage, fairy garden and bonfire,” he continues. “For us, it’s about seeing what we can do next to make the experience more magical.”
An aim to educate
“I worked - well, I still do - as a Fáilte Ireland-approved tour guide [previously], so mythology, folklore and history is an angle that came quite naturally when designing the layout of the pumpkin farm,” explains DB.
“We all find Ireland’s history around Halloween really interesting and something that needs to be showcased.
“It’s the American concept that makes Halloween attractive, though - it would be no good if we had a field of turnips. Sure, no one would come to see that!
“That’s why we feel like this blended approach between Irish customs and American commercialisation makes an interesting experience for our visitors.
“Especially for the kids, its good for them to understand where Halloween came from so - child by child - we are reclaiming Halloween as Irish,” DB smiles.
For tickets and all other information on
Killarney Pumpkin Farm, visit https://killarneypumpkinfarm.ie/
Read more
Editorial: being happy is a choice you need to make each and every day
Creativity and craftmanship opportunities offered by Bord Bia Bloom
The crunch of autumn leaves, the nip in the air and the backdrop of burnt orange and gold, Halloween is near and in recent years, a visit to a pumpkin patch has become part of the season’s celebrations.
These vibrant patches - filled with festive spirit - transform a farm to a mecca for families, couples, and Instagram lovers trying to capture the perfect autumnal shot.
There are now over 50 pumpkin patches in Ireland including the Killarney Pumpkin Farm in Kerry.
Otis Buckley, Croí Carroll-O’Connor, Ayla Carroll-O’Connor, and Aliyah Yadav, at Killarney Pumpkin Farm.
Magic in the air
Nestled in the quiet hills of Headford, on the outskirts of Killarney town, it is run by DB O’Connor, owner of the farm, and Áine Buckley, whose family works alongside DB’s in the running of the pumpkin farm experience. This is their third year in business and during that time they have attracted thousands of visitors.
Walking up the ‘bóithrín’ (as described by DB), the Halloween spirit is alive with wheelbarrows filled with pumpkins, a gift shop, fairy lights and farm-style decorations.
Complete with the earthy scent of fallen leaves, it evokes a sense of magic in the air.
Pandemic plan
The idea to open a pumpkin farm started when DB was clearing out his office a few months after the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“I had this land off my father - he was a dry farmer and didn’t really use it much,” he explains. “Johnny, Áine’s brother, always liked the idea of opening a pumpkin farm, so we just decided to go for it.
“We all liked the American concept of Halloween, but we thought, ‘Ireland has so much history around Halloween,’ that we had to showcase it [in our own way],” he adds.
Bonefire not bonfire
DB leads the way to an open-air fire with skeletal bones of a sheep. “Here is our bonfire,” he explains. “The Celts invented Halloween and they would have slaughtered any weak cattle that wouldn’t have made it through the winter [at this time].
“Then they would cook up a big feast and have a bonfire as an offering to their ancestors. Bonfires and food played a really large part in the festivities around Samhain.
“At Samhain, the division of this world and the otherworld was at its thinnest, so spirits could pass through. So that’s where our idea came from, we wanted to keep the experience original and true to Irish traditions,” DB says.
A visit to the seanchaí
An important aspect of the pumpkin farm experience is a visit to the seanchaí which translates as ‘a keeper or bearer of old lore’.
A seanchaí is a traditional Irish storyteller who passes down history, myths, legends and other knowledge of society to Irish towns and villages.
“Ireland has a deep-rooted history in story telling,” DB says. “The seanchaí would pass the doings and the deeds on from generation to generation by word of mouth in the form of song and verse. We bring the experience alive with our own seanchai.”
For some, it might be surprising to learn that pumpkins weren’t always the main symbol used for Halloween. In fact, turnips were traditionally carved by Irish people to celebrate Samhain.
The practice of decorating jack-o’-lanterns actually originated here in Ireland. DB says, “The name ‘jack-o’-lantern’ comes from an Irish sean scéal about a man called Stingy Jack. People carved scary faces into turnips and lit tea lights inside to scare Stingy Jack away - as well as any other spirits.
“Irish immigrants who travelled to America and Canada brought this story and tradition with them.
“They then found that pumpkins, native to America, make the perfect jack-o’-lantern. So that’s why we have hundreds of pumpkins scattered across my farm today,” DB laughs.
“Every year, we grow thousands of pumpkins. They are best sown from seed in mid-spring, and we do this in our greenhouse,” he explains.
Once the seedlings are large enough, he then transplants them outdoors, usually on a hot day in June.
“It’s quite a labour-intensive process, but worth it to see the fields then filled with ripe pumpkins. For the rest of the season, I don’t use the land for much, I get a couple of cuts of silage off the field.
“We plough the waste pumpkins and corn to fertilise the land. It’s not enough in farming terms to make money,” DB adds.
historic and cultural importance
Walking through the fields of amusements, DB talks about the history of the area.
“If you stand with your back to the mountain, go five or six miles east and west and go straight up, you hit the Cork, Kerry, Limerick border - and that’s Sliabh Luachra.
“Roads weren’t developed in this part of the country until the late 1800’s, a unique type of song and dance also developed here which made heavy use of the polka and the slide. It would be the same in the likes of Connemara and rural Donegal.
“The area has also produced a number of Irish poets such as Geoffery Fionn Dálaigh and the Gaelic poet Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin,” DB says.
“People ask me why kids love the farm so much - I think it’s purely because they can run wild in a field, pick grass and make a bit of a mess without anyone giving out to them,” he laughs.
According to DB, bad weather shouldn’t stop families from visiting as even on wet days, the kids have more fun.
“It’s a great opportunity for families to get together and spend some quality time [together]. It gets people out of the house doing something different around Halloween.”
Extra Attractions
Every year Killarney Pumpkin Farm adds extra attractions to make the experience bigger and better, which adds to its family-friendly appeal – and this year is no different.
“We try to add new photo opportunities for our visitors and keep some of the same ones to see the progression of family photos over the years,” DB explains.
“We are also lucky to have such great acting staff on the farm. Most of them have come from the performing arts school in Killarney. It’s great for them, too, because they can put their acting skills into practice and the kids really love it.
“We have our alpacas, witches’ cottage, fairy garden and bonfire,” he continues. “For us, it’s about seeing what we can do next to make the experience more magical.”
An aim to educate
“I worked - well, I still do - as a Fáilte Ireland-approved tour guide [previously], so mythology, folklore and history is an angle that came quite naturally when designing the layout of the pumpkin farm,” explains DB.
“We all find Ireland’s history around Halloween really interesting and something that needs to be showcased.
“It’s the American concept that makes Halloween attractive, though - it would be no good if we had a field of turnips. Sure, no one would come to see that!
“That’s why we feel like this blended approach between Irish customs and American commercialisation makes an interesting experience for our visitors.
“Especially for the kids, its good for them to understand where Halloween came from so - child by child - we are reclaiming Halloween as Irish,” DB smiles.
For tickets and all other information on
Killarney Pumpkin Farm, visit https://killarneypumpkinfarm.ie/
Read more
Editorial: being happy is a choice you need to make each and every day
Creativity and craftmanship opportunities offered by Bord Bia Bloom
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