At the launch were Shane Moynihan, Cllr Vicki Casserley, Cllr Caroline Brady, Joe Byrne (chairman of Lucan Festival), Garda Sergeant Paul O’Moran and Cllr Helen Farrell
Lucan Festival for 2025 launches to much fanfare and great acclaim
The programme of events for the 2025 Lucan Festival has been launched, with more than 30 events and entertainment taking place this year.
The Lucan Festival will take place in locations around the village from Tuesday, September 2 until Sunday, September 7.
It has been run yearly since 2009, according to festival chairman Joe Byrne.
“We always used to have community weeks and various activities in Lucan going back to the 70s, horse shows and so on,” he said.
“They kind of went out of fashion for a while, and then it got going again.”
While the first few years of the festival were weekend events, now there are events running for almost a full week for this year’s festival.
These include guided tours of Shackleton Mills, historical talks, public forums with senior citizens and primary school children and historical events such as a guided history walk of Lucan village, and an illustrated talk on the life of Roger Casement.
The Saturday festivities will take place on the grounds of the Lucan House Demesne, where the yearly fireworks display has now been moved as well.
“Usually, we had fireworks on Friday night, at the Liffey Weir, but last year it was so successful that we were overwhelmed by the numbers,” Joe explained.
“We had to rethink, and so we’re having them in the grounds of Lucan House on the Saturday night.”
While all other events are free, entry into the festival on Saturday, September 6 will cost €5 for adults, while children under 12 go free.
The former Italian Ambassador’s residence, Lucan House Grounds, will open to the public from 12.30pm to 5.00pm, with children’s entertainment with wild birds, dinosaurs and Vikings, yoga, and an international food court.
There will be a short close down, before the grounds open again to the public at 6.30pm for the evening’s festivities with live music and the fireworks display at approximately 9pm.
Anyone entering the park between 12.30pm and 5pm will be issued with a wristband to allow them back in in the evening, while anyone else entering the park after 6.30pm will have to pay in.
For the final day of the festival, the main street of Lucan will be closed from 10am to 7pm for a wide variety of events including market stalls, bouncy castles, a Kiddies’ Road Train, street performers, face painting, an Open Day at Lucan Garda Station from 2pm and the “world-renowned” Duck Race on the Griffeen from 4.30pm.
