This Halloween night, on the fifth day of the Púca Festival in Co Meath, “An Lasadh Suas” is the closing ceremony. At Tlachtga, or the Hill of Ward in Athboy, a ceremonial fire was set, and a procession proceeded to the town's Fair Green.

It is supposed that the ancient Irish ignited a fire in Tlachtga, from which all the flames in Ireland were renewed. Four fire sculptures on the Fair Green, which stand in for the hills of Tara, Loughcrew, Tailteann, and Uisneach, were lit on fire.

People have been leaving messages for their ancestors in the fire installation “An Lasadh Suas” for a few days now, but this evening's ritual also saw it go up in flames.

Around 5 p.m., people gathered in Athboy for a ceremony that featured storytelling and Sean Nós singing.

Over the course of the five days, thousands of people attended the festival, which was closed with performances by Kíla and the Pyro Collective.

According to Fáilte Ireland, the festival was created to market Ireland as the “home of Halloween” and draw tourists at a potentially slow period of the year.

Here in Ireland, in the ancient Celtic festival of Sámhain, are the origins of the modern Halloween.

Some of them are thought to originate in Meath, signalling the end of Harvest Season and the beginning of Winter.

With assistance from her “immortal” coworkers, “mortal guide” Cynthia Simonet led guests around both this world and “other world” earlier today in Trim.

On the trip through the Porchie Fields, which offers views of Trim Castle and the River Boyne, participants learnt about the custom of dressing in costume and masks to ward off the mystical beings that were said to have entered this world on Sámhain.

Today, Kilene Cass, a resident of Florida, was one among the many roaming about Trim with a view. She mentioned that prior to coming here, she had done some study about Sámhain.

Colorado native Erin Tweed was already on vacation in Ireland, but she decided to stay longer to enjoy Halloween and the Púca Festival.

A “harvest market” was in full swing in Athboy. A platform for throwing axes is one of the activities.

As stated by Benny Ennis, there would have been a custom of champions flaunting their power and ability at big events, even if it is unknown if our predecessors engaged in axe throwing.

The ceremonial fire arrived at the Fair Green in Athboy just after six o'clock this evening, and hundreds of people watched “An Lasadh Suas” before it.

The Púca event contributed €3 million to the local economy last year, but organisers claim that amount has already been exceeded.