The Scarecrow Festival started as the brainchild of local resident Rita Ryan, in 2015. She brought the idea to a few interested people and it quickly grew legs, “Initially, we just thought it might be nice to have a festival of fun for Halloween, in our quiet little village of Leap, and hoped that maybe a few people from the surrounding areas might find it amusing and come and join us.”

From this humble beginning, the idea took flight and the whole community rallied around with their witty, artistic, hilarious and terrifying scarecrow creations.

‘‘Suddenly our village was swarming with crowds, coming from all over Munster and the rest of the country. We were featured in national newspapers, radio stations and also featured on our national TV station RTE.

It was clear the festival had the potential to be an annual event and now, coming into our 9th year, it continues to surpass all our expectations. The amount of scarecrows are increasing year by year.

It couldn’t have been possible without all the local support and community spirit and this year we’re excited to once again open our quaint little village to those who wish to visit Leap – the home of the Leap Scarecrow Festival.