Athy kicks off festive season with Big Switch
A very special stop for Conor Archbolds 21st birthday
THE MAGIC of Christmas was alive in Athy on Sunday evening!
Athy families braved the bad weather on Sunday, November 30 for one of the town’s most exciting annual events, The Big Switch 2025.
Crowds gathered in the newly renovated Emily Square in a sea of hoods, hats and umbrellas to see Santa and Mrs Claus arrive in the Santa Truck.
Santa made a special stop on his way to meet Conor Archibold on his 21st birthday, and gifted him a special Christmas goodie bag before continuing onto the square.
Joined by the Gardaí, the Civil Service and the Order of Malta, Santa made his way down the street approaching the square in style. He waved out the windows to all the children waiting to meet him and his elves, before approaching the stand to meet Cathaoirleach Ivan Keatley for the moment everyone gathered for – the switching on of the town Christmas lights.
Also on stage was the talented violinist Noelle Robinson and the Young Violins who performed beautiful music on the night, as well as the brilliant Athy Sing and Sign who had everyone up dancing and singing along.
The area surrounding the square was lively with street performers on stilts who did an expert job managing not to slip on the wet ground, a highly energetic Elvis dressed as an elf, and plenty of characters meeting children for photographs, such as a cow, a gingerbread man, and Olaf, the snowman from Frozen.
Cllr Ivan Kealtey said a few words before he turned the lights on, officially kicking off the festive season in Athy. The town tree on Emily Square was lit up for the first time with changing multicolour lights.
The craic didn’t end there as DJ Gary got up to mix a few tunes, joined by Garda Seán who joined in on the fun, singing Jingle Bells for the crowd.
DJ Gary carried on until the end of the event and had the crowd jumping until the very end.
Huge queues lined up to visit Santa and Mrs Claus in the Santa Truck, and excited children brought their Santa letters over to the special red post box, collected by Santa himself.
Patricia Berry from Athy Town Promoters was delighted with the turnout, recalling the “packed” Emily Square, and included that it was the biggest event the town had ever seen.
