Midsummer

Every year on St. John's Eve each village on Inis Mor has a bonfire. Many villages along the west coast of mainland Ireland also celebrate this holiday, and if it's a clear night you can see the bonfires of Connemara and County Clare across the water. Everyone in the village comes to the bonfire, and celebrations might last the whole night through. Refreshments are passed around, songs sung, and tunes played. These festivities take place within a few nights of midsummer, and are in actuality part of a pre-christian tradition that has survived remarkably well in western Ireland.