The town of Thurles, County Tipperary, has been entered in 'The Guinness Book of Records' for the largest Halloween gathering anywhere in the world following the Thurles Halloween Arts Festival.

The aim of the ten-day festival was to create a positive atmosphere throughout the town and to get people out and enjoying themselves.

Thurles broke the previous World Record, set in California, by gathering at least 509 people together, dressed in the scariest outfits for the festival finale. When the record was set the achievement was marked with a firework display by Europe's biggest fireworks company Rocket Pyrotechnics.

Organiser Chairman Cllr Jim Ryan said "We've had over 300 performers and over 100 acts, coming in from Australia and America. He said the festival was a "resounding success".