‘Enchanted Kingdom’ at Slane

The Enchanted Kingdom is an unexplainable magical phenomenon. A secret that you can hear whispered by the trees, and each step brings you further away from reality. You come face-to-face with a portal. A lone door in the middle of a clearing. You hear chimes and the twinkling of bells. The sounds intensify as you approach. You smell cinnamon and the fragrance of wood burning on an open flame. You step through the doorway…

The Enchanted Kingdom, at Slane Castle until January 20, is a winter attraction. An immersive light and sound installation is on the grounds of Slane Castle after sunset from Thursday to Sunday. It is family friendly, fully accessible for wheelchairs and buggies and people of all ages and abilities and, this year, will also help raise funds for Special Hands, an activity group dedicated to improving the lives of children and young adults with additional needs.

The Enchanted Kingdom makes use of 3D sound mapping, targeted projection technology, interactive lighting design and custom-built structures to bring this world to life. It’s a walk of approximately one kilometre and, through the use of light, movement, sound and ingenious special effects, tells the story of a place that shouldn’t exist.

Talking trees are determined to trick you, bodies of water come alive, magical creatures of ice and fire walk alongside you, flames burst through a forest without burning a single tree and sculptures of ice glisten and glow in this multidimensional parallel world of art and magic.