Scarecrows are Leap-in around the village as Hallowe'en approaches

LEAP’s second annual Scarecrow Festival is in full swing in the West Cork village, which lies between Rosscarbery and Skibbereen.

The tiny village with the big heart is getting national attention for the weird and wonderful creations that are gracing every fence, signpost, street corner, railing and green space.

In fact, there is hardly a spot in the village that hasn’t been occupied by one of these creepy inhabitants – from ‘Sexy Betty’ climbing in through a pub window, to the Tin Man standing guard and even The Southern Star’s very own ‘skeleton’ reader outside Connolly’s.

One of the new arrivals garnering much attention is the expertly designed witch hanging out with our Olympic rowers, who are the only permanent ‘residents’ in the area.

The wooden rowers were commissioned after their success in the Olympics this summer, but now their new ‘friend’ will be a welcome addition to their installation – as she also hails from Lisheen NS.

‘The children of the junior room made the witch,’ explained teacher Niamh McCarthy. 

‘Every child painted their own panel of her skirt and we sewed their name onto it with buttons. The children then stuffed an old wetsuit with straw and stuffed the tights and gloves with cushion stuffing, to make her head and hands. Her nose and chin are made from toilet paper. When she was fully assembled, we sprayed her to make her waterproof. The whole thing took about three hours and was a great hands-on project for the children,’ she explained. Looking to the next Olympics already, this wickedly cool witch of the west asks ‘Witch’ way to Tokyo?

Anyone can enter a scarecrow for the festival and judging for the competition to find the best one will take place this weekend. The last day of registration (at the Post Office or Ger’s Wild Atlantic Diner) is on Friday, October 28th.