In Ireland, a hen party is known as a bachelorette party. This event usually takes place a few weeks before the wedding. The party is usually hosted by the head maid of honor or the maid of honor. While the format varies widely, the event generally involves alcohol. Many bachelorette parties include a daytime event or activity such as paint-balling, makeovers, bowling, or other fun activities. There is almost always a restaurant meal followed by a night of drinking and dancing.

The typical Irish party includes the mother of the bride and the future mother-in-law. Irish parties vary in size, but are usually made up of between 12 and 30 girls who often wear extravagant outfits. Peak season for hen nights in Ireland is between April and September. You will often see large groups of hen parties roaming the streets of the popular hen party towns of Kilkenny, Kenmare, Galway, Limerick and Carrick-on-Shannon.

The norm is to spend the night in a hotel, although some hens are held in the hometown of the future bride. Pink hats and T-shirts emblazoned with “T”s are a fairly common sight on any Irish street on a Saturday night. Most of the parties involve some kind of fancy dress or wild dress up.

Strippograms and Kissograms are sometimes used to add extra entertainment to the night where it is allowed. Most Irish pubs are simple for women’s parties, but some do not allow large groups of women with the intention of having fun. In general, hen nights are part of the wedding tradition in Ireland and it is very unusual for a bride-to-be not to have some kind of hen night to celebrate her last bit of freedom. Most bachelorette parties are planned by the girls themselves, but there are event planning companies that specialize in organizing the entire process.

Of course, while a hen night is a major event in Ireland, it is an event that takes place in some form in almost every culture.