Galway County will celebrate Cruinniú na nÓg, a national day of creativity for children and young people, with a host of free events and workshops on Saturday 10 June.
The day is all about giving children and young people the opportunity to express themselves through cultural and creative activities, while having fun.
Events will take place throughout the county from Ballinasloe to Connemara and everywhere in between.
Cruinniú na nÓg 2023 is a collaboration between the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, the Creative Ireland Programme, local authorities and RTÉ.
Galway County Council is delighted to once again partner with Creative Ireland for Cruinniú na nÓg in presenting in-person diverse activities throughout the county for a wide range of ages.
Galway County Chief Executive Liam Conneally said, “Cruinniú na nÓg has become a very significant event in our cultural calendar, offering our younger population an opportunity to try out all types of creative practices and work with artists all over the county.
“We have formed great partnerships with youth groups, agencies and organisations and our Culture Team and Libraries have opened their doors to support this dynamic programme.”
The programme of events for Cruinniú na nÓg in Galway County was launched in Tuam by Minister Anne Rabbitte.
Speaking at the launch Minister Rabbitte said: “It’s fantastic to see such a wonderful line-up of free events for children across Galway to mark Cruinniú na nÓg, a National Day of Creativity for Young People.
“The day will spark creativity, joy and curiosity in young people with such a wide variety of creative and cultural activities on the programme.”
“From singing to dancing and coding to visual arts, there are so many interesting activities that will see towns across the county come alive on Saturday, 10 June with fun, laughter and a sprinkling of education thrown in too.
“It’s also important to acknowledge the activities planned for young people from Ukraine who have arrived in Galway over the last 15 months. There’s been such a welcoming foundation laid for Ukrainians and this will create even stronger links in our communities.”
“I also must pay credit to Galway County Council for their role in this initiative, which is also supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, the Creative Ireland Programme, and RTÉ.
“Such cross agency planning for the good of our children and families is great to see, as well as the involvement of local artists and community groups.”
There are many free, fun events including: The Shape Shifting Slua – a street performance created by Jojo Hynes & Midie Corcoran with the Creative Youth Committee in Tuam. Large-scale creatures will take to the streets of Tuam from 1.30pm.
Patterns of Invisible Life is a visual art workshop with Madeleine Shinnick; children will create a large mandala and make lanterns from patterns and colours of the plant kingdom in Mountbellew Community Hall.
Muintearas presents Slógadh na nÓg, a day of creativity in Rosmuc with a series of music and dance workshops aimed at teenagers culminating in a performance in Tír an Fhia, Leitir Móir & Pairc Péile Rosmuc.
Drumadore will host a drop-in drumming session in Oughterard Community Centre for all ages.
Along with artists, community groups, schools and organisations offering creative activities to young people, Galway County Council is also curating a variety of events for the children and young people of the Ukrainian community here.
Artists will visit nine different refugee centres offering workshops in drumming, print-making, circus skills, kite-making and music over the course of Cruinniú na nÓg.
Cathaoirleach Michael Maher said, “We are delighted to provide a programme of creative events for our young Ukrainian communities, bringing our unique take on arts, crafts, music and drumming to them directly. Galway county is rich with talent and we welcome this opportunity to share and explore new ways of artistic expression.”
Writer Patricia King-Callaghan and artist/musician Graham Keane will guide children aged 9+ to create stories through theory, art and music at The Miller’s House, Tuam. Nova Productions is offering a Drama and Improv workshop for ages 13+ at Cregmore National School and Corrib Kids Coding will run Lego Robotics and Coding Workshops in Scoil Mhuire Moycullen.
Gliondar, Athenry’s Community Arts Group will offer stilt-walking workshops to ages 14-18 in Loughrea.
The stilters will take to the streets of Loughrea on June 10th at 7.30pm. FUSE Music Collective will present Finding Music Everywhere – an interactive music and art workshop.
Galway Libraries also have a wide variety of fun and free activities. Children aged 9+ can participate in workshops at Ballinasloe Library where they will create a mosaic art piece which will be exhibited in the library.
You can build your own ‘Junk Robot’ from recycled materials and try ‘Chalk Art’ in Loughrea Library.
Join the Cartoon Workshop at Oranmore Library where illustrator Aidan Courtney from Coimicí Gael will be teaching children how to create mini comic strips with crazy cartoons and cúpla focal too.
Carraroe Libray will have Lego Robotics and Coding workshops – build a Lego robot and then use a laptop to input code that will see the robots carrying out tasks. Tuam Library will host artist Jennifer Cunningham as she works with children on print-making techniques.
There will also be an art exhibition of work created by teenagers who recently worked with Jennifer in the gallery space of the library.
This ‘Gathering of Young People’ encourages artistic expression and creativity for everyone aged 0 to 18 years and is also supported by RTÉ.
The one-day event is designed to empower, to develop creative potential and to foster the expression of creativity.
Full details and booking for all events can be found at: cruinniu.creativeireland.gov.ie/events/location/galway/
Additional online events available throughout the country on Saturday June 10th can be found at: https://cruinniu.creativeireland.gov.ie/
