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Minister O’Donovan Launches Cruinniú na nÓg 2025 with a celebration of creativity at King John’s Castle Limerick

  • Over 1,000 Free Creative Events Nationwide on Saturday, June 7
  • All forms of creative expression from Circus and Street Art to Music and Theatre
  • Young people north and south to collaborate on creative projects
  • Late-Night Events for 13–18-Year-olds supported by the Department’s Late-Night Economy Initiative

Minister Patrick O’Donovan TD. today launched Cruinniú na nÓg 2025, Ireland’s national day of free creativity for children and young people, at King John’s Castle, Limerick. Taking place on Saturday, June 7, this all-island celebration will host over 1,000 free events across the country, celebrating creativity through music, art, circus, storytelling film and more.

Ireland is the only country in the world to have a national day celebrating young people’s creativity. Creative Ireland invites all young people to explore something new, unlock their imagination, and be part of this unique celebration of creativity and expression.

The launch featured a special performance by the Irish Chamber Youth Orchestra, who will perform a unique concert on June 7th at Glórach Theatre in Abbeyfeale. Joining the celebration at King John’s Castle were members of the County Limerick Youth Theatre, marking its 30th anniversary, along with Youth Theatre Ireland ambassadors Ella Jurascheck and Ryan Keogh (17), Megan Hogan (17), ambassador for Waterford Walls, Khloe Kavanagh and Rosie Barker, Circus ambassadors, and ambassador for RTÉ’s This Is Art initiative Isabella Prime (15).

Cruinniú Late, supported by the Department’s Late-Night Economy Initiative will feature youth-led late-night events, created by and for 13–18-year-olds, in safe spaces with music, spoken word and live music performances. These include ‘We own the Castle’, a youth music festival at Swords Castle, Dublin, and ‘Youth Stage’ in Galway’s Father Burke Park, with open mics, live music and DJ sets from young talent aged 16-18.

Announcing Cruinniú na nÓg 2025, Minister O’Donovan said:

This year Cruinniú na nÓg promises an exciting and inclusive programme - from filmmaking to circus workshops, song writing to sensory events. I’m especially proud of the Cruinniú Late events offering safe, fun spaces for teenagers to explore and showcase their creativity. These 1000+ events wouldn’t be possible without the outstanding work of our local authority culture and creativity teams.

I’m delighted that Cruinniú continues to foster cross-community creative collaboration in the spirit of the Shared Island initiative, offering young people opportunities to engage in creative activities, build new relationships, and bring communities together.

Cross border creative collaborations include a VR project capturing the creative journey of 20 young people from Wexford and Belfast exploring climate change and mental health through circus, drama, and visual art, and young musicians from Leitrim and Fermanagh will perform live in professionally produced gigs. Other highlights:

  • Circus Picnics - Presented by Irish Street Arts, Circus and Spectacle Network (ISACS), invite young people to explore circus skills in a relaxed, picnic-style setting at locations nationwide.
  • Rock the Block - A high-energy, youth-led celebration of music, dance, and street culture taking place in Carnegie Courtyard, Cork City Library.
  • We Own the Castle -A live youth music festival set in the historic surrounds of Swords Castle, giving young performers a chance to take centre stage.
  • The Walls Project - During May, workshops in 13 locations will offer young people the opportunity to work with professional mural artists, exploring colour, design, and graffiti techniques to create large-scale public artworks.
  • Youth Theatre Ireland Gatherings - 21 youth theatre groups will unite in five regional hubs to collaborate, perform, and celebrate their creativity as part of the Youth Theatre Ireland project.
  • RTÉ This Is Art! 2025 - Creative Ireland and RTÉ’s celebrated national art competition for young people returns. The theme will be revealed on Cruinniú na nÓg day.

RTÉ is supporting Cruinniú na nÓg with a nationwide campaign on television, radio, online and digital. For full details visit cruinniu.gov.ie.

ENDS

Notes to Editor

  • The Creative Ireland Programme is an all-of-government, culture-based initiative, led by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media that emphasises the importance of human creativity for individual, community and societal wellbeing.
  • Cruinniú na nÓg is an initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme, in partnership with 31 local authorities and RTÉ.
  • The Shared Island initiative is a whole of government priority to engage with all communities and political traditions to build consensus around a shared future on the island, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement.

County Limerick Youth Theatre (CoLYT) supports young people through drama workshops and performance. For further info contact Artistic Director, Katie O’Rourke on (083) 071 7162 or email artisticdirector.colyt@gmail.com.

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