This year Cruinniú na nÓg was held on the 10th June 2023 and featured more than 750 free creative activities for children and young people throughout the country. Cruinniú na nÓg 2023 is a collaboration between, the Creative Ireland Programme, local authorities and RTÉ and is the only event of its kind in the world for young people.
Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, announced details of Cruinniú na nÓg 2023, a day of free creative activity for young people.
Announcing Cruinniú na nÓg 2023, Minister Martin said:
“Every year Cruinniú na nÓg becomes more firmly embedded into the lives of young people all over Ireland. There’s a huge programme of free creative activities for 10th June that will really stretch the imaginative muscles of all young people. Cruinniú na nÓg 2023 is a wonderful opportunity for the young people of Ireland to show off a little, try a new creative activity, make new friends and connect with their communities. Every event is free.”
The Creative Ireland Programme and its strategic partners developed a number of creative projects, all of which went live on Saturday 10th June 2023. These included:
Irish Street Arts, Circus and Spectacle Network (ISACS) hosted open days for young people who wanted to try their hand at circus skills and street spectacle at their dedicated venues in Cloughjordan, Cork, Dublin and Galway. For those that could not be there on the day, there was a full range of online tutorials available.
Rhyme Island – This year Creative Ireland teamed up with The Kabin Studio to get every young person in Ireland rapping. In preparation the Rhyme Island team travelled the length and breadth of the country holding a series of online and in-person workshops which culminated in a massive day of rap at 17th Century Elizabeth Fort in Cork.
This is Art! 2023 – Creative Ireland and RTÉ’s wonderful art competition for young people returned for 2023. This years theme was ‘imagination’. The winning entries were announced on the 10th June 2023 along with a national on-line digital gallery of all entries.
TG4 with support from the Gaeltacht division of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media supported ‘Our World’/ ‘Mo Dhomhan’ , several Cruinniú na nÓg projects which included sand art and sean nós.
Consistent with the aims of the Government’s Shared Island initiative to deepen beneficial cooperation and connections across the island of Ireland, Cruinniú na nÓg 2023 was programmed on an all-island basis with cross-community events connecting children and young people from both sides of the border, including via our partners in Circus Explored and Rhyme Island. This action is an integral part of the Shared Island dimension to the Creative Ireland Programme which focuses on harnessing the power of culture and creativity to inspire connections between people, communities and places.
RTÉ also supported Cruinniú na nÓg 2023 with a nationwide campaign on television, radio, online and digital.
