The Drumlin Landscape of Monaghan has been famously likened to a basket of eggs – a very full basket, with those little rounded hills dominating the horizon in all directions. And for every hill, it is a cultural activity of some kind to match. The County abounds with fetes and festivals, involving music, art, crafts, dance, drama and film. Many events celebrate heritage, history and landscape, around the lakes, bogs, and old estates that nestle everywhere between the drumlins.

These hills of County Monaghan are very much alive with creativity and culture bustling at the seams and connecting with world around us. It is no exaggeration to say that, at any given time, Monaghan may have the highest number of working writers, painters, and sculptors of an Irish county except Dublin. This is because of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre near Newbliss, which since 1981 has been a temporary home to thousands of artists, local and international. Between it and the Kavanagh Centre, and two state of the art theatres (Iontas and The Garage), Monaghan is a major generator of artistic activity, indigenous and otherwise. Through the Creative Monaghan Programme, we endeavour to facilitate a number of initiatives which supports the national Creative Ireland Programme. We want to enable local people to enjoy arts and culture on their own doorstep, facilitate access to creative and collaborative learning, and be a place where artists and creators can prosper and contribute to society, by placing culture and creativity at the heart of the community.