Cork County Council Library and Arts Service has announced the 2023 Cruinniú na nÓg programme, with almost 40 events planned across Cork County. Cruinniú na nÓg is a day of free creativity for children and young people taking place this year on Saturday, June 10th.
A wide range of activities including storytelling, songwriting, and spinning plates will take place across the county from Sherkin Island to Ballynan Woods. Events will be held in Libraries, GAA Clubs, Schools of Art, and Arts Centres in Carrigaline, Cobh, Clonakilty, Passage West, Bandon, Dunmanway, Farran, Fermoy, Kanturk, Killeagh, Macroom, Mallow, Midleton, Mitchelstown, Millstreet, Newmarket, Passage West, Schull, Skibbereen and Youghal. All events are family centred and are suitable for a range of ages, from birth to 18 years old.
In Carrigaline, a disability-inclusive disco at Carrigaline GAA Club will offer a night of music, dancing, and disco fever. Young people with disabilities aged between 12 and 17, and their important adults, are invited to come along to hang with friends, bop to great tunes, and party the night away.
Whether it’s superheroes, or telling a story, comic making workshops at Kanturk Library will guide young people on the basics of designing characters, coming up with ideas, and putting pen to paper to make comics. There are two workshops, group one for 9-12 year olds from 10am to 11am and group two for 13 to 18 year olds between 11.30am and 12.30pm.
In the lead up to Cruinniú na nÓg, a series of song writing workshops will take place in Skibbereen Library. The workshops encourage participants to reconnect with nature through the joy of music and percussion. Participants will write songs using voice, guitar, violin, and a huge variety of percussion instruments from djembes to bodhrans. Suitable for 13 to 18 year olds, the workshop takes place from 1.45pm to 2.45pm on Wednesday 24th May, 31st May and 7th June. A special event on June 10th at O’Donovan Rossa Park will see participants perform the songs that they have written for family and friends.
North Cork Fine Gael Councillor John Paul O’Shea said, “Following the success of previous years, we are really looking forward to this year’s Cruinniú na nÓg events, which are taking place right across Cork County. We are delighted to see an increase in the number of events, organisations and participants this year and look forward to celebrating the creativity of our children and young people.”
Cruinniú na nÓg is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme’s Creative Youth Plan to enable the creative potential of children and young people. Full details on the programme can be found on creativeireland.gov.ie For further information on events in Cork County, contact creativeireland@corkcoco.ie
About Cruinniú na nÓg
Ireland is the first, and only, country in the world to have a national day of free creativity for children and young people under 18. Cruinniú na nÓg is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme’s Creative Youth Plan to enable the creative potential of children and young people. The inaugural Cruinniú na nÓg took place on 23rd June 2018 and for the past number of years, including under exceptional circumstances in 2020, young people and families have come together to enjoy, a wide range of creative activities including workshops and tutorials to recitals and readings in every city, town and village across the country. Delivered in partnership with the 31 Local Authorities and supported by RTÉ, you are invited to participate in a programme of fun, free, creative activities; from graffiti art workshops to stop-motion animation, to coding and architecture workshops!
