Cruinniú na nÓg took place in Laois on Saturday last, June 12.
It was a national day of creativity for children and young people under the age of 18 and the only day of its kind in the world.
Laois Arts Office, Heritage Office, Library Service, Dunamaise Arts Centre, Music Generation Laois and collaborators joined forces to create a bumper programme of events, accessible online and all were free.
Due to ongoing restrictions only a small number of live events were able to take place offline.
These include: Mountrath Youth Theatre hosted an afternoon of workshops for young people ages 12-18 at MYT Creative Space, with Darren Yorke facilitating drama and improvisation workshops; urban dance with Matt Szczerek; and sustainable art with Emily Dowling.
In the week leading up to Cruinniú na nÓg, over 250 children and 7 schools – Camross NS, St Colmcille’s NS Errill, The Rock NS, Cloneyhurke NS, Scoil Bhride Rathdowney, Barnashrone NS and Ballyadams NS – participated in online workshops with ‘Beat Goes On’ body percussion specialists and supported by MG Laois musicians in-person, in the schools.
On Saturday June 12, Music Generation Laois tutor Dale McKay held an outdoor Bodhrán workshop at Fitzmaurice Place, Portlaoise.
The Cruinniú na nÓg Laois programme featured local creatives such as Abbeyleix native, make -up artist and BBC’s Glow up sensation James Mac Inerney with his sense of place inspired masterclass.
And Portlaoise resident and circus performer Maria Corcoran with the premiere of a new film of her recent work ‘The Science of Skipping’ as part of her collaborative work with Aoife Raleigh in StrongWomen Science.
In additional, local Donaghmore artist Pat Byrne constructed a paper crafting kit with a pre-recorded video for 25 children, ages 8-12, to create one of Laois’s most iconic heritage sites, the Rock of Dunamase.
Laois Library Service was very busy this Cruinniú na nÓg with over 250 children and young people participating in a range of arts and craft activities, creative writing and the launch of Summer Stars 2021.
Two new short films, ‘A.I. Villagers’ by Mountrath Youth Theatre and ‘Media Meltdown’ by Mountrath Community School’s Film Club, commissioned by Dunamaise Arts Centre and as part of ‘Young Filmmakers of the Future’, were screened on Dunamaise Arts Centre’s YouTube and social media channels, and will be available until the end of June.
With over 500 downloads already for Cruinniú na nÓg, the ‘In Your Nature’ young person’s podcast edition on the world of birds and biodiversity featuring Niall Hatch and Ricky Whelan of BirdWatch Ireland is still available to download via all major podcast providers.
Check out some pictures from the events below:
