Creative Places Darndale

Creative Places Darndale is a three-year project supported by the Arts Council. Awarded to Sphere 17 for the area of Darndale in June 2021, the Arts Council’s Creative Places programme invests in places such as towns, villages, suburbs, and island communities that have had fewer opportunities to take part in the arts. The arts in Ireland can be defined by its various art forms – i.e. Visual Art, Music, Dance, Literature, Film, Theatre, Opera, Traditional Arts, Architecture, Circus and Street Arts and Spectacle.

The purpose of Creative Places Darndale is to weave the arts into everyday life in Darndale. Over the course of three years, this will be achieved by:

Building on the variety of art forms that are already present in Darndale
Introducing the arts or different art forms where they are not present
Increasing participation in the arts by the people who live in Darndale
Leaving a legacy of participation in the arts in Darndale

Receiving The Award

There were eight Creative Places awards granted in 2021, including Creative Places Darndale. Speaking of the awards, Director of the Arts Council, Maureen Kennelly said:

We are delighted to be significantly investing in these places in this focused manner. It is very important to us that public investment in the arts reaches and benefits more people in a sustained and meaningful way. We look forward to seeing the ambitious new projects that these inspiring communities create together and we are excited by the prospect of supporting them to celebrate and animate new places.

Members of the Darndale community also expressed their excitement upon receiving the award:

Sometimes communities like ours feature for all the wrong reasons. It’s not only wonderful to be associated with such good news, but it’s also very exciting to imagine the positive legacy we might accomplish together through creative arts engagement because of this award.

  • Mick Ferron,
    Regional Youth Service Manager, Sphere 17 RYS

After a challenging year, I am excited to see what this project can do in reviving a sense of community in Darndale. There was once a lot of activity in the area – we had a variety group for adults and kids would put on shows in the community hall, for example. I would like to see that this funding is used for everyone in the community. Young, old, whether you’re working or not. Everyone in the area should see and feel the benefits of this project.

  • Lorraine Kenny,
    Member of the Darndale community

Our Team

Sphere 17 Regional Youth Service

Sphere 17 Regional Youth Service is the lead applicant for the Creative Places award in Darndale. Sphere 17 provides a high-quality youth service to young people between the ages of 10 – 24, in the region of Dublin 17 and Dublin 5. They provide many different services to young people, based on their needs, issues and interests. Their services include drop-ins, educational and issue based group work programmes, one-to-one support, detached youth work (including outreach), outings and residential activities, summer programmes, the Woodale Youth Justice Project and The Listen Project.

Creative Places Coordinator: Muirne Bloomer

For over thirty years, Muirne Bloomer has played an integral role in the Irish arts landscape through her work as a dance artist and as a choreographer. She has also had a significant impact in the world of theatre, opera, and community arts. Her career has led her to specialise in choreographing and staging a wide range of large scale productions, such as the Special Olympics, the Ryder Cup, Laochra and the World Festival of Families. She has been commissioned as a choreographer by CoisCéim Dance Theatre, Dublin City Council Arts Office, Dublin City Council Culture Company and DCC Community Development SE Area to make work in communities and extraordinary places with a far reaching social and impactful effect.

it is not where you live that

matters but how you live

darndale resident