Published on 

Taoiseach and Minister Humphreys launch first national Cruinniú na Cásca

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Arts Minister Heather Humphreys this evening announced details of Cruinniú na Cásca, a new national day of culture and creativity, which will take place on Easter Monday in Dublin and in every county nationwide as part of the Creative Ireland programme.

Cruinniú na Cásca aims to celebrate culture and creativity in contemporary Irish society through a rich variety of live music and dance, coding, theatre, art and music workshops, talks and tastings, readings and screenings, special events and more.

Cruinniú na Cásca, which directly translates as “a meeting at Easter’, will be an annual free festival which celebrates culture and creativity in contemporary Irish society, with a special focus on events for families and children.

Speaking today Taoiseach Enda Kenny said:

On Easter Monday last year we had an event called RTÉ Reflecting the Rising – a partnership between Ireland 2016 and RTÉ which brought 750,000 people on to the streets of Dublin – the largest civic gathering in the history of the State –with hundreds of events ranging from academic discussions to street dances.  It was a massive collaboration between government and RTÉ, but also including multiple government agencies, Dublin City Council, the OPW, an Garda Síochána, and myriad other organisations.  The almost universal reaction was that we should do this more often, not just once in a hundred years.  That’s what Cruinniú Na Cásca is about. It’s an initiative that is close to my heart. The theme for Cruinniú Na Cásca 2017 is diversity and inclusion. As a people, as communities, we can only benefit from taking a day every year to think seriously about ourselves, to have important conversations – but also to share our experiences and to come together to enjoy our cultural heritage and the work of our artists and performers.  I firmly believe that Cruinniú has the potential to enrich our social and cultural lives long into the future.

Minister Humphreys said:

We want to encourage people to become involved in the cultural life of their own county through a national day of creativity.  We have set ourselves some ambitious targets for year one of Creative Ireland, with Cruinniú na Cásca top of the list. I am delighted that people nationwide will have the opportunity to come together and participate in cultural and creative activity on Easter Monday, driving our collective wellbeing and our sense of community.