A is a day of free creativity for children and young people.
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 from 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, all 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!
The next iteration of Cruinniú na nÓg will take place on Saturday, the 6th June 2026.
Circus Explored
Since 2022, ISACS has been one of the Cruinniú na nÓg strategic partners delivering Circus Explored. In year one, through this nationwide initiative, ISACS delivered 5,000 juggling balls for every child in Ireland to learn how to juggle.
In 2023, with Circus Explored children all over Ireland could learn how to spin a plate using our youth-led plate spinning online tutorials. Over 4,000 spinning plates were distributed to every county in Ireland…and it still wasn’t enough!
Furthermore, we developed a series of cross-community events connecting young people from both sides of the border with members of youth/social circus organisations all over the island for creative collaboration.
In 2024, ISACS was delighted to announce that Circus Explored was back to broaden the reach of the Circus Explored all-island aspects, in line with Creative Ireland’s increased focus on Shared Island Initiatives, and with ISACS remit as a 32 county organisation.
In 2025, Creative Ireland made a three-year commitment to support the Circus Explored project and our role as Cruinniú na nÓg strategic partners. This support enables us to continue to deliver high-quality circus activities and expand access for young people across the island of Ireland.
