Open Call
Creative Ireland is an all-of-government culture and wellbeing programme that inspires and transforms people, places and communities through creativity. We are committed to the vision that every person in Ireland should have the opportunity to realise their full creative potential.
As part of Kildare's 2025 Creative Ireland programme, Kildare County Council invites applications for bursary awards that will develop bodies of work which enhance access to, engagement with, and enjoyment of culture and creativity within Co. Kildare. We are especially interested in projects which include strong community engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and/or are durational in their delivery (rather than once off events). Projects should clearly include public interface or engagement elements.
We envisage that a series of bursaries will be awarded in the region of €3,000 - €10,000. Funding may only be used to support creative events/projects within the cultural domain, which may include:
A: Cultural and Natural Heritage
B: Performance and Celebration
C: Visual Arts and Crafts
D: Books and Press
E: Audio-visual and Interactive Media
F: Design and Creative Services
G: Intangible Cultural Heritage (oral tradition, languages, ritual, social practices, etc)
- build creative responses to climate and biodiversity crises through focused actions.
- embed equality, cultural diversity and integration across the project.
- enhance wellbeing through creative participation, supporting mental and physical health.
- provide creative opportunities to explore sense of place, heritage and identity.
- enhance and support Kildare's local cultural and creative community by providing a tailored series of programming, networking or mentoring opportunities.
Who Can Apply
Applications are welcome from individual creative practitioners and artists, community groups, or small/medium enterprises (SMEs) for activities taking place in 2025.
We welcome applicants who represent the diversity of Irish society. We encourage applications from all areas of the community regardless of your gender, sexual orientation, civil or family status, religion, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller Community, or socio-economic background.
We welcome applications from individuals whose first language is not English.
Application Guidelines
Applications can be made for Creative Ireland Bursary Awards from €3,000 up to €10,000.
Applicants must demonstrate the benefit of the proposed activity for which they are seeking funding to a) county Kildare and b) yourself / your group.
Kildare County Council is committed to fair pay and a policy to Pay the Artist. Please refer to the Arts Council's policy on
Paying the Artist when valuing your time as an artist and/or the artists collaborating with you.
Your attention is also drawn to
safetocreate.ie, where you will find more information about the Safe to Create Dignity at Work programme which aims to impact change on the culture and practices of the arts sector in Ireland to provide safer working conditions for artists and arts workers.
Access Support
You can apply for additional costs if there are access needs relating to your application. These can be personal access costs, or costs for making your work accessible to others. Personal access costs might for example include costs towards additional time needed to complete your project or additional assistance required to deliver your proposed project. Costs for making your work accessible to others might include having an ISL interpreter, using an audio description service, making your content compatible with screen readers or producing materials in other formats such as in Braille or audio. Any such requirements should be outlined in your application and a breakdown of costs should be provided within your budget. These costs may be above the maximum award amount for this grant (up to 20% of the award available).
Application deadline
Applications will only be accepted via the online application form.
Applications must be submitted before the deadline at Friday 7th March at 12pm (noon).
Applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
We suggest that applicants try to submit their application form early in case of technical difficulties. Should they arise, please email
creative@kildarecoco.ie and we will endeavour to respond as soon as possible.
Supporting Material
It is advantageous to include supporting material that enhances your application. Applicants should not assume that the independent assessment panel are familiar with your work or your previous funding history. The panel will use the supporting material to get a better understanding of both your track record and that of your collaborators, and the feasibility of your proposal.
Information Session
Kildare County Council will host a number of Creative Communities Information Sessions in locations throughout the county about the strategic priorities of the Creative Ireland programme in Kildare and related funding opportunities. Sessions will be of particular interest to artists/creatives, community groups, youth groups, or SMEs who intend to apply for the Kildare Creative Ireland Bursary Award in 2025.
Please note that information imparted at each session will be the same - there is no need to register to attend multiple sessions. All are welcome to attend this FREE session, but booking is recommended.
If you need help to complete and submit your application, we want to hear from you. Please email or call the Kildare Creative Ireland team at least three weeks before the award deadline, or as early as possible, to give us time to assist you.
Email: creative@kildarecoco.ie / Tel: 045 980640.
- Applications will be accepted via the official online application system only.
- Individual artists, creative practitioners, community groups, or SMEs from or living in county Kildare may apply for the Kildare Creative Ireland Bursary Award Scheme.
- Applicants resident outside of county Kildare are welcome to apply but must clearly demonstrate how their proposal would benefit the county.
- Applicants must be aged 18 years or older.
- All recipients of grant assistance under Kildare's Creative Ireland Bursary Award Scheme for projects involving children or young people must have appropriate policies in place as regards Child Protection.
- Kildare County Council Creative Ireland team will require confirmation that the appropriate insurance policies and Health and Safety Procedures are in place.
Ineligible applications:
- Applications submitted after the deadline.
- Activities that do not meet the purpose of the award.
- Activities dedicated solely to sport and fitness.
- Applicants requesting assistance in respect of commercial activities.
- Capital requests for building improvements to workspaces and venues.
- Purchase of equipment.
- Charitable events.
- Applications from individuals aged under 18 years of age, or individuals in second level education.
- Proposals for activities in retrospect.
- Activities better suited to others awards and/or schemes offered by the county council.
- Activities that could be better supported by other public agency supports, for example Arts Council, Culture Ireland, Design & Crafts Council Ireland, Music Generation.
Steps to complete and submit your application form
Here we have outlined the steps you will take to complete and submit your application for funding for Creative Ireland Bursary Awards 2025, and what happens next.
- Read the call out and eligibility notes
- Click Apply and Register
- Create a new Profile or review your existing details. Please include a valid email address with your application – this will be used for all future correspondence relating to your application.
- Check your email to confirm your registration
- Complete the online application form. This form can be saved in draft for you to review and edit at a later time.
- Upload Supporting Material
- Send application form
- Verify email address (check your email for a copy)
- Submit application
*Note regarding verification.
If you do not receive a verification email, your email host may be blocking this account and sending communications to spam.
How to Whitelist an Email Address:
· Open Gmail. In the upper-right corner, select the Settings (gear) icon. From the menu, choose Settings.
· Select Filters and Blocked Addresses.
· Select Create a new filter. If you already have many filters, you'll have to scroll down to find this link.
· A dialog box appears. In the From field, type the email address you want to whitelist. Be sure to type the full email address, like example@yahoo.com
· At the bottom of the dialog box, select Create filter.
· On the next screen, tell Gmail what to do with the email address or domain you just indicated. To do so, select Never send it to Spam.
Assessment and Decision
- Applications will be assessed by an independent assessment panel. Following assessment and shortlisting, recommendations for grant aid will be approved by Kildare's Creative Ireland team.
- The Creative Ireland team is not in a position to provide feedback on individual applications.
- Applications are assessed in a competitive context and with consideration of the application form and the supporting materials submitted. Applications are assessed taking the published assessment criteria into consideration. Consideration is also given to the strategic priority(s) supported and the Kildare Creative Ireland programme’s goal to improve access to creativity countywide. Criteria for consideration at assessment will include creative ambition; meeting the purpose/aims of the award; benefit of the proposal/activity to the county; feasibility. Assessment Criteria:
- Must Fund: In the view of the assessment panel, the application is deemed to have fully met the criteria for the award and merits funding on that basis.
- Should Fund: In the view of the assessment panel, the application is deemed to have met the criteria to an extent sufficient to merit funding should resources allow.
- Could Fund: In the view of the assessment panel, the application is deemed to have met the criteria, but to a lesser extent within the competitive context than other applications.
- Not Shortlisted to Fund: In the view of the assessment panel, the application is deemed to have not met the criteria to an extent sufficient to merit funding.
- All applicants will be advised of Council's decision by email.
- Grant aid provided by Kildare County Council and Creative Ireland must be acknowledged in all publicity material associated with the project. Kildare County Council reserves the right to publicise the awarding of grants. Failure to acknowledge Kildare County Council appropriately may deem the grant invalid and grant aid received may need to be refunded to Kildare County Council.
- All successful applications will receive a copy of Kildare County Council and Creative Ireland logos, along with the document ‘Requirements for acknowledging Kildare County Council funding’ via email.
- If your application is successful, you will be required to submit a short report/update at the end of the project or before 17th October 2025, whether the project has been completed or not. An invitation to submit a report will be communicated to grant recipients in early autumn 2025. Failure to submit a report may deem the grant invalid and grant aid received may need to be refunded to Kildare County Council.
- The payment of a grant is not taken as an indication that the equivalent of any grant will be made to the organiser on another occasion.