As 2025 comes to a close, we invite you to join us in celebrating the milestones of the ISACS Network and the progress we’ve made together in developing a thriving community of street, circus, and spectacle artists in Ireland.
2025 Achievements at a Glance
We continued to:
- Strengthen relationships nationally and internationally, cultivating meaningful partnerships to advance our shared goals.
- Support our members on diverse issues, fostering an inclusive and connected community built on care and collaboration.
- Encourage ambitious ideas, nurturing resilience and confidence among our members.
- Empower our community by offering opportunities for growth, creativity, and professional development.
Artist Development Programmes
DELVE is a GO-SEE initiative, launched in 2016, to support ISACS members to get out, see and learn about street, circus and performance arts happening all around Ireland. This year we supported:
- Festival of Fools with Eimear Mhaoldomnaigh and Maria Lydia Polotto
- Carlow Arts Festival with Aidan Ring and Esmeraldo Tavares
- Spraoi Festival with Niamh Lawlor and Martin Shannon
- National Circus Festival of Ireland with Tara Brandel, Bobbi Byrne, and Rachel Paul
Residencies
In 2025, ISACS delivered its flagship residency programmes — including the Áras Éanna Ionad Ealaíne Residency, the LIFT Residency at the Wexford Arts Centre.
ISACS & Áras Éanna Ionad Ealaíne
ISACS partnered with Áras Éanna Ionad Ealaíne for the fifth year, hosting Anja Nicholson and Amberlee Toumangeulov, for a one-month residency on Inis Oírr.
Supported by The Arts Council of Ireland.
In partnership with Wexford Arts Centre, LIFT provided mentoring and creation space for ground-based circus artists.
2025 Artists: Tumble Circus
Supported by Wexford County Council and The Arts Council Ireland.
Bursary Awards
Each year, the ISACS Network empowers, encourages and supports its members in their creative journeys by providing bursaries to attend workshops and masterclasses nationally and internationally. In 2025, we supported:
We were delighted to support ISACS Member Cian Booth to attend SPASA25. This bursary included a 2-week street arts training programme in Catalunya.
The ISACS Network and SpringMoves Dance Festival were thrilled to bring back Where Dance meets Circus in partnership with Wexford County Council and the National Opera House.
This year, Where Dance Meets explored the collaborative space between Street and Dance. We welcomed Welsh artists No Sleep Dance Theatre to Wexford for a dynamic two-day programme, with generous support from the Welsh Government in Ireland.
As part of the initiative, ISACS provided bursary support for an ISACS Member to participate in the programme. The selected artist was Cormac Mohally.
More Bursaries
We also partnered with several festivals and organisations across Ireland to support our members to experience the following initiatives:
- Integrated Partnering Workshop with Croi Glan at Firkin Crane Dance Cork, awarded to Louise Holian and Maryam Madani
- Irish Aerial Dance Festival with Fidget Feet Aerial Dance awarded to Aisling Miklis
- Lumen Masterclass with Matteo Racitti awarded to Selene Murphy and Magda Karol
- IACC Grant Writing workshop with Barbara Rovere awarded to Eimear Mhaoldomnaigh, Aoife Raleigh and Sonya Moorhead
- Taking Flight Witness at Dublin Dance Festival awarded to Sean Mcilraith and Chloé De Buyl-Pisco
- Dublin Circus Project Professional Development awarded to Maria da Paixao Vieira
- Peta Lily Dark Clown Workshop in Cork Circus Factory awarded to Ro Cruanas
ISACS Autumn Training Session
We delivered our Training Programme 2025.
The training sessions included a wide range of topics emerged from the results of our Annual membership survey:
- Writing Funding Applications
- Identifying Partners/Collaborator
- Finance, Accounts and Revenue
- International Promotion
- How to Get Paid
- Generating Alternative Income Streams
- Don’t Underestimate Your Audience
The recording of our training sessions are available here→
Supported by The Arts Council of Ireland.
Circus Explored
In its fourth year, Circus Explored celebrated Cruinniú na nÓg and the Shared Island through:
- 6 Cruinniú na nÓg Circus Picnics | attended by over 1500 young people
- 3 Shared Island Social Circus Exchanges | attended by 68 young people
- 4 Cruinniú na nÓg Local Authority Collaborations | attended by 47 young people
Circus Explored reached new heights in 2025, as Aidan and Ellie from In Your Space Circus shared their passion for circus during a youth panel at the Creative Ireland & Shared Island Conference. The Pink & Whites provided an incredible closing performance at the event, which was attended by Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister Patrick O’Donovan.
This nationwide initiative was supported by the Creative Ireland Programme and the Shared Island Unit delivered in partnership with circus organisations across Ireland:
- Circus Factory Cork,
- Cloughjordan Circus Club,
- Dublin Circus Project,
- Galway Community Circus,
- Circusful in Belfast,
- In Your Space in Derry
Festival of Fools
Over the May Bank Holiday weekend, we were delighted to bring international guests from the Festival of Fools in Belfast together with Irish artists, with thanks to Culture Ireland’s support. Our visitors met our DELVE artists sharing in an experience of seeing, listening, learning, and connecting with art and its makers in a truly inspiring exchange.
Spraoi Festival
ISACS was proud to deliver its Professional Programme at Spraoi International Street Arts Festival, featuring a pitching session, round table, and studio visit. We were delighted to bring our DELVE artists Martin Shannon and Niamh Lawlor to this years festival.
ISACS Members connected with six international guests and took part in the PITCH mentorship programme at Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford, with presentations by
ISACS member Henrik Gard also launched their new book Context Creators with invited speaker Sinéad O’Reilly, Head of Combined Arts at the Arts Council Ireland.
ISACS at the National Circus Festival of Ireland
In November, we delivered our annual SHARE Open Forum in Tralee at the National Circus Festival of Ireland featuring:
- Launch of the Arts Council’s new Circus Policy and Implementation Plan
- Workshops that will inform ISACS’ strategic plan (2026–2030)
- Networking with international festival programmers
- DELVE artists from Croí Glán
Lookback at the highlights from SHARE 2025.
Advocacy
We continued our advocacy campaigns to secure recognition, investment, and support for the arts. Key initiatives included:
- Insurance Reform: Representing our sector as part of the Alliance for Insurance Reform.
- Pre-Budget Submissions: Supporting the National Campaign for the Arts’ call for sustained arts funding and the Retain, Extend, Expand Basic Income for the Arts campaign.
Voices of the Showmen
ISACS moved to the next phase of the Voices of the Showmen initiative. Building on Towards an Irish Showmen’s Archive Report produced in 2024 in partnership with the Irish Showmen’s Guild, the University of Galway and Archives Ireland, supported by the Heritage Council. Voices of the Showmen is a digital oral history archive preserving the lives, memories and legacy of Irish show people involved in variety, fit ups, travelling cinemas, fairgrounds, circus, sideshows and more.
- A live interview and presentation of work to date was presented during Heritage Week in the University of Galway in August 2025
- The full interview videos will be available shortly via the University of Galway Library
ISACS International Presence
ISACS continued to be a core member of the Circostrada Network and other international platforms, building and deepening our many international relations.
In September, ISACS proudly led a 38-strong Irish delegation to FiraTàrrega, one of Europe’s leading international festivals for street arts and performance. This year’s edition featured a special Spotlight on Ireland—a dedicated initiative designed to showcase Irish talent on a global stage through performances, discussions, and cultural exchange.
Furthermore, we represented Ireland internationally at:
- Circostrada Gathering at BIAC in Marseille
- France Festival SPRING in Normandy
- Honey Pot & Adelaide Fringe Festival
- Australia Circostrada’s
- Fresh Street at Out There Arts in Great Yarmouth, UK
- MICC International Market of Contemporary Circus, Montreal, Canada
- Ciclop Festival in Mallorca
- Irish Festival of Oulu, Finland
Funding
In 2025, ISACS secured and diversified our funding streams through the generous support:
- The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon
- Creative Ireland Culture Ireland
- The Heritage Council
- Wexford County Council LEADER Programme – Wexford Local Development
- Welsh Government in Ireland
We remain committed to nurturing meaningful connections, empowering our members, and advancing Ireland’s street, circus, and spectacle arts on the national and international stage.