Creative Cavan Grants 2026
Cavan County Council’s Culture and Creativity Strategy 2023-2027 seeks to provide opportunities for access, participation, and engagement in culture and creativity for all citizens. Cavan County Council will award a limited number of grants to creative projects in the county under the Creative Ireland Programme.
The Creative Ireland grant scheme is suited towards local and community groups and individuals, artistic and creative practitioners, event organisers, and those involved in creative, cultural, and heritage activities and projects. Projects must include a creative and community element and evidence a community need.
This grant scheme is supported by the national Creative Ireland Programme. Successful applications must demonstrate compatibility with the Cavan Culture and Creativity Strategy 2023-2027. Preference will be given to projects that demonstrate the potential to creatively promote:
- Health, Wellbeing, Heritage, Biodiversity, or Creative Climate Action - while fulfilling a creative community engagement element.
Available grants
Applications are invited for the following grants under Cavan County Council’s Creative Ireland Grant Scheme:
Open Call Grants
Open Call - Micro Grants | Open Call - Strategic Grants |
between €500 and €2,500 | between €2,500 and €10,000 |
The project must take place in County Cavan by the 27 September 2026 – if this does not align with your project delivery then apply under strategic grant (eg Halloween event) | Exceptional projects may be funded up to €15,000. The project must take place in County Cavan by 1 August 2027 – no extension will be considered. This grant will allow potential projects which will require a longer delivery time and respective budget to be delivered. |
Organisations may only apply for one of the above grants and those in receipt of a 2025/2026 grant are exempt from applying. Please ensure that you check your project eligibility in line with open call guidance notes and use the online portal to submit your application - you can save and return to the application at any time. The portal opens on 7 January 2026 at 12.00 noon.
Cruinniú na nÓg Grants – up to €5,000 in value to be delivered by 6 June 2026. Events or programmes must include a delivery element on Saturday 6 June 2026.
Please ensure that you check your project eligibility in line with Cruinniú na nÓg guidance notes and use the online portal to submit your application - you can save and return to the application at any time. The portal opens on 7 January 2026 at 12.00 noon.
General Enquiries
Creative Communities Engagement Officer Sharon Howe will be on hand at a number of venues to speak to any groups or individuals regarding the grant callout:
- Johnston Central Library, Farnham Centre, Cavan - Thursday 15 January 5:00 - 6:00 pm
- Belturbet Library - Thursday 15 January 7:00 - 8:00 pm
- Bailieborough Library - Tuesday 20 January11:00 am – 12:00 noon
- Virginia Library, Virginia - Tuesday 20 January 2.00 - 3.00 pm
Closing Date : 30 January 2026 @ 5.00 pm
Newly Added
Creative Cavan 2026– Expression of Interest for Creative Ireland Additional Funding
In late 2025, Creative Ireland and the Shared Island Initiative announced their intention to partner once again for 2026 - 28. In December 2025, they launched three separate grant calls:
- Creative Health & Wellbeing in the Community on a Shared Island 2026-28;
- Creative Communities on a Shared Island 2026-28; and the
- Creative Youth Nurture Fund on a Shared island 2026-28.
For both the Health & Wellbeing, and the Creative Communities, grant call the lead applicant must be a local authority based in Ireland, such as Cavan County Council.
In order to determine potential partners, in a fair and equitable manner, for these applications, Cavan County Council is now requesting Cavan Creatives or Community Groups who are interested to submit an ‘Expression of Interest’ (EOI) to Creative Cavan
Closing Date please email completed Expression Of Interest no later than 5 pm noon on Friday 23th January 2026 (see below)
Documents relating to EOI for additional funding for Creative Ireland
Expression Of Interest (EOI)-for-CI-Additional-Funding-Closing-Date-23-Jan-2026.docx (size 138.6 KB)
Contact us
- Phone: 049 437 8506
- Email: showe@cavancoco.ie
- Sharon Howe - Creative Communities Engagement Officer
Creative Communities is an initiative from the Creative Ireland Programme, Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage