Louth County Council are delighted to announce that the hugely popular Culture Night will take place this year on Friday 18^th September. Culture Night is a national initiative, celebrating culture, creativity and the arts and seeks to actively encourage people to engage in cultural activities in all forms.

Louth County Council Arts Service is inviting proposals from those eligible to avail of funding from the Culture Night Event Fund for 2026. Culture Night is particularly suited to venues seeking to encourage new audiences and organisations such as choirs, theatre companies or book clubs who could host an evening of novel or exciting activities designed to engage new members.

For 2026 we have 2 strands of funding available for application.

Strand 1

Strand 1 is our annual Culture Night fund supported by Louth County Council Arts office and the Arts Council of Ireland. Details of this strand are as follows:

• The event must take place after 4pm on Friday 18th September

• The event must be free of charge to the public.

• Maximum Grant Award of €1,500 is available for each successful applicant.

Details of all events will be included in our Culture Night publicity materials. Events should encourage participation from all ages and communities, connecting artists, performers and audiences in a shared celebration of creativity and cultural expression. For further details on Culture Night see the national website https://culturenight.ie/

We are particularly interested in projects that reflect the cultural richness of Louth and the diversity within local communities. Initiatives that specifically target the 18-35 age demographic and target the night time economy will also be looked on favourably.

For guidelines and details on how to apply for funding to support your event please email arts@louthcoco.ie . The closing date for applications is Tuesday 2^nd June and successful applicants will be notified by the 24^th June 2026.

Culture Night is brought to you by The Arts Council in partnership with Louth County Council and cultural organisations throughout the county

Strand 2

For 2026 we have an additional, one-off fund available from Culture Ireland as part of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

In July 2026 Ireland will assume the Presidency of the European Union until December 2026. A key element of each Presidency is the delivery of a culture programme. Delivered by Culture Ireland, in partnership with the Local Authorities, the culture programme is the most citizen-facing and public element of the Presidency and offers an opportunity to showcase the best of Irish arts and culture, both traditional and contemporary, while also celebrating Irelands relationship with the EU.

Louth County Council are planning a cross sectoral programme to run in tandem with Culture Ireland hosting the EU Presidency during the second half of 2026. Part of this programme includes an extension to our annual Culture Night initiative.

Details of this strand are:

• Events must have a theme specific to Irish Culture and its relationship with the EU

• Events may also have a theme around Ireland’s Presidency of the EU

• Events must take place after 4pm on Friday 18^th September.

• Grant assistance of up to €1,000 maximum per event can be sought

We are particularly interested in events that reflect the cultural richness of Ireland, Louth and/or other EU cultures living here.

For guidelines and details on how to apply for funding to support your event please email arts@louthcoco.ie . The closing date for applications is Tuesday 2^nd June and successful applicants will be notified by the 24^th June 2026.

Culture Night Guidelines 2026

Louth County Council Arts Service now invites proposals from those eligible to avail of funding from the Culture Night Event Fund for 2026 and the Culture Ireland EU Presidency Fund for Culture Night events.

Culture Night is particularly suited to venues seeking to encourage new audiences and organisations such as choirs, theatre companies or book clubs who could host an evening of novel or exciting activities designed to engage new members.

See https://culturenight.ie/ for full details.

We are particularly interested in projects that reflect the cultural richness of Louth and the diversity within local communities. Initiatives that specifically target the 18-35 age demographic and target the night time economy will also be looked on favourably.

Eligible Costs covered by the grant include:

• Guest speaker fees

• Guest artist fees

• Arts materials

• Event photographer

• Tech support hire.

Ineligible costs include:

• Staffing costs on the night of the event
• Ongoing revenue costs
• Any capital costs
• Equipment purchase costs
• Charity fund raising events
• Cost of repaying existing debts
• Refreshments
• Publicity costs
• Travel or accommodation expenses.

Conditions of Funding:

• The event must take place after 4p.m
• The event must take place on Friday 18^th September 2025
• The event must be free of charge to the public
• Maximum grant under the LCC Culture Night fund offered for each event by LCC will be up to €1,500*
• Maximum grant under the Culture Ireland EU Presidency fund for each event will be up to €1,000*

* The value of the grants provided will depend on the number and quality of applications received. It may not be possible to fund all applicants, and available funding will be allocated to those applications which best meet the objectives of the programme. Payment of the grant will be for the specific activities outlined in the application/proposal and a budget breakdown of costs must be submitted with the application.

Successful applicants will be required to:

1. Ensure they have appropriate insurance cover for the event.
2. Ensure that, where appropriate, child protection policies are in place.
3. Ensure that all events comply with Health and Safety and legislative requirements.
4. Green Procurement and sustainability should be kept in mind when running events, particularly when considering materials, equipment and travel.
5. Ensure that Louth County Council and the Arts Council of Ireland are acknowledged in any and all publicity relating to the event. Relevant logos will be supplied to the successful grant awardees.
6. The grant will only be paid AFTER the event, and all expenditure has been processed. Vouched expenses and a short report on the event including audience numbers etc. should be submitted by October 2^nd , 2026, at the latest to ensure payment.
7. Anyone granted funding who is not already set up on the council’s payment system must provide the relevant documentation including bank statement header and Tax reference numbers.

Applications should be in the form of a short two-page proposal outlining event details and target audience. Applications should be submitted to arts@louthcoco.ie by 4p.m on Tuesday 6^th June 2026.

Successful applicants will be notified by the 24^th June 2026.

Enquiries can also be sent to arts@louthcoco.ie

Culture Night is brought to you by The Arts Council in partnership with Louth County Council and cultural organisations throughout the county.

The Culture Ireland fund is directly linked to Irelands Presidency of the Council of the European Union which will be from July 2026 until December 2026. This is a one off fund for 2026.