Masks with the theatre concept

Grant scheme to support organisations, groups or individuals in the provision of local arts activities launched

Meath County Council’s Arts Office has announced the launch of its 2025 Arts Grants, Awards and Bursaries Schemes. This includes the Annual Arts Grant, Drama League of Ireland Bursary, Festival Grant Scheme, Professional Artist Development Fund and, new in 2025, the Creative Communities Award.

The Annual Arts Grant aims to support organisations, groups or individuals in the provision of local arts activities which enhance long-term development and sustainability of the arts in County Meath.

Supported by Creative Ireland, the new Creative Communities Award is intended to support a wide range of community groups and schools in the provision of community arts projects which promote cultural engagement and enhance long-term partnerships with professional artists.

The Drama League of Ireland Bursary is intended to fund a week-long residential stay at the Drama League of Ireland Summer School at the University of Limerick.

The Festival Grant Scheme is to support arts festivals taking place in County Meath which show a commitment to quality artistic programming, while the Professional Artist Development Fund supports Meath based professional arts practitioners in any field to develop their artistic practice and make or present new work.

The individual funding strands cover a wide range of disciplines, arts practices and activities and are intended to enable individuals, groups and organisations to develop and sustain their work in the arts throughout County Meath and are part of a suite of supports provided to artists in the county. These supports have been strengthened in 2025 with additional funding from the Arts Council of Ireland and Creative Ireland.

Forms may be found and completed at https://meathcocoarts.submit.com/. It is recommended that interested applicants contact the arts office for advice on which funding strand best suits their funding requirements in advance of making an application at artsfunding@meathcoco.ie. The closing date for applications is Friday, 14th February.