The Dinnseanchas Project is an evolving eco-arts project rooted in rural upland communities in the West of Ireland and inspired by the word ‘dinnseanchas’ meaning the stories a place is telling. Dinnseanchas was initiated by Hometree, the nature-restoration charity based in the Ennistymon who are working to establish and restore resilient habitats across temperate rainforest landscapes.
Supported by a Creative Ireland Climate Action Award in 2024, Dinnseanchas creates space for communities to explore more resilient futures by holding difficult conversations about climate change, biodiversity loss, and the social and economic pressures currently shaping rural life.
As part of a 2026 Arts Council funded tour, Dinnseanchas is presenting a five-day programme in venues across Clare supported by glór and Clare Arts Office. At the heart of the residency is An Scioból in the glór foyer, an interactive exhibition of images, film and artefacts collected across the year-long programme that took place in upland locations from Gartan in Donegal, to the Borlin and Coomhla Valleys in West Cork. Radiating from An Scioból are the spokes of Dinnseanchas with further events happening around the county.
In addition to the events outlined below, Creative Places Shannon will host Dinnseanchas artists on Sat 26th Sept, Creative Circles at glór will host Dinnseanchas artists on Thurs 15th Oct from 6.30pm, all welcome and Clare Youth Theatre will visit the Hometree headquarters in Ennistymon on Sat 17th Oct for a day of workshops and creative learning.
What We Brought Back from the Mountains
Wed 14 Oct 11am Burren College of Art Free of charge, all welcome
Dinnseachas artists will share their learnings from the residency programmes they undertook in the uplands during 2024-2025.
An Scioból
Thurs 15 – Sun 18 Oct 11am – 3pm glór Foyer Free of charge, all welcome
An Scioból (The Barn) is a photographic exhibition and an immersive, site-responsive record of The Dinnseanchas Project thus far, incorporating videos, images, artefacts such as wool, tools, maps, field recordings and other objects connected to upland life and land practices. Hosted by members of the the Dinnseanchas team, An Scioból is a place of exchange and open conversation.
An Scioból will include:
The Little Library of Lyreacrompane (Installation) created by artists Heather Griffin and Patrick Mulvihill, which is a token of appreciation to this small upland community in North Kerry and their sustained efforts to keep the stories of their place alive for future generations and Net(work), an experimental social sculpture conceived by artist William Bock that explores collective ritual and shared work as ‘tools’ to restoration, both cultural and ecological.
Dinnseanchas: Film screening and panel discussion
Fri 16 Oct 7pm glór studio Free of charge, all welcome Duration 20mins Please pre-book your tickets
Directed by João Tudella, Dinnseanchas shows a quiet act of cultural resilience; a patchwork of perspectives through time, rooted in place. Weaving together the voices of farmers, artists and community members, the film explores how traditional knowledge and community memory shape responses to climate pressures and ecological change. The film is a Hometree production, made possible through Creative Ireland’s Creative Climate Action fund.
The film screening will be followed by a post-screening conversation between Ray O’Foglú and Hannah Quinn-Mulligan about the critical and urgent themes of the film.
Watch the Dinnseanchas Trailer HERE
Book tickets for Dinnseanchas: Film screening & discussion HERE
Walking in the Stories of our Mountains
Sat 17th Oct 11am & 3pm Mountshannon €6 + €1 Booking fee
Walking In the Stories of Our Mountains is a sound-walk that steps into the lives of a community of farmers that live passionately in a timeless landscape with their animals. The walk is an exquisitely crafted immersive experience that invites listeners to witness the complexity of living with the land in a time of climate adaptation.
Please note that the walk commences from The Aistear Gate and will take place in open landscape, duration approx. 50 Mins.
Book tickets for Walking in the Stories of our Mountains HERE
The Dinnseanchas Holy Show Cabaret
Sat 17 Oct 7.30pm St Caimin Church, Mountshannon €12 + €1 Booking fee
Part salon, part pub session, The Dinnseanchas Holy Show Cabaret is a cabaret evening of performance, film, music, conversation and conviviality.
Hosted by Brendan Mac Evilly the event will include musician and storyteller Aindrais de Staic, a live poetry film, performed by poet Grace Wells and musician Seán Ó Dálaigh that weaves spoken word with atmospheric sound and musical elements and ‘Showing Up’ an audio-visual performance by Heather Griffin & Patrick Mulvhill (Living Rhythms), inviting audiences to witness the entangled futures of human and more-than-human worlds, held together by the fragile work of care and conservation.
Book tickets for Holy Show Cabaret HERE
Dinnseanchas Scoil Scairte
Sun 18 Oct 12 – 4.30pm glór Free of charge, all welcome
The Dinnseanchas Scoil Scairte will take place throughout glór with the public invited to visit An Scioból, participate in a number of workshops and assist artists with their ongoing process of creating work that responds to the themes of The Dinnseanchas Project. Meet with Hometree nature restoration specialists about land management and woodland creation.
The day’s programme will include An Carn Beo, a new work by Róisín de Buitléar that invites the public to gather in a shared act of environmental restoration and the marking and memorialisation of species and habitat loss, by helping to construct a temporary, collective woodland memorial. Throughout the day, Hometree nature restoration specialists will be on hand to chat to about land management and woodland creation.
glór presents Colm Mac Con Iomaire
Sun 18 Oct 7pm glór €20/€18 + €1 Booking fee
Colm Mac Con Iomaire’s music draws on a wide range of styles and influences ranging from Classical to traditional though his music has a unique sound all of its own.He is composer-in residence with the Dinnseanchas Project, with this special concert marking the culmination of the project at glór.
More information and book tickets for Colm Mac Con Iomaire HERE
