This Saturday, the whole of County Wexford turns into a workshop, a stage and a studio for its under-18s. Cruinniú na nÓg 2026 — Ireland’s national day of free creativity for children and young people — takes place on Saturday 6 June, and Wexford’s programme is one of the busiest in the country, with free events running from Gorey to New Ross and Wexford town to Clonroche. Lantern-making, shelter-building, theatre, murals, puppetry, virtual-reality film-making and music: if your child has ever wanted to try it, there is a good chance someone in Wexford is offering it for free this weekend.
What Is Cruinniú na nÓg?
Cruinniú na nÓg — Irish for “a gathering of the young” — is a national day of free creative activity for children and young people up to the age of 18. It is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme, delivered under its Creative Youth Plan in partnership with the local authorities and RTÉ, and it has grown into one of the largest events of its kind in Europe. The principle is simple: for one day, every child should have the chance to do something creative — to make, perform, build or imagine — rather than simply watch. Crucially, everything is free, and the emphasis is on taking part rather than on finished, polished results.
In Wexford the day is coordinated by the Wexford County Council Arts Department, which pulls together libraries, arts centres, heritage sites and community venues across the county into a single programme of workshops and performances. The result is a genuinely county-wide celebration, designed so that families in every town have something within easy reach.
What’s On Across Wexford
Willow Lantern Making — ARC Family Resource Centre, Clonroche
Artist Caoimhe Dunne leads a willow lantern-making workshop at the ARC Family Resource Centre in Clonroche, where young people weave and shape their own lanterns from willow — a hands-on introduction to a traditional craft that produces something genuinely beautiful to take home.
Shelter Building — National 1798 Rebellion Centre, Enniscorthy
At the National 1798 Rebellion Centre in Enniscorthy, Geraldine Cussen runs a shelter-building session using natural materials — an outdoor, problem-solving activity that gets children working with their hands and with the landscape, and exactly the kind of unplugged, collaborative making that Cruinniú na nÓg is built around.
Theatre and Irish Mythology — Enniscorthy Castle
Inside the medieval walls of Enniscorthy Castle, Anita Petry leads theatre workshops exploring Irish mythology — part of a four-week programme bringing the old stories to life through drama. Performing the myths in a genuine Norman castle is the kind of setting most workshops can only dream of.
Creative Youth Lab ’26 Showcase — Wexford Arts Centre
At Wexford Arts Centre, the Creative Youth Lab ’26 Showcase puts the work of the county’s young creatives front and centre — a chance to see what Wexford’s emerging artists, makers and performers have been developing, and proof that the day’s spirit carries on well beyond a single Saturday.
And Much More
Alongside these, the wider county programme includes mural painting, virtual-reality film-making, puppet shows, weaving and music sessions, spread across libraries, arts centres and community venues. Between them they cover just about every creative discipline a young person might want to try — from the digital to the deeply traditional.
Where It’s Happening
Events are running right across the county, with activities in Wexford town, Enniscorthy, Gorey, New Ross, Bunclody, Taghmon and Clonroche, hosted at libraries, arts centres and community venues. That spread is deliberate: the aim is that no family should have to travel far to find something free and creative for their children to do on the day.
Why It Matters
It is easy to underestimate a day like this. But Cruinniú na nÓg is built on a serious idea: that creativity is not a luxury or an add-on but a core part of how children develop confidence, resilience and a sense of their own voice. By making the day completely free and spreading it across every town, the programme removes the barriers — cost, distance, the sense that the arts are for somebody else’s children — that too often decide who gets to be creative and who does not. For one Saturday in June, the answer in Wexford is everyone.
A national day of free creativity for children and young people — a chance to try, to make, and to take part.
Cruinniú na nÓg
How to Take Part
Cruinniú na nÓg takes place on Saturday 6 June 2026 at venues across County Wexford. All events are free, though some workshops have limited places and may need to be booked in advance. The full programme — with times, venues and booking details — is available on wexfordcoco.ie under Arts Events, and on the Wexford County Council Arts Department’s social media channels. With the day almost upon us, it is worth checking the listings now and planning your Saturday around whatever catches your child’s imagination.
