What’s the Shared Island funding initiative for arts and cultural heritage?

Introduction

Last month, the Irish Government announced new allocations to the Shared Island fund. The Shared Island funding initiative is not a single programme but a suite of interconnected strands and phases designed to deepen cultural cooperation across the island of Ireland. These strands cover areas such as collaborations between national cultural institutions, touring and performance, screen and digitisation projects, and heritage-focused work. Funding has been rolled out in stages since 2022, with new allocations announced in November and December 2025, and further calls expected through 2030.

This blog post aims to provide a clear, factual overview of what is currently known about the structure, purpose, and administration of these funds. It summarises previous developments, outlines the emerging framework for future phases, and signposts where more detailed guidance will appear as programmes open for applications.

Overview

In November 2025, the Irish Government announced new Shared Island funding, including phase two of a €14.5 million Creative Ireland programme to support cross-border arts projects between 2025 and 2028. This builds upon a February 2025 commitment of up to €20 million for the Shared Island Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, aimed at developing and delivering new programmes before 2030 to deepen cultural cooperation, exchange, and understanding.

Based on available information from the last round of funding in 2023, and Communities Committee discussions with Department for Communities officials on 16 September 2025, organisations in Northern Ireland may benefit from Shared Island funding, however, applications are made by collaborative partners based in Ireland. When questioned about the latest Shared Island funding announcements at the Communities Committee on 16 September 2025, DfC officials suggested that much of the €10 million Shared Island Cultural Cooperation Fund has already been allocated to National Cultural Institutions and international collaborative projects between the Arts Councils in Ireland and Northern Ireland. In answer to a parliamentary question about the €10 million Shared Island Cultural Collaboration fund asked in September 2025, the Irish Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport outlined the following:

The proposal for the new Shared Island Cultural Cooperation Fund was developed in consultation with the Northern Ireland Department for Communities and is designed to support projects in three areas:

• Collaborations between National Cultural Institutions and partners (Strand 1), €5m;
• All-Island Touring, Production and Platforming (Strand 2), €3m; and
• Shared Island screen and digitisation projects (Strand 3), €2m.

Terms of Reference for these strands are currently being developed in conjunction with the Department of the Taoiseach. When complete, calls for proposals under each strand will issue towards the end of the year with funding to be allocated in the period 2026-2030. Full information on the schemes, how to apply and eligibility criteria will be published in due course.

Before further details of the new phase of Shared Island Cultural Heritage and Arts funding are released, this blog post outlines how some of the previous Culture, Arts and Heritage aspects of the Shared Island fund were administered, a timeline of its development and suggested further reading.

What the fund covers

Information about the Shared Island Arts and Cultural Heritage funding states that it supports cross-border and all-island cultural activity, including:

• Cultural heritage projects
• Touring and performance
• Exhibitions and collaborations between cultural institutions
• Work in the screen sector
• Digitisation of cultural assets
• Projects linked to Irish language or Ulster Scots heritage
• Longer-term partnerships between arts or heritage bodies, North and South

Administration and governance

The fund is administered by the Irish Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, with cooperation from the Northern Ireland Executive and UK Government. We know from documentation available for the Creative Ireland programme that applicants should expect standard governance requirements, and that applications must be made by partners based in Ireland.

Development timeline

The Shared Island Initiative was first announced in 2020, with arts projects being brought forward by the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for approval by the Irish Government in July 2022. The timeline below illustrates a phased approach to the arts and cultural heritage funding since 2022. Starting with project approvals and stakeholder engagement, moving through fund design and budget confirmation, and culminating in expanded rollout.The following timeline summarises some of the published detail on how the fund has developed:

Table 1: A timeline summarising some of the published detail on how the fund has developed

Development of previous Shared Island Funds

1. Project Approval & Launch
   July 2022: Irish Government sign-off
   Sept 2023: €7.4m announced via Arts Councils [gov.ie]
2. Calls & Consultation
   Jan 2024: open calls and FAQs issued for youth & cross-border projects [creativeireland…and.gov.ie]
3. Fund Design & Budget Approval
   Feb 2025: €10m Cultural Cooperation Framework approved [oireachtas.ie]
4. Baseline Funding Confirmation
   Apr–May 2025: Table 10 commits €7.4m capital and up to €20m for heritage and Creative Ireland strand [gov.ie]
5. Expanded Rollout
   Nov 2025: Public showcase of 45+ projects; new funding for Creative Ireland, Media, Heritage; 10 additional programmes announced [rte.ie], [gov.ie]. On 2 December 2025, a new phase of €1.6m funding for the Creative Communities on a Shared Island was announced by the Irish Department for Culture, Communications and Sport.

How will the fund be administered?

The following points summarise what has been announced at the time of writing:

• Most strands require applicants to be based in Ireland, with collaborative partners based in Northern Ireland.
• Project scales may vary: from large institutional partnerships to smaller collaborations.
• Detailed guidance on eligibility, assessment criteria, award levels and timelines are issued when strands open. For example, on 2 December 2025, the Irish Department for Culture, Communications and Sport published guidance for applicants for €1.6m for three strands of a new phase of the “Creative Communities on a Shared Island” programme.
• Standard governance requirements, including partnership evidence.
• The funds complement existing Creative Ireland and Arts Council programmes.

Examples of previous Shared Island Arts investment programmes

In September 2023, the Irish Government announced five new All-Island Arts Investment projects, supported by €7.4m from the Shared Island Fund. These were jointly delivered by the Irish Arts Council and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Examples included:

• Irish Architectural Archive – €100k for digitalisation and improved access to architectural records.
• Irish Film Institute – €200k to archive amateur filmmaking from Northern Ireland and border regions, with exhibitions online and regionally.
• Irish Traditional Music Archive – €1m for a new residential studio and expanded digitalisation to support artist and archivist collaborations.
• Tyrone Guthrie Centre – up to €1.5m to create a new visual artist studio alternating between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
• Bellaghy Bawn – up to €4.6m to develop writer residencies in a historic building near Seamus Heaney’s birthplace, creating a cross-border creative hub.

Where to find further information

As further programme details become available, the following sources will provide updates:

• Irish Government Shared Island publications and press releases
• Department of Culture, Communications and Sport guidance
• Creative Ireland programme announcements
• Updates from Arts Council Northern Ireland and Arts Council Ireland / An Chomhairle Ealaíon

Summary

The Shared Island Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund represents a potential new funding stream for cross-border arts, culture and heritage work over the period 2025–2030. While full guidance has not yet been released, the fund is expected to support a wide range of arts and cultural heritage activities involving partners North and South. This blog post provides an outline to assist MLAs in responding to early queries from constituents and community organisations.

A Creative Ireland Grant Information Session will be held in The MAC, Belfast on 14 January 2026.