Children’s Art, Craft, Create, Imagine and Play Workshops from the Museum of Childhood Ireland, Músaem Óige na hÉireann
The Museum of Childhood Ireland Músaem Óige na hÉireann have hosted free children’s art and creativity engagement workshops ‘Tír na nÓg’, since early 2018, at SICCDA and the Robert Emmett Community Development Project on Usher St, Usher’s Quay, Dublin.
Throughout 2023-2024 the work continues, with physical exhibitions in the RECDP/SICCDA and online at museumofchildhood.ie following the workshops.
“Tir na nÓg is depicted as an island paradise and supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy. Its inhabitants are described as the Tuatha Dé Danann or the warriors of the Tuatha Dé, the gods of pre-Christian Ireland, who engage in poetry, music, entertainment, and the feast of Goibniu, which grants immortality to the participants. In the echtrae (adventure) and immram (voyage) tales, various Irish mythical heroes visit Tír na nÓg after a voyage or an invitation from one of its residents. They reach it by entering ancient burial mounds or caves, by journeying through a mist, by going under water, or by travelling across the sea for three days on an enchanted boat or Manannán’s horse. The tales of mortals who visit the Otherworld are referred to as echtrai (adventures) and baili (visions, ecstasies). The path across the sea is called Mag Mell (Plain of Honey). It is the golden path made by the sun on the ocean and to travel, “far over the green meadows of the waters where the horses of Lir have their pastures.”
With kind thanks to Leo O’Kelly and Sonny Condell for the inspiration and for their generous permission to associate their song with the MoCI’s workshops for children.
Toy and Book Library
We also have a children’s book, toy and art materials lending library at RE CDP/SICCDA which we update to on an ongoing basis. If you can too help please let us know at info@museumofchildhood.ie
Art workshop materials are kindly sponsored by Faber-Castell
Our December workshop is on Saturday 7th of December from 11am to 1pm, and as always it is for ages up to age 18.
We will be creating art, cards, decorations and gifts with a seasonal flavour, inspired by cards, letters and homemade gifts in the museum’s collections.
Facilitation will be provided by the MoCI team.
All materials will be provided and as always there is no charge.
Afterwards we will have the annual end of year party and gift raffle for every child.
We are so looking forward to seeing you there for the final ‘Tír na nÓg’ Workshop from the Museum of Childhood Ireland of 2024!
Nollaig Shona daoibh go leir!
From our Collections: The Reid children’s letters at Christmas:
Walter and Louise Reid’s Christmas Letters – The Museum of Childhood Ireland
Halloween celebrations will take place in the ILAC shopping centre on October 31st so dress-up in home-made/reused/recycled costumes and meet us there! There will be a prizes for the best dressers, and arts/crafts/story-telling/balloon making and more…including meeting a witch and a vampire!
Our September workshop will be on Saturday 21st of September 2024 and we will be exploring, playing and creating on themes of culture and heritage in honour of the previous night’s Culture Night 2024 ( Friday 20th September)
The themes, as always, will be decided by the children ages 5-18 years.
We can’t wait to show you what they think and how they feel!
Details below or contact: info@museumofchildhood.ie
Culture and Heritage. Today the children chose to look at, discover and create around Round Towers, traditional thatched cottages, shell cottages, and other favourite buildings.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_round_tower
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/ysBcPYmpGw4M3rpY/?mibextid=UalRPS
http://irisharchaeology.ie/2014/06/traditional-thatched-cottages-kilmore-quay-wexford/
For August, Heritage Week- See Heritage Week section on Wild Child and Water Heritage Days
What makes ME happy!
For workshop details see below:
The children and teenagers decided on the overall theme of ‘What Makes Me Happy’ ( Hear our voices) and ( exploring our favourite sections of the museum) for their art workshops and exhibitions, and also decided to craft, using recycled materials, a ‘Museum of What Makes Me Happy’ too! We’ll continue exploring the theme monthly throughout 2024, adjusting for seasonal celebrations.
The free workshops are facilitated by professional artists, crafters, and the museumofchildhood.ie team.
The museum provides materials, and prizes/acknowledgements for the workshops. We are grateful to our team for creating beautiful, bespoke award certificates for prize giving days. With thanks to Faber Castell for providing the art materials.
SICCDAtand the RE CDP thank you for being such incredible hosts, and to all the play facilitators at all celebrations.
Congratulations to all the wonderful young artists, including:
Nazar Charlie Alina Arina Myroslava Sofiia Liia Emiliia Ruby Ciara Anastasiia Polina Timofii Artem Tom Yevanhelina Kateryna Laima Daria Anastasiia Esten Ester Sibusiso Noluandte Alex Patrick Emil Eskender Anhelina Saoirse Vlad Elmaz Olha Yelyzaveta Susanna Anastasia Kateryna Sofia Danylo Danyil Alexander Kira
Majella McAllister would like to especially thank:
Olena Ponomarenko, SICCDA
Oleksandra Yakusheva, Artist
Mariia Bodnar, Drawing teacher, Artist
Fion Gunn, Artist
Nathan Wheeler, Model Maker
Dakota Oliveria, MoCI Workshop facilitator
Sofia Zambetti, MoCI Workshop facilitator
Lorraine McEvoy, MoCI Historian
Megan Brien, MoCI Designer
Olena Yeremerko
Maxim Yeremerko
Yulia Karpovych
“The ‘Tír na nÓg’ Art, Craft, Play Workshops for children, held at RECDP/SICCDA by the Museum of Childhood of Ireland holds great importance. These projects have several positive aspects that make it highly valuable.
Firstly, the art/craft/play workshops provide a creative and interactive platform for children to explore their artistic abilities and express themselves through various art forms. Engaging in artistic activities at a young age helps foster imagination, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, crucial for their overall development.
Secondly, the work of the Museum of Childhood of Ireland at SICCDA and RE CDP brings together different cultural perspectives and artistic techniques. This exchange of ideas and practices enriches the learning experience for the children, allowing them to gain exposure to diverse artistic traditions and styles.
Moreover, the project creates a sense of cultural appreciation and understanding among the participants. All the children in the community have the opportunity to learn about the cultural heritage of Ireland, Ukraine, and many other countries, helping develop a greater sense of respect and curiosity for different cultures through an artistic exploration of the museum’s collections, themes and voices of the children.
It fosters friendships and community belonging.
Overall, the project of art workshops for children at RECDP/SICCDA by the Museum of Childhood of Ireland with Irish, Ukrainian and all nationality artists, crafters, play experts, not only nurtures creativity, artistic development and play, but also fosters cultural exchange, mutual respect, friendships, community belonging, good mental health, and a broader worldview among the child and youth participants, and adults. It highlights the importance of such initiatives in enriching children’s lives and promoting global connections through the universal language of art.”
Olena Ponomarenko
January, February, March, April, May, June, July 2024
Continuing the theme of ‘What makes ME happy!’ – Visiting a funfair. Working with Ukrainian artist Sacha and the museum team, the children and teenagers made, painted and decorated carousel horses and a beautiful carousel. They were inspired by an original horse from the museum’s collection, archive footage from RTE and their own experiences of visiting carnivals.
From the MoCI collection
https://www.rte.ie/archives/2017/1004/909707-roll-up-for-the-carnival/
https://nationalinventoryich.chg.gov.ie/irish-traditional-travelling-circus-and-funfair/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry%27s_Amusements
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-41108308.html
The carousel at Piper’s funfair, Cork
Part two of this workshop will see the children write stories based around their experiences of riding on a carousel horse or about the carousel horses they created…
November and December 2023
Working with UK based Irish artist Fion Gunn as part of the International A-Maze Artists Collective’s ‘Boundless Transitions’ exhibition at APT Gallery and Studios, London, the children and adolescents explored the idea of journeys, based on their chosen theme of ‘What makes ME happy’-Journeys/Travel. Ideas on how we have all come together in Dublin, and where we go to meet family/friends or on holiday, how we communicate, where we go in our imaginations, journeys in books, the route our food takes to reach us….all types of journeys, historic to contemporary…
From the museum’s collection:
A Child of Books
By Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston
A little girl sails her raft across a sea of words, arrives at the house of a small boy, and calls him away with her on an adventure. They go travelling through forests of fairy tales, across mountains of make-believe, on a journey that unlocks the boy’s imagination. Now a lifetime of magic and adventure lie ahead . . . but who will be next?
September and October 2023
The workshops began with a roundtable exploration of subjects raised by the children and teenagers. They also wished to explore the museum of childhood Ireland concept and had questions and suggestions for the museum team. They trialled sketching and painting techniques with the art facilitators, and practiced using a wide variety of materials. They drew, painted and crafted based on the theme they chose. ‘What makes ME happy!’ and decided to build their museum of ‘What makes ME happy,’ to house their ideas!’
For bookings for Tír na nÓg please contact:
T: 087-7117224 | E:Olenap@siccda.ie | 90 Meath Street, Dublin 8 | D08 TPH9 I
November and December 2023
Manannán or Manann, also known as Manannán mac Lir (‘son of the Sea’) was a sea god, warrior, and king of the otherworld in Gaelic mythology who is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
He is seen as a ruler and guardian of the otherworld, and his dominion is referred by such names as Emain Ablach (or Emhain Abhlach, ‘Isle of Apple Trees’), Mag Mell (‘Plain of Delights’), or Tír Tairngire (‘Land of Promise’). He is described as over-king of the surviving Tuatha Dé after the advent of humans (Milesians), and uses the mist of invisibility (féth fíada) to cloak the whereabouts of his home as well as the sidhe dwellings of the others.
In modern tales, he is said to own a self-navigating boat named Sguaba Tuinne (‘Wave-sweeper’), a horse Aonbharr which can course over water as well as land, and a deadly strength-sapping sword named Fragarach, though the list does not end there.
He is seen as a ruler and guardian of the otherworld, and his dominion is referred by such names as Emain Ablach (or Emhain Abhlach, ‘Isle of Apple Trees’), Mag Mell (‘Plain of Delights’), or Tír Tairngire (‘Land of Promise’). He is described as over-king of the surviving Tuatha Dé after the advent of humans (Milesians), and uses the mist of invisibility (féth fíada) to cloak the whereabouts of his home as well as the sidhe dwellings of the others…
September and October 2023
From our collections we read from Eileen O’Faolain’s Irish Sagas and Folktales
Twenty-one stories from Ireland, including heroic sagas, ancestral tales of men and gods, stories about the Fianna, a band of warrior-athletes, and tales of fairies and leprechauns.
And then we created…..
Tír na nÓg, Children’s Art Workshops. Concept, design, management and delivery: Majella McAllister. Contact: mmcallister@museumofchildhood.ie