RTÉ Supporting the Arts  

RTÉ Almost Doubles Support for Irish Arts and Cultural Events since 2014 

Watch our promo: RTÉ Supporting the Arts | 10 Years in Review   

RTÉ supported 178 arts and cultural events all over the island of Ireland in 2024. This represents an 82% increase over the ten years since the scheme was re-launched in 2014, when 98 events were supported by RTÉ. The renowned scheme – which won the Business to Arts Special Recognition Award in 2018 – also increased the number of supported events year-on-year, from 170 in 2023 to 178 in 2024. 

The RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme aims to promote attendance at arts events nationwide, and supports the full range of genres, from dance to opera, visual arts to children’s events, literary festivals, film and Irish-language events. In 2023, RTÉ delivered a 30% increase year-on-year in the annual number of campaigns supporting Ireland’s rich and vibrant cultural landscape. The scheme offers dedicated promotion on RTÉ’s television, radio and digital services, and extensive support across RTÉ’s social channels. With production services provided by RTÉ, in addition to promotional airtime, the RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme is a lifeline to Ireland’s creative and cultural sectors. 

Kevin Bakhurst, Director-General, RTÉ, said: “Artists not only deserve an audience, they need an audience. Ireland’s rich and vibrant arts and cultural sector can only thrive and grow if it is consumed – watched, read, listened to, participated in, and – crucially – attended. This is why the RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme is so important. RTÉ allocates over €1million worth of promotional airtime each year to the arts, so that audiences all over Ireland can be informed about arts and cultural events near them, in every genre, and for everybody. I’d like to thank the RTÉ Supporting the Arts committee, and the teams in RTÉ’s commercial and promos divisions, for their steadfast support of the scheme, which has allowed it to grow so substantially and consistently. But most of all I’d like to thank the artists, the organisers, the national cultural institutions, the festivals, arts organisations and cultural bodies, whose incredible work we are so proud to support in ever increasing numbers.” 

This January RTÉ is supporting 13 amazing arts and cultural events all over Ireland through the RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme, including First Fortnight Mental Health Arts and Culture Festival, which takes place across the country from 4th-18th January, with events across art forms including poetry, music, textile art, and theatre. 

There are several music events to enjoy including Music for Galway Midwinter Festival celebrating 150 years since the birth of Maurice Ravel, one of the most original and sophisticated composers of the twentieth century. In Killarney, FOLK iN FUSION will showcase the very best in folk, roots, bluegrass, country, and beyond. While Drogheda Classical Music Concert Series in Louth, will continue to bring some of the world’s most renowned musicians to Ireland’s north-east.  

In Dublin, the Royal Irish Academy of Music’s Wigmore Series will host an array of music performances, Glasshouse perform Ryuichi Sakamoto at the National Concert Hall, Brigit 2025: Dublin City Celebrating Women will host an array of events across the city, and TradFest, Ireland’s leading trad and folk festival, celebrating 20 years, will be a joyful celebration of Irish music and culture.  

There is also lots of theatre to enjoy with James Joyce’s The Dead continuing at the Museum of Literature Ireland, while The Ark will present The Giggler Treatment, a marvellous, mischievous new musical based on the novel by Roddy Doyle for children and grown-ups alike. The Borrowers is at the Gate Theatre. Based on Mary Norton’s beloved adventure novels, it follows the fortunes of the tiny Clock family.  

Events supported by the RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme this January:  

Dublin Abbey 120 years | www.abbeytheatre.ie

Nationwide Irish National Opera | www.irishnationalopera.ie

Dublin The Dead @ Museum of Literature Ireland | www.anuproductions.ie 

Dublin Wigmore Series Dublin | www.riam.ie/whats-on

Dublin The Giggler Treatment | www.ark.ie/events/view/the-giggler-treatment-2024 

Nationwide First Fortnight Mental Health Art and Culture Festival 2025 | www.firstfortnight.ie  

Dublin TradFest 2025 | www.tradfest.com 

Dublin The Borrowers | www.gatetheatre.ie/production/the-borrowers 

Kerry FOLK iN FUSION | www.inec.ie/gigs/folk-in-fusion-yras-live 

Louth Drogheda Classical Music 24/25 Series | www.droghedaclassicalmusic.com 

Dublin Glasshouse perform Ryuichi Sakamoto | www.nch.ie/all-events-listing/glasshouse-perform-ryuichi-sakamoto

Galway Music for Galway Midwinter Festival RAVEL | www.musicforgalway.ie/midwinter-festival-ravel 

Dublin Brigit 2025: Dublin City Celebrating Women | www.dublin.ie/brigit 

Every year, RTÉ supports over 170 arts and cultural events all over Ireland through the RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme. Spanning film, music, dance, opera, festivals, literature, theatre and exhibitions, and with dedicated promotion on RTÉ’s television, radio and digital services, and extensive support across RTÉ’s social channels, the RTÉ Supporting the Arts scheme is a lifeline to Ireland’s creative and cultural sectors.  

To find out more information about RTÉ Supporting the Arts and to apply visit  
About RTÉ Supporting the Arts – About RTÉ (rte.ie)  

Find out what’s happening near you on www.rte.ie/culture  

ENDS

For information:

Neil O’Gorman, Corporate Communications Manager, RTÉ | E: neil.ogorman@rte.ie