Festival and events grant scheme open until end of month
Festival grant logo, Carlow County Council.
ANYONE who wants to run a creative event or festival in Carlow can apply to a local government grant scheme for funding until 27 February.
The funding is open to non-commercial individuals or organisations that either want to put on a single day event or larger-scale festival with a tourism element between June and October.
The smaller family focus fund offers up to €750 per event (with a maximum of 75% funding) and the larger ‘tourism festival funding’ offers up to €5,000 per event (maximum 75% funding). Applicants for this second fund must demonstrate a significant tourism and economic benefit to the event, have capacity for at least 400 ticketed visitors and market the event across the region and country.
Linda Culleton, economic development officer at Carlow Co Council, said the council is “particularly interested in innovative initiatives that enliven public spaces and attract visitors from outside the region.” Last year, the fund supported a wide range of festivals and events, including exhibitions, projects working with communities and artistic endeavours; €42,000 was allocated for this grant scheme at the November meeting of the council out of its total budget of €244,500 for event and festival programming throughout the year.
The scheme encompasses events organised directly by the council, those developed in collaboration with organisations that share similar objectives and independent events that receive funding through a competitive application process.
Applications will be assessed based on their capacity to generate economic and social benefits, their alignment with Carlow’s event calendar and their financial sustainability.
For more information and an application form, contact: Economic Development, Carlow Co Council Festival & Event Fund 2026 or Carlow Co Council's online consultation portal.
You can also contact the economic team 059 9129783 or enterprise@carlowcoco.ie with any queries.
