Tipperary Festivals & Events Grant Scheme 2023 in Ireland

Deadline: 31-Jan-23

Tipperary Festivals and Events Grant Scheme 2023 is now open to promote and support local festivals throughout the County that are not solely commercially focused, to support and assist those events that have a tourism/cultural/artistic/sporting or community focus and which contribute significantly to quality of life.

Festivals and events are crucial to the fabric of life in County Tipperary and they deliver a range of economic, social and cultural benefits. They entertain, they celebrate the communities, showcase the villages and towns and are often an expression of identity and place. They represent arts, cultural, heritage and sporting assets and make a positive contribution in influencing the perception of County Tipperary.

Funding Categories

Funding is available under three categories. Applicants may apply under one category only. Emerging or new festivals/events may apply for Community or Municipal funding. 

• Community
  • A Community festival or event is centred around a community. It may be an annual or once-off event. It is generally short in duration, a one or two day event and is most likely organised by volunteers. These events are important to the social fabric of the locality and County and generate civic and community pride.
  • Up to €2,500.
• Municipal
  • A Municipal festival or event is held over at least two days, is staged for local people as a celebration of an occasion, but is also significant and attractive to the wider community bordering the host community. Municipal events generate civic pride and add to the vibrancy of an area. While these events may be initially aimed at local residents, they encourage visitors to an area to stay longer, add to a culturally rich location and are often specialised in their programming.
  • Three-year funding may be offered to Municipal festivals or events who wish to work strategically to develop their festival or event. These applicants must tick the relevant box and complete the additional questions on the application form. New festivals/events are not eligible to apply for three-year funding.
  • Up to €15,000.
• Premier
  • A Premier festival or event is usually held over at least three days and attracts a large regional and national audience and participation. Often specialised events with high elements of originality, Premier festivals/events are generally of a significant scale and/or ambition and contribute strongly to the local economy. They are usually professionally or semi-professionally run and have a positive regional and, sometimes, national profile, regularly achieving widespread media coverage. It is likely that Tipperary County Council would support a maximum of two such events in the county.
  • Up to €30,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must submit a completed application form on or before the published closing date.
• Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.
• Applications that do not include all required supporting material will not be accepted.
• Festivals or events may only apply under one category (Community, Municipal or Premier).
• All Festivals and events must take place in County Tipperary between 1st January and 31st December 2023.
• Specific sectoral criteria (arts, community, heritage, sport or tourism) apply to all categories. Applicants must tick the relevant box on the application form.
• Applicant organisations must be not for profit entities.
• Applicants in all categories must demonstrate that they will actively seek to engage as wide a public participation as possible in their activities and must state how their proposed festival or event will stimulate the local economy and/or enhance the social and cultural wellbeing of the community.
• All applicants must be registered with the Public Participation Network (PPN).
• Applicants must ensure that they comply with current public health guidelines.
• Applicants are responsible for ensuring that adequate insurance and health and safety measures are in place.
• Applicants must ensure that appropriate safe guarding measures are in place for events with children or vulnerable adults.
• Festivals or events catering to audiences in excess of 5,000 people must apply for planning permission to Tipperary County Council. Organisers must attend a pre-planning consultation meeting within the required timeframes before the event can be advertised or tickets can be offered for sale.
• Any profits arising out of a festival or event must be reinvested to support relevant activities organised by the festival/event in question.
• The Assessment panel may move an application to another category if it is deemed to be more suitable to that category
• The Assessment panel may refer an application to an alternative scheme if the application is deemed to be more suitable for a different funding scheme.
• The Assessment Panel may offer an applicant organisation less funding than has been applied for.
• The maximum level of funding is not guaranteed, as it is dependent upon the number of applications received for a limited pool of funding. Some events may not be funded due to budgetary constraints.
• Tipperary County Council reserves the right not to support festivals that may have received funding in the past.

For more information, visit Tipperary County Council.