1. NATURE SQUARED

  2. 2 pm - 4 pm, Castleblayney Library car park

 


  1. HAVE YOU SEEN THESE LADIES? 

  2. 11 am - 1 pm, Castleblayney Library car park


  4. A nature walk and “treasure hunt” with Anne Cleary and Denis Connolly. 

  5. The National Biodiversity Data Centre are compiling a Ladybird Atlas 2025, gathering sightings of ladybirds all over Ireland to address a gap in our knowledge in the status of this important species. Native species are threatened by an invasive species, the Harlequin. During this relaxed walk join the artists in spotting and identifying ladybirds of all kinds, taking amazing macro photographs of these gorgeous creatures, and submitting the data to the NBDC to contribute to the important ongoing survey.  

  1. SPOKEN WORD

  2. 11 am, Castleblayney Library (see details above)

  3. With children’s author Fiona Longmuir 

  4. A spoken word event during the Muckno Mania festival with the opportunity for the children to read their work. 

Film shoot of ‘WHITE ISLAND’ on the banks of Lough Muckno with Alexis Fitzgerald, botanist and author of the Flora of County Monaghan.

5-6

MAY

9,16, 23, 30 JUNE

SATURDAY

5 JULY

PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME 

CATCHMENTS 2025 is supported by Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland* Discover Award, Creative Ireland, The Department of Education, Monaghan County Council Arts Office and the UCD Earth Institute.

*Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland is the new national research and innovation funding agency, established on the 1st August 2024 through the amalgamation of the activities and functions of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Irish Research Council (IRC).


CATCHMENTS 2025 is supported  by the Creative Ireland Programme, an all-of-government five-year initiative, from 2023 to 2027, which places creativity at the centre of public policy. Further information from creativeireland.gov.ie.

CREATIVE WRITING

11 am, Castleblayney Library

4 pm - 5 pm

For 8-12 year-olds with children’s author Fiona Longmuir 

BOOKING ESSENTIAL:

CastleBlayney Library 0429740281


Join author Fiona Longmuir for a creative writing programme inspired by the incredible work of botanist Alexis Fitzgerald, who spent over 10 years mapping species of plants in the county for his newly published compendium "Flora of County Monaghan". 

A combined nature survey and macrophotography workshop, “Nature Squared” uses a simple surveying tool known as a “quadrat”. This is a square frame that can be placed on site to delineate a small area to survey (ie. to investigate the abundance of plants and/or animals in a habitat). Cleary and Connolly will be working with participants to survey important species, document findings and contribute to important nature monitoring programmes by submitting data to the National Biodiversity Data Centre. Framing is also of essential importance to the art of photography and the same quadrat will be central to the macrophotography workshop studying biodiversity through the lens.https://vimeo.com/1091284463
 


  2. BEE COUNTED!

  3. 4:30 pm - 6 pm, Castleblayney Library car park


  5. Flower-Insect Timed Counts (FIT Counts) are a really useful way that people can help environmentalists monitor pollinators and contribute to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. 

  6. Using the same quadrats from Nature Squared, the team will count, photograph and video pollinators while recording the sounds of the different insects to create a “pollinator symphony” sound recording that will accompany the visual artworks. Data gathered will be submitted to national pollinator monitoring scheme.

WHITE ISLAND

Íontas Theatre

Conabury | Castleblayney | Co.Monaghan | A75 HK09


Premiere of ‘White Island’, a short film with botanist Alexis FitzGerald looking at biodiversity on Lough Muckno, introduced by artists Cleary & Connolly


7.30 pm

Meet Anne & Denis and hear about their two year solar journey on the Eco Showboat following the navigable rivers of Ireland.


8.00 pm

Premiere of a new short film “White Island” with botanist Alexis FitzGerald looking at biodiversity on the banks of Lough Muckno.

FRIDAY

4 JULY

SUNDAY

6 JULY

Anne & Denis discuss their winter 'recce' of seven water bodies across Ireland for CATCHMENTS 2025

Lichen on a willow branch. Still from the film ‘White Island’, May 2025

Botanist Alexis Fitzgerald looks over Lough Muckno from White Island during the filming of ‘White Island’, 5 May 2025

Creators of the Eco Showboat expeditions in 2022 and 2023, artists Anne Cleary and Denis Connolly aka School of Looking in collaboration with Friends of Lough Muckno invite you to join them on the banks of Lough Muckno for a unique programme of STEM and creative activities for all ages, to celebrate the breathtaking range of flora and fauna to be found along shores of this bucolic lake, and to increase awareness and understanding of freshwater biodiversity in County Monaghan.  The project, called Catchments 2025, is funded by Creative Ireland and Monaghan County Council and has received a Research Ireland Discover Award.

SATURDAY

5 JULY

SATURDAY

5 JULY

SATURDAY

5 JULY

Still from the film ‘White Island’, May 2025

Fiona Longmuir 

PREMIERE. Íontas Theatre, 7:30 pm Friday, 4 July 2025 (details below).

CREATING WITH PLANT DYES.  Castleblayney Library,12:30 am Saturday 5 July 2025 (details below).

NATURE SQUARED. Castleblayney Library car park, 2 pm Saturday 5 July 2025 (details below).

BEE COUNTED!  Castleblayney Library car park, 4:30 pm Saturday 5 July 2025 (details below).

HAVE YOU SEEN THESE LADIES?  Castleblayney Library car park,11am Sunday 6 July 2025 (details below).

TICKETS 

  1. CREATING WITH PLANT DYES

  2. 12.30 am - 2.30 pm, Castleblayney Library

  3. With artist Dervla McElvaney


  5. Explore the world of plant-based dyes in this hands-on workshop. Learn how natural colour is used in textile art, then experiment with mark-making and creative techniques using a range of natural colours. No experience needed – just curiosity and a love for nature’s palette! Not suiatble for unattended children.

  6. Dervla McElvaney is a visual artist and facilitator with a background in textiles and floristry. With a BA in fashion, knitwear and textiles, and further study in art and health, she is passionate about helping people connect with their own creativity and explore different ways of making. Inspired by nature, her work often incorporates natural materials and plant-based processes.

BOOKING ESSENTIAL: 0429740281

BOOKING ESSENTIAL: 0429740281

There are seven bodies of water that they are planning to study in CATCHMENTS 2025:


  1. •The Liffey Head Bog in County Wicklow

  2. •The Dodder River in South Dublin County

  3. •The Boyne River in County Meath

  4. •Lough Muckno in County Monaghan

  5. •The ‘old’ River Shannon at University of Limerick

  6. •The Ballymacraven River at Ennistymon, Co. Clare

  7. •The Lee Fields by the Weir and the Old Cork Waterworks in Cork City


CATCHMENTS 2025 - kindly supported by a Research Ireland Discover Award, by Creative Ireland, by the Department of Education, by the UCD Earth Institute and by seven local authorities - will be a countrywide creative community project that aims to mobilise “Citizen Art” as a complement to "Citizen Science", the two contributing to society’s growing concern for the environment and reflecting the need for an understanding of the world that is driven by both data and empathy, nurturing both artistic creativity and scientific curiosity.