Age & Opportunity and Louth and Meath Arts Offices are pleased to announce the successful recipients for the Tyrone Guthrie Residency Awards for 2026. The awards, in partnership with Age & Opportunity, aim to support professional artists aged 50+ to develop their practice, by creating time and space to think and reflect on their work and to bolster their peer network. The awards were opened for applications in May and five artists have been selected to receive a funded week-long residency in the Tyrone Guthrie Centre including a stipend.
Age & Opportunity’s Arts Programme Manager Dr. Tara Byrne comments on the residency initiative, “Age & Opportunity has long championed and supported artists of 50+ and is proud to be a founding partner of this important residency opportunity”.
Louth County Council Arts Office is delighted to announce Úna Curley as the Louth winner of the 2026 Louth/Meath Age & Opportunity Tyrone Guthrie Centre Residency Award.
Úna Curley is a socially engaged visual artist, facilitator, and Creative Director of Rush Not Studio and Gallery in Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan. Working across textiles, print, photography, sculpture, and participatory arts, her practice explores community, heritage, sustainability, and well-being.
Louth County Council Arts Officer Moya Hodgers commented: “Supporting artists at all stages of their careers is vital, ensuring consistency and sustainability both for the artist and for the community who benefit from their work. Partnerships like these between local authorities and national bodies are so important to provide collaboration and networking opportunities for artists and we are delighted to support this initiative again.”
Meath County Council Arts Office has announced Ina Olohan as the Meath winner of the 2026 Louth/Meath Age & Opportunity Tyrone Guthrie Centre Residency Award.
Ina Olohan is a mixed media artist based in Kells, Co. Meath. The images she creates are the result of weaving together different processes – print, photography, stitch and collage – to create layered artworks with a strong narrative element.
Meath County Council Arts Officer Gerardette Bailey commented: “Meath Arts Office are delighted to continue this important partnership with Age & Opportunity, Louth Arts Office and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. Supporting artists at all stages of their careers is a
core objective of the Meath County Arts Development Plan. Partnerships like these provide professional artists aged 50+ with the space and time to continue to develop their practice as well as providing valuable networking and collaboration opportunities in the wonderful setting of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre.”
Read the full press release here
Age & Opportunity is the national organisation working to enhance wellbeing for older people through participation in sport and physical activity, arts and creative engagement, personal development, community collaboration and active citizenship.
Age & Opportunity Arts is a dedicated programme which supports the participation and representation of all older people in cultural and creative life in Ireland. We do this work by supporting and resourcing artists, arts audiences and arts organisations and encouraging involvement in arts activities by people all over Ireland. We also aim to raise the standard, knowledge-base and visibility of the arts and older people sector.
Based in rural County Monaghan, The Tyrone Guthrie Centre is a cross-border organisation that offers time away, space to work, and opportunities for collaboration and networking for artists and ‘other like persons’ that facilitates the development of their practice across all art forms. Annaghmakerrig House, otherwise known as the ‘Big House’, is situated in the quiet countryside of County Monaghan, and together with the self-catering cottages, studios and performance spaces, as well as the lake and forests, gardens, and fields, The Tyrone Guthrie Centre is a place where creativity flourishes amid the many pressures and distractions of contemporary life.
