The Arts Programme at Raheen Community Hospital and Day Care Centre in County Clare offers a broad range of creative opportunities for Older People who attend the centre from the East Clare area. Since 2007 it has offered hundreds of Day Care visitors and hospital residents, a chance to take part in a diverse array of creative activities. It has enriched the lives of the many participants, and has added to the rewarding experience of being part of the Raheen Hospital Community. The annual Arts programme has become established as a major part of the Day Care Centre and has set a flourishing example of the positive effect of the Arts in the area of Health and Wellbeing.
The provision of a purpose built art studio/performance space at the Day Care Centre at Raheen Community Hospital in 2007, came about due to the encouragement and vision of Hospital Director at the time; Pauline Mc Namara, alongside head of Day Care; Anne O’Driscoll. They were supported and advised by visiting artist in residence at Raheen, Terry O’Farrel (RIP) from Dublin. Her initial projects at Raheen from 2003 were funded as part of the annual Mountshannon /Iniscealtra Arts Festival in collaboration with local artist from the festival committee, Nicola Henley. Projects such as ‘Journey Through Memories’ shown at the Arts Festival in 2003 and then later at The Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, highlighted the need for an all year round Arts Programme at Raheen to be established. With the visionary commitment from this dedicated team, funding was sought and then provided by The Raheen Hospital Support Group and Clare Leader, for a designated arts space to be created at the Day Care Centre.
When this was completed and opened in 2006, Clare County Council’s Arts Office offered ongoing funding for the running of the annual Raheen Arts Programme.
The facilities in the Artroom are designed to be versatile, and offer a wide range of arts activities:
Many visual artists have facilitated classes over the years and there have been a number of successful exhibitions which have been open to the public, such as ‘Surface Tension’ (funded by the Arts Council), and wide range of craft workshops facilitated by professionals working with a wide range of materials such as clay, glass, felting, stitch, papermaking and jewellery. Contemporary dance and movement facilitators (such as Cois Ceim Dance Group) have offered age friendly activities. Puppetry and shadow puppet projects with Clare artist Sarah Fuller, as well as poetry and storytelling (with Eddie Lennihan) have all added to the wide range of experiences on offer.
The Artroom has excellent film showing equipment, and a number of short films, CD’s and recordings have been produced over the years, these have been as a result of collaborations with local Youth Groups such as Fishbowl, musicians in residence and also from members of Cuimhneamh an Chláir (the Clare Oral History group) such as Paula Carroll.
The music programme has included contemporary, classical and traditional performances and workshops from members of the National Symphony Orchestra, and traditional sessions with musicians from Clare and beyond, such as Ged Foley, Seamus Bugler, Josephine Marsh, Christy Mc Namara and many more, some of whom performed as part of the Clare County Council Concerts scheme. There have been many ‘Inter-generational’ projects, involving children from Tuamgraney and Scariff National School, Scariff School Transition year, Alfa Steiner Secondary and Raheen Steiner primary School.
As with the local schools that there is ongoing engagement with, collaboration with organisations such as IMMA, The Hunt Museum, The National Gallery of Ireland, Cuimhneamh an Chláir, Clare Arts Office (including ‘Visual Voices’ which was funded by the Arts Office during covid), The Waterford Healing Trust, Age and Opportunity (Creative Exchanges training and project funding), The Arts Council and others has added to the rich spectrum of activities that we have been able to offer with the Arts Programme at Raheen.
Nicola Henley was Arts Coordinator in Raheen from 2007-2024. Lynn Kenny is now in this role.
