Irish Architecture Foundation

04/06/2026

Architects in Schools: Open Call for Schools 2026/27
https://iaf.ie/news/ais-schools-open-call-2026-27

Teachers and TY Coordinators, give your students the opportunity to discover architecture and the built environment in collaborative design workshops with an architect at your school!

The IAF’s national Architects in Schools programme celebrates imagination, active citizenship and the youth voice.

Architects in Schools is free and open to all second level schools and Youthreach centres in the Republic of Ireland.

Now entering into its 14th annual cycle, this innovative Transition Year programme gives young people a unique opportunity to work directly with architects.

Your students will be empowered to look at their local built environment differently, to ask questions, and to imagine new design solutions to shape the future with purpose and vision.

We are now receiving applications from schools for 2026/27. Apply through the link above by 19 June!

Architects in Schools is supported by The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, An Roinn Oideachais agus Óige - Department of Education and Youth, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage via National Built Heritage Service, and OPW - Office of Public Works.

27/05/2026

Are you an emerging creative professional in spatial practice? Looking for an opportunity to share ideas, network and collaborate across Europe on projects that confront the climate crisis? Then the LINA Open Call is for you!

Read more and apply by 3 August!
https://lina.community/

18/05/2026

As we enter National Volunteer Week (18–24 May), we’re taking a moment to celebrate the incredible volunteers who make IAF programmes such as Open House Dublin possible.

In 2025, 400 volunteers supported the festival, helping to deliver over 200 events across the city. From welcoming visitors to sharing knowledge and facilitating access, our volunteers are at the heart of Open House Dublin.

Open House Dublin volunteers are a vital part of the IAF community. With 43% returning year after year and 90% of surveyed volunteers eager to come back in 2026, their ongoing commitment speaks volumes about the community we’re building together.

Coming from a wide range of backgrounds, our volunteers bring invaluable perspectives, enriching the experience for audiences and the festival team alike. Their openness, enthusiasm and generosity create a more inclusive and engaging Open House Dublin for everyone.

To all of our volunteers: thank you. Your time, care and commitment continue to support the IAF and shape Open House Dublin into a festival that is open, welcoming and inspiring.

14/05/2026

We're looking forward to working with 12th Field, Cornafulla Micro Reserve and Tóchar Wetlands Restoration to bring Bog Bothy to Cornafulla, Co. Roscommon this summer!

Meanwhile, it's open at Milltownpass, Co. Westmeath, being hosted by Milltownpass Tidy Towns until the end of June with a programme of community events already well underway!

12/05/2026

Well, look what gets a mention in T: The New York Times Style Magazine - Bog Bothy!

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/t-magazine/bogs-peat-wetlands-culture-fashion-books.html

Article by Zoey Poll



CreativeIrl Offaly Arts Offaly Heritage Clara Heritage Society The Heritage Council Tóchar Wetlands Restoration Community Wetlands Forum Milltownpass Tidy Towns Cornafulla Micro Reserve

From fashion to art, an explainer on our love of wetlands.

08/05/2026

The IAF and 12th Field are delighted to share that Bog Bothy has been selected for an AAI Award 2026 by the Architectural Association of Ireland.

Developed, shaped and co-designed with communities across Ireland’s peatlands, Bog Bothy arrived during three years of sustained engagement: returning to sites, building relationships and working slowly with the bog and its many stakeholders.

On the bog, things are never still. The ground shifts, water rises, paths appear and disappear. The Bothy sits lightly in this landscape. Making space. For gathering. For listening. For thinking about what it means to care for a place in transition.

What has emerged from this project is more than a structure, but a process, one that unfolds over time, carried by those who return to it, use it and shape it.

Funded by Creative Ireland (CreativeIrl) and regional partners and shaped by communities, artists, builders and many others along the way, Bog Bothy and this AAI Award belong to all of those who have spent time with the Bothy and with us. We thank all of our funders who believed in the project from the start.

With Bog Bothy on the move again, in partnership with Tóchar Wetlands Restoration, IAF and 12th Field will continue to work with new communities into summer 2026. As these landscapes enter a new phase of care and restoration, Bog Bothy remains a space to ask what forms of work might follow, and how we continue to inhabit, tend to and live with Ireland’s peatlands.

Photos:
1-2. Bog Bothy at Girley Bog, Co. Meath, 2025. Photos by Ste Murray | Photography & Design.
3. Local schoolchildren at the Bog Bothy launch at Clara, Co. Offaly, 2025. Photo by Conor Healy (Picture It).

Thank you, CreativeIrl, Offaly Arts, Offaly Heritage, Clara Heritage Society, , , Friends of Ardee Bog, The Heritage Council, The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, National Built Heritage Service, OPW - Office of Public Works, , Shane Hynan, Luke Casserly, Conor Healy, Brendan Keogh, Ste Murray, Oscar Torrans, Luke Brabazon and Spaceforms.

08/05/2026

And it's open! Bog Bothy is officially back on tour for 2026. Thanks to Tóchar Wetlands Restoration for partnering with us and 12th Field to bring the Bothy to three more Midlands communities this season, and congratulations to Milltownpass Tidy Towns on the launch! (Tip: follow Milltownpass Tidy Towns for details of upcoming events at the Bothy and how you can get involved.)

30/04/2026

This year's Bog Bothy tour is launching this bank holiday Monday in Milltownpass, Co. Westmeath!

Check it out if you're in the area, or read more about the project on our website: https://iaf.ie/news/bog-bothy-2026-a-new-partnership-for-peatlands-architecture

🌿 Bog Bothy coming to Milltownpass 🌿
We’re delighted to invite you to the official local launch of the Bog Bothy in on the May Bank Holiday Monday 4th May from 12 noon.

The Bog Bothy is a small, off‑grid space on the bog where people can come together to learn, talk, listen, reflect and create — and it will be part of our community for the next 8 weeks.

On the day we’ll have:
• Bothy tours
• Workshops for adults & children
• A guided walk on the bog

You’re very welcome to drop in at any stage or stay as long as you like.
📍 Milltownpass Bog NHA, Co. Westmeath
☕ Tea, chat and curiosity encouraged
✅ All welcome

The Bog Bothy is a partnership project between the Irish Architecture Foundation and 12th Field, co‑created with local communities. The Bog Bothy 2026 tour is funded by Tóchar.

Come along to see what the Bothy is all about, hear about the programme ahead, and find out how you or your group can get involved while it’s with us.

Please feel free to share.

Milltownpass GAA
Milltownpass NS Parents' Association
Milltownpass Community Action Group
Milltownpass Scouts - 9th WH
Westmeath Examiner
Westmeath Topic
Westmeath County Council

29/04/2026

We're delighted to partner with the International Literature Festival Dublin for the first time this year and look forward to welcoming renowned author John Grindrod to Dublin!

John has written many books that uncover the hidden stories behind the places we occupy everyday.

If you're interested in the buildings and places around you, join us on 19 May when, in conversation with Stephen Boylan Irish Film Institute (IFI), John will discuss his new book looking at a history of LGBTQ+ lives lived behind the net curtains in suburbia.

Details and tickets below ⬇️

Throughout LGBTQ+ history, suburbia was somewhere to escape from: a place where heterosexuality ruled, difference was not tolerated, and you’d never find a soulmate. John Grindrod talks to Emmett Scanlon about Tales of the Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains

📅 Tuesday 19 May
🕰️ 8pm
🎫https://ilfdublin.com/whats-on/festival/type/conversations/the-secret-life-of-suburbia-john-grindrod/

Irish Architecture Foundation

27/04/2026

Introducing this year's final Bog Bothy community!

This summer, the Irish Architecture Foundation, architects 12th Field and Tóchar Wetlands Restoration will work with communities across the Midlands to explore how architecture, placemaking and collective action can shape new relationships with Ireland’s peatlands.

Following its time in Milltownpass, Co. Westmeath and Cornafulla, Co. Roscommon, the Bothy will make its final stop at Ballymore, Co. Westmeath from 15 August to 20 September.

Activity will be led locally by Ballymore Heritage Group, Shinglis BirdWatch and Natural Heritage Group, who share a commitment to the cultural and ecological life of Ballymore Parish, including the wetlands of Lough Sewdy.

They say, “The Bothy offers a unique way to highlight Lough Sewdy’s biodiversity within an engaging and shared space.”

For updates on Bog Bothy activity in Ballymore, follow Ballymore Heritage Group. And stay tuned for further Bog Bothy announcements from us too!

Photos courtesy of Ballymore Heritage Group, Shinglis BirdWatch and Natural Heritage Group

Graphic design by Oscar Torrans