Ormston House

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Ormston House is a meeting place for the arts in the heart of Limerick City. For further information: www.ormstonhouse.com

Our programme is co-designed with artists and citizens, resulting in community partnerships, multi-annual projects and cultural events that are responsive to the city and its context. We have developed a participatory model to connect curatorial practice with local knowledge and activism. Ormston House is part of the Irish Network Against Racism and the Public Participation Network. International

connectivity is also key to our work, and we are active members of three European networks: Artists’ Initiatives Meetings, River Cities Platform, and Trans Europe Halles. We are based at 9-10 Patrick Street, where we have a long-term lease from Limerick City & County Council. For further information, you can contact us at [email protected].

19/06/2026

‘Memory of a Free Festival’ comprises two distinct strands: archival artefacts and ephemera pertaining to the Carnsore Point festivals and the Irish anti-nuclear movement, and new works by contemporary artists.

Alongside artworks by Orla Barry, Brian Duggan, and Alanna O’Kelly, this archival material remains constant throughout each iteration of the tour, providing a backdrop for a changing line-up of contributors.

Images by Jed Niezgoda.

Image descriptions:
1. A light brown vitrine contains objects from the Irish anti-nuclear movement. Inside the vitrine to the left a white t-shirt with blue and green text in a circle reads ‘BACK TO THE POINT’ and ‘NUCLEAR POWER NO WAY’, in the centre there is a hand symbol. To the right there is a black vinyl record that reads in white text ‘ANTI-NUCLEAR’ and ‘12” SINGLE’, with the nuclear energy symbol in yellow and black.
2. Nine white frames containing anti-nuclear posters hang on an off-white wall. An ornate pillar is to the left of the image, and the floor is painted a dark grey.

17/06/2026

Just over a week remains to apply for our Graduate Artist Affiliate Scheme.

Reflecting on the previous 12 months Alice Harrold, our 2025 recipient, shares: "Working with Ormston house offered me valuable guidance during the confusing and challenging months post graduation. I was also offered the opportunity to receive mentorship from Salvatore of Lucan, a painter I have greatly admired since I began taking painting seriously. The Artist Affiliate Scheme gave me the direction and support that was instrumental in motivating me to further my studio practice and develop as an emerging artist."

Artists who have graduated, or are about to graduate, from Limerick School of Art and Design (TUS) from 2023 to 2026 are eligible to apply. The scheme is intended for artists based in the Limerick region (Clare, Limerick, Tipperary) who intend to pursue a career in the visual arts. Applicants must be signed up to our free Membership Scheme.

The deadline is 25 June at 5pm. Full information on the Artist Affiliate Scheme and how to apply is available via the Linktree in our bio.

Image by Niamh Brown.

Image description:
A multicoloured painting of a dog resting on an armchair hangs on a white and pink wall. A glass jar containing paintbrushes is to the left of the image. A cardboard box, paint palette, and a paintbrush are in the centre foreground of the image.

13/06/2026

Reminder!

One week remains to see 'Memory of a Free Festival’. We would like to thank everyone who has come to see the exhibition so far.

To mark the closing of the Limerick iteration of 'Memory of a Free Festival' we will be hosting an event at the Belltable, Limerick. Join us on Saturday, 20 June from 2.30-4pm.

This informal event begins with a chaired discussion between performer Susie Kennedy and musician Luka Bloom. The event also includes a screening of original footage from the 1978 festival filmed by Ken Lynam and a sound screening of Alanna O’Kelly’s seminal ‘Chantdown Greenham’.

Free admission and all are welcome. Tickets are available via the link in our bio.

Organised by Ormston House with funding from the Arts Council of Ireland through the Touring of Work Scheme.

Image credits:
1-2. Design by Esti Cadavid. Image by Derek Speirs, Carnsore Festival, 1978
3. Design by Esti Cadavid. Image by Derek Speirs, Carnsore Festival, 1978. Hand symbol based on 1978 design by William Finnie.

Image descriptions:
1. Yellow writing reads 'CLOSING EVENT', 'MEMORY OF A FREE FESTIVAL', 'BELLTABLE, 69 O'CONNELL STREET', 'SATURDAY 20 JUNE', and '14.30 TO 16.00'. The background is a black and white photograph of a festival crowd.
2. Yellow writing reads 'LUKA BLOOM AND SUSIE KENNEDY:', 'REMEMBERING THE CARNSORE POINT ANTI-NUCLEAR FESTIVALS', and 'FREE EVENT'. The background is a black and white photograph of a festival crowd.
3. A yellow logo depicts a sun and landscape, with the sky in the shape of a hand. The background is a black and white photograph of a festival crowd.

10/06/2026

Derek Speirs was born in Dublin, and graduated from the Polytechnic of Central London and the Royal College of Art in 1977. A ubiquitous presence at rallies and protests across Ireland for decades, Speirs’ acclaimed photojournalism is informed by a strong sense of social justice. His work has focused in particular on issues affecting Travellers, Roma and other marginalised groups.

The photographs included in 'Memory of a Free Festival' were selected by Speirs himself from his extensive archive. These evocative images offer unique insights into the 1978 and 1979 Carnsore Point anti-nuclear festivals. They capture not only the atmosphere of the festivals and the people involved but also the provisional nature of the amenities and infrastructure.

'Memory of a Free Festival' continues until 20 June. Organised by Ormston House with funding from the Arts Council of Ireland through the Touring of Work Scheme.

Images by Jed Niezgoda.

Image descriptions:
1. A black and white image depicts a festival stage in the background with a crowd of people sitting on the grass in the foreground of the image.
2. Several black and white photographs are presented on a white background, in a light brown vitrine. The photographs depict festival crowds and people speaking into microphones.
3. Six black and white photographs are presented on a white background, in a light brown vitrine. The photographs depict festival crowds, people speaking into microphones and a stone Cairn.

06/06/2026

On Saturday, 20 June from 2.30-4pm to mark the closing of the Limerick iteration of 'Memory of a Free Festival' we will be hosting an event at the Belltable, Limerick. Tickets are free but booking is essential. Tickets are available on the Belltable website via our Linktree.

This informal event begins with a chaired discussion between performer Susie Kennedy and musician Luka Bloom, both of whom contributed to the Carnsore Point anti-nuclear festivals. This discussion includes a screening of original footage from the 1978 festival filmed by Ken Lynam.

The second part of the event involves a contribution from Alanna O’Kelly who is presenting work in the touring exhibition at Ormston House, Wexford Arts Centre, and Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre. This event includes a sound screening of O’Kelly’s seminal 'Chantdown Greenham'.

The exhibition is open to the public both before and after the event at the Belltable.

Organised by Ormston House with funding from the Arts Council of Ireland through the Touring of Work Scheme.

Image by Jed Niezgoda.

Image description:
An installation view of ‘Memory of a Free Festival’ at Ormston House. Several multi-media artworks are displayed in an off-white room with a grey floor. There is an ornate pillar in the centre of the room.

04/06/2026

Cóilín O’Connell studied at NCAD, Dublin and the Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam. As Brass Neck Press he edits, designs, and distributes artists’ publications and zines. Collecting and editing found objects, images and texts are central strategies in his work. The found photographs presented in ‘Memory of a Free Festival’ take archaeology as subject matter, focusing specifically on Neolithic stone monuments as contested symbols.

Entitled ‘Index of Vandalised Stones’ this series of found photographs depicts defaced and or damaged monuments. Many of the images also bear artifacts of digital degradation, resulting from reproduction and enlargement in print. Some of the vandalism inflicted upon these monuments is the unintended outcome of hedonistic gatherings while other examples are clearly the deliberate result of some underlying rage.

‘Index of Vandalised Stones’ explores conflicts and overlaps between megaliths and their image as vectors of symbolic meaning for the individual, the collective and the state. In the context of this exhibition these images also serve to evoke the way that ancient sites have been adopted as locations for countercultural gatherings.

Images by Jed Niezgoda.

Image descriptions:
1. Four photographs are presented in a grid format on an off-white wall. The images depict vandaisled stone monuments and marks left from fire pits on the ground.
2. Several multi-media artworks are depicted in a room with off-white walls and grey floors. An orange tent with a TV screen inside it is in the centre foreground of the image. O’Connell’s ‘Index of Vandalised Stones’ are in the far right and left of the background. A sun shaped marble sculpture is in the centre background.

02/06/2026

On Saturday, 13 June from 12-2pm, Ormston House will collaborate with Limerick Printmakers on a free printmaking workshop as part of our exhibition 'Memory of a Free Festival'.

This workshop explores the grassroots, DIY ethos of protest art. Participants will engage with silkscreen printmaking, while also incorporating tactile techniques such as collage and hand stamped block lettering.

Tickets are free with very limited capacity. Tickets can be booked on Limerick Printmakers eventbrite, available via the Linktree in our bio.

Image by Jed Niezgoda.

Image description:
Three archival posters are hung on an off-white wall in white frames. The archival posters refer to the Carnsore Point anti-nuclear festivals.

31/05/2026

Alanna O’Kelly attended NCAD, Dublin and the Slade School of Art, London. Her practice incorporates sculpture, performance, slide installation and film. Influenced by feminist politics, O’Kelly explores ideas of the psychic conflicts of our shared history and the continuity of tradition.

The work by O’Kelly presented in all iterations of the ‘Memory of a Free Festival’ is ‘Breath’ (1983/2026). This enlarged reproduction of two 35mm slides shows two individuals who could either be singing or screaming into each other’s mouths. These images document a time in which she was beginning to explore the power of the human voice.

This interest in the human voice led O’Kelly to produce 'Chant Down Greenham' (1984), a multilayered work presented via several live events that accompany ‘Memory of a Free Festival’. 'Chant Down Greenham' was O’Kelly’s first use of keening, a lament traditionally performed by women at Irish funerals. The work grew out of her visit to the peace camp at the nuclear missile base at Greenham Common in Berkshire, England.

Organised by Ormston House with funding from the Arts Council of Ireland through the Touring of Work Scheme.

Images by Jed Niezgoda.

Image descriptions:
1. Two iterations of ‘Breath’ are in the foreground and background of the image depicting a dark silhouette of two people's mouths. The background is a yellow-orange. A TV screen can be seen in the mid-ground of the image. An ornate pillar is to the right of the image.
3. A large wall based vinyl artwork ‘Breath’ depicting a dark silhouette of two people's mouths. The background is a yellow-orange. The artwork is presented on an off-white wall, and the floor is grey. A large window is to the right.

29/05/2026

On Wednesday, 3 June we will be closed to host a private workshop with Limerick Printmakers and Limerick Youth Service.

'Memory of a Free Festival' will reopen on Thursday-Saturday, 12-6pm next week. The exhibition will continue until Saturday, 20 June.

Organised by Ormston House with funding from the Arts Council of Ireland through the Touring of Work Scheme.

Image by Jed Niezgoda.

Image description:
An installation view of 'Memory of a Free Festival' in Ormston House. Several multi-media artworks are displayed in an off-white room with a grey floor. There is an ornate pillar to the left of the room. A person in a green coat and grey jeans stands in the centre of the room.

27/05/2026

For the third year in a row, Ormston House offers an opportunity for recent graduates to join our Artist Affiliate Scheme for twelve months.

Artists who have graduated, or are about to graduate, from Limerick School of Art and Design (TUS) from 2023 to 2026 are eligible to apply. Formerly known as the Artist-in-Residence Scheme, the Artist Affiliate Scheme is intended for artists based in the Limerick region (Clare, Limerick, Tipperary) who intend to pursue a career in the visual arts. Applicants must be signed up to our free Membership Scheme.

What we offer:
- Curatorial support and mentorship
- Guidance on professional development (application and proposal writing, documentation, and building networks)
- €1,000 seed fund to go towards a professional opportunity identified by the artist

The deadline is 25 June at 5pm. Full information on the Artist Affiliate Scheme and how to apply is available via the Linktree in our bio.

Image description: Black Ormston House logo on a green background.

Address

9-10 Patrick Street
Limerick
V94V089

Website

https://linktr.ee/ormstonhouse

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