Minister Calleary announces the purchase of Teach Siamsa na Carraige, Baile na nGall under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme
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From: Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht
- Published on: 5 January 2026
- Last updated on: 7 January 2026
- Minister officially confirms funding to allow the purchase of ‘Teach Siamsa na Carraige’ by Kerry County Council
- Funding of €250,000 provided under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme to purchase this former cultural hub in order to facilitate it’s redevelopment as a multi-purpose arts centre
Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht Dara Calleary today (Monday, 5 January 2025) announced the purchase of Teach Siamsa na Carraige, Baile na nGall, by Kerry County Council which was funded through the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
Funding of €250,000 was provided to Kerry County Council under the 2025 Building or Land Acquisition Measure to cover the full cost of purchasing Teach Siamsa na Carraige. This centre was one of the National Folk Theatre of Ireland's ‘Tithe Siamsa’, which were built in the 1970’s as training feeder centres for local traditional talent through the medium of Irish. It has been 20 years since the centre ceased activities and the local community will now work with Kerry County Council to develop plans to renew and renovate the building. The intention is to return it to use as a multi-purpose Arts Centre providing a diverse programme of activities through the Irish language.
The investment from the TVRS in the town is consistent with the Our Rural Future and Town Centre First objectives of attracting more people to live, work, invest in and enjoy rural towns.
Speaking of the announcement, Minister Calleary said:
“It gives me great pleasure to announce the purchase of Teach Siamsa na Carraige by Kerry County Council under the 2025 Town and Village Renewal Scheme. Teach Siamsa, which provided a vibrant hub for cultural and artistic activities in the past, can now be redeveloped and revitalised as a community led Arts Centre.”
The Minister added:
“This project received funding under the 2025 Building or Land Acquisition Measure. It is one of 33 projects across the country that were awarded over €6.7 million in funding under this measure. This funding is supporting the purchase of vacant or derelict buildings, or land in towns and villages which will be used in the future to provide multi-purpose community spaces in line with the aims of the Town and Village Renewal scheme.”
Notes
The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) is part of a range of measures to support the revitalisation of rural Ireland. The programme is funded under Project Ireland 2040 as part of Our Rural Future, Ireland's Rural Development policy. Since the introduction of the Scheme in 2016, over €210 million has been approved for over 1,900 projects across the country.
The 2025 scheme includes three funding streams, the Building or Land Acquisition Measure (BLAM), the Main Scheme and the Project Development Measure (PDM).
The BLAM closed for applications on 2 May 2025, and local authorities have been informed of successful applications. For reasons of commercial sensitivity, details of individual projects receiving support will released only after the purchase of properties or lands in question have been completed.
Under the 2025 Building or Land Acquisition Measure of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, Kerry County Council was approved for funding of €250,000 for the purchase of Teach Siamsa na Carraige, Baile na nGall, County Kerry.
In the past Teach Siamsa na Carriage was one of the National Folk Theatre of Ireland’s two Tithe Siamsa in County Kerry and provided a range of cultural and artistic activities operating through the Irish language. It is the intention to refurbish and modernise the building so that it can operate as a multi-purpose Arts Centre and once again become a valuable community asset.
The 2025 Main Scheme and PDM closed for applications at the end of July and the outcome of the competitive assessment process was announced on 22 December.
Minister Calleary announced €26 million in funding for over 100 projects nationwide. The scheme will support 77 projects who have been successful under the TVRS ‘Main Scheme’ receiving funding of €24.4 million. In addition, €1.85 million is being provided for 39 under the TVRS ‘Project Development Measure’. This measure supports local authorities to develop a pipeline of projects and provides funding towards the costs to bring projects to a point where they are shovel ready.
The Town and Village Renewal Scheme is administered on behalf of the Department of Rural and Community Development by the local authorities. For more information, go to: Town and Village Renewal Scheme.