Songlines

Making connections through poetry & music

Songlines is a workshop and event series engaging people living with dementia and cognitive impairment through poetry and song. Across a series of sessions, participants discuss, read and sing favourite poems and songs from childhood, adolescence and adulthood.

shared memories to create connection and conversation. The process can also lead to new songs and poems created by the artists and participants together.

About Songlines

At the heart of Songlines is the idea that songs, poems and stories can open doors to memory and connection. Participants are invited to share the music and words that have accompanied them through their lives, creating space for conversation, recognition and enjoyment.

The programme is collaborative rather than simply performative. Professional artists work with participants over a series of workshops, listening to their stories and creative responses and allowing new material to emerge from the process.

The workshops culminate in a Festival in a Van event, bringing participants, artists and the wider community together for a shared live experience and celebrating the creative work developed through the programme.

Songlines 2026 — Leitrim & Cavan

In 2026, Songlines continues its journey into care settings in Leitrim and Cavan, bringing artists and participants together through music, poetry, storytelling and shared memories.

In Leitrim, Songlines takes place at Árus Carolan Nursing Home and Lough Erril Nursing Home, with cellist and composer Eimear Reidy and Leitrim writer Gerry Bohan.

In Cavan, the programme visits College View Nursing Home, Cavan Town, and Breffni Care Home, Ballyconnell, with multi-instrumentalist Tony Newman and poet Mairéad Donnellan.

cross the four settings, the programme creates opportunities for residents to participate, share memories and experience live arts in familiar surroundings.

Previous Songlines Projects

Since its beginnings, Songlines has developed through partnerships with care settings, artists and communities in different parts of Ireland. Each edition responds to the people and places involved while retaining the programme’s focus on music, poetry, memory and connection.

Songlines Through the Years

A selection of moments from Songlines projects over the years, bringing artists and participants together through music, poetry, storytelling and shared experience.

Songlines 2025

Songlines continued to bring professional artists into care settings, creating opportunities for residents to share songs, stories and memories and to participate in the creative process.

Artists, Locations & Partners

Locations:
Wicklow & Monaghan

Artists:
Wicklow — Eamon Sweeney, musician, and Eithne Hand, poet
Monaghan — Steve Lally, storyteller/musician, and Mairéad Donnellan, poet

Partners & Support:
The Arts Council, Wicklow Arts Office, Creative Monaghan, Monaghan Arts Office, Réalta and Poetry Ireland.

Songlines 2024

The 2024 programme developed the Songlines approach through a series of artist-led workshops, using music, poetry and conversation to build relationships and create shared arts experiences with participants.

Artists, Locations & Partners

Locations:
Tipperary & Mayo — Rathkeevan and St. Martha’s in Tipperary; Áras Deirbhle and Sacred Heart in Mayo.

Artists:
Mayo — John and Isabela Hoban
Tipperary — Margaret Galvin and Peter O’Toole

Partners & Support:
Funded by The Arts Council, with support from Tipperary County Council, Mayo County Council, Réalta and Poetry Ireland.

Songlines 2023

The 2023 programme established the foundations of Songlines, bringing artists and participants together around favourite songs, poems and memories and exploring how these could become the starting point for new creative work.

Artists, Locations & Partners

Locations:
Wexford & Waterford — Care Choice Dungarvan and Dungarvan Community Hospital in Waterford; Grantstown Community Village and St John’s Community Day Care Centre in Wexford.

Artists:
Waterford — Lani O’Hanlon and Liam Merriman
Wexford — Margaret Galvin and Billy Roche

Partners & Support:
Funded by The Arts Council, Waterford County Council, Wexford County Council, Waterford Healing Arts and Poetry Ireland.

The programme included three workshop sessions in each county, culminating in Festival in a Van visits to Wexford and Waterford in May 2023.

The Impact of Songlines

Songlines is about more than performing familiar music. The workshops create time and space for songs, poems and stories to reconnect participants with memories and experiences from throughout their lives.

A Song, a Memory, a Life Story

“It took many days of practice to perfect ‘Four-Legged Friend’ and tune into the life experience of a participant who had worked with horses in the UK. While the song was full of tongue twisters, it was worth the effort to reach the memories carried, amplify them and honour them for the gentleman. This man visibly grew in emotional stature when the song was sung for him.”

Moments like this capture the heart of Songlines: using creative participation not simply to revisit familiar material, but to recognise individual lives, experiences and memories and give them a place within a shared artistic experience.

Partners & Support

Songlines has developed through collaboration with artists, care settings, arts organisations and local authorities across Ireland. The programme has been supported by the Arts Council, Poetry Ireland, Réalta, local authority arts offices and arts-and-health partners in the counties where the programme has taken place.

In 2026, Songlines continues in Leitrim and Cavan, building on this growing network of partnerships and bringing participatory arts experiences directly into residential care settings.

Songlines Seminar 2023

Bring Songlines to Your Community

Interested in bringing Songlines to your care setting or community? We’d love to hear from organisations, care providers and partners interested in creating opportunities for people to connect through music, poetry, stories and shared memories.