“Did I Ever Tell You” Project offers creative health and wellbeing programmes to HSE care settings across Kildare, Offaly and Westmeath
Kildare County Council in partnership with Offaly County Council and Westmeath County Council is delighted to announce the tri-county creative health and wellbeing project “Did I Ever Tell You”.
The "Did I Ever Tell You" storytelling initiative aims to collect the thoughts and memories of older individuals in HSE healthcare settings across the counties of Kildare, Offaly, and Westmeath through a variety of creative engagements and artistic mediums.
Through this project, artists in each county will collaborate with residents of nursing homes and patients in hospitals through December 2025, using creative arts to enhance wellbeing, support mental health, and promote positive aging. Selected stories, reflections and creative content from each county will be published in a collective book, celebrating older voices and the impact of arts in these health settings.
The project is supported by Creative Ireland under the Creative Health & Wellbeing in the Community Scheme, and is a collaborative effort involving the three counties with contributions from local Age Friendly, Healthy Ireland, Creative Ireland and HSE teams.
The tri-county collaboration was launched on December 4th with an artist networking event, bringing together the project’s artists from each county for collaboration and idea sharing.
In County Kildare, the project will take place in Naas General Hospital through a new Artist in Residence programme which will host Visual Artist and Kildare native John Conway. John will develop a project informed by ongoing engagement with service users with life limiting conditions, healthcare workers, and the wider hospital environment. In the words of the artist, “the format of a year-long residency is a wonderful opportunity to slowly develop relationships in the hospital, and to undertake artistic research to build towards a significant artistic output”. John is a socially engaged visual artist renowned for his work in complex health and community contexts.
Offaly County Council has joined forces with Anam Beo Arts Collective, who have engaged four visual artists, a writer and musician to connect with older adults in care and community settings including Clara Day Care and Riada, Ofalia, and Birr Community and Nursing Units. Anam Beo’s tailored programme of artistic engagement is designed to foster social health, deepen community connections, and spark meaningful interactions among participants, artists, and care staff. With gentle conversations, personal reflections, and shared memories, Anam Beo’s programme aims to bring forth and visualise stories that resonate across generations.
In Westmeath, arts collective Fighting Words will engage with residents at Cluain Lir Community Nursing Unit in Mullingar and St. Vincent’s Care Centre in Athlone to share their stories and memories, resulting in a collective book that encapsulates their experiences. An animation piece will be developed in the second year to extend the project's impact. This initiative is expected to create a ripple effect among kinship groups, as the residents’ families receive keepsakes that they can cherish and pass down.
Kildare County Council are the lead partner on the project, organising the intercounty elements and an impact evaluation. Speaking about the project, Sonya Kavanagh, Chief Executive, Kildare County Council, said, “Kildare County Council is delighted to partner with Offaly and Westmeath County Councils to bring sustained creative opportunity into nursing homes, care centres, and our own Naas General Hospital. The enthusiasm from HSE staff and our talented project artists form a bedrock for the project, which we hope will bring moments of positivity, connection, and creative self-expression for patients, residents, their families and staff alike.”
