A community-driven arts residency in the South Kerry Gaeltacht

TOCHAIL is a unique arts-based research project that brings artists and community members together to explore sustainable, community-led responses to the rural housing crisis in Gaeltacht Uíbh Ráthach (South Kerry). Taking place over the winter of 2024, the TOCHAIL residencies created space for creative inquiry, collective visioning, and fresh thinking about one of the most pressing issues facing rural Ireland today: access to affordable, appropriate housing.

Five artists—Síomha Brock, Susan Leen, Emily Fitzell, James Rogers, and Zoë Uí Fhaoláin—were embedded in the Gaeltacht over a series of three-week residencies. Through a range of creative methods including workshops, installations, and community conversations, these artists worked with local people to spark imagination and reframe the housing conversation from one focused on crisis to one rooted in possibility.

A vibrant community event held in An Dromaid in January 2024 showcased the outcomes of these residencies. Hosted at the local gteic digital hub, the gathering brought together artists, community representatives, and agencies including Údarás na Gaeltachta. Together, they shared ideas and proposals for a better housing future, including:

• A South Kerry Gaeltacht Housing Festival

• Greater use of local materials, products, and labour in housing construction

• A shift from simply building houses to building resilient, interconnected communities

This work builds on years of local advocacy by groups such as Comhchoiste Ghaeltacht Uíbh Ráthaigh and the Tascfhórsa Uíbh Ráthaigh, who have long highlighted the urgent need for housing solutions that support the social and cultural fabric of the Gaeltacht.

At the heart of the TOCHAIL project is a powerful community vision: housing should be more than just bricks and mortar. It should support local development, sustain the Irish language, and align with ecological values.

The TOCHAIL residencies demonstrate how socially engaged art can unlock new perspectives and support locally rooted responses to national challenges. The model developed in Uíbh Ráthach offers valuable insights for communities across Ireland facing similar pressures from depopulation, planning constraints, and the short-term rental market.

TOCHAIL is a collaboration between Cumas Ceantar (Creative Places) Uíbh Ráthaigh and TASC – the Think-tank for Action on Social Change. Cumas Ceantar is a community-led arts initiative supported by the Arts Council, Ealaín na Gaeltachta, Kerry County Council, and regional partners. TASC is an independent think tank working to translate policy analysis into action for a more just and democratic society.

The TOCHAIL findings will inform TASC’s People’s Transition project in Uíbh Ráthach, contributing to a more equitable and community-driven climate transition. The project report will be launched in April.

“The TOCHAIL residencies explored how socially engaged art can create an enabling environment for place-based and community-led approaches to rural housing within the context of a just transition. At this critical moment of social and ecological change, arts-based interventions help us set aside the constraints of the present and envision a diversity of new and previously unimagined possibilities for the future.”
— Róisín Greaney, Climate Justice Researcher & Community Engagement Coordinator, TASC