The Culture Mobility and Connection: Ireland and the Four Nations of the UK report was launched by British Council Ireland on 20 November 2025. It was launched by British Council Deputy Director Arts Cortina Butler at a reception to celebrate the UK-Ireland 2030 Cultural Co-operation Programme, hosted by the British Ambassador to Ireland Kara Owen; UK Government Department of Culture, Media and Sport, Permanent Secretary, Susannah Storey; and Government of Ireland Department of Culture, Communications and Sport Secretary General Fergal Ó Coigligh.
The report provides insights and information on the core of the creative ecology on these islands – artists and cultural professionals. It notes the strategic funds, partnerships and intergovernmental frameworks that support collaboration and mobility, and provides analysis on data made available by the key national arm’s length bodies and government agencies in the Ireland-UK relationship.
This research engaged with arm’s length bodies, arts and cultural policymakers, strategic cultural organisations, arts practitioners and cultural producers across the UK and Ireland. In total, 278 individuals participated through an online survey and semi-structured interviews.
About the report
As the first research report of its kind, it underscores the immense potential and appetite for further cultural collaboration between Ireland and the four nations of the UK. It highlights the drive, passion, creativity and resilience of artists, producers and cultural organisations, and it provides a number of suggestions to drive growth, connection and new partnerships in the cultural ecosystem, building on current funding and initiatives across a range of organisations and bodies.
Made possible by the generosity, collaborative spirit and collegiality of Arts Council Ireland, Arts Council Northern Ireland, Culture Ireland, Creative Ireland, Creative Scotland and Wales Arts International, along with wider British Council colleagues, cultural organisations and professionals in the UK and Ireland, this landmark cultural research project is a valuable beginning to better understanding the mobility, connection and deeply important relationship between Ireland and the four nations of the UK.
Photos
- View photos from the reception on our Flickr account.
- View photos from the afternoon session at the National Library of Ireland on our Flickr account.