Kildare Inclusivity Festival 2025

You are all invited to join us for the Kildare Inclusivity Festival 2025! Bring friends, family, or come along yourself and enjoy the community spirit. This is a fully accessible and inclusive event.

Date: Sunday, 11th May 2025
Location: The Curragh Racecourse
Time: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Admission: Free

What is the Festival all about?

The Kildare Inclusivity Festival will be a free day of fun, live performances, activities and sports, celebrating disability and the limitless potential of individuals of all abilities through engaging and meaningful community interactions. Brought to you by Kildare County Council, CKAN (County Kildare Access Network), Nua Healthcare and supported by The Kildare Sports Partnership, Barretstown and The Curragh Racecourse, we aim to break down barriers and contribute to positive change for people living with disability in County Kildare.

Festival Highlights

Come and enjoy a range of free activities suitable for all ages and abilities, including:

Festival Parade!

The Festival will kick off at 11am with a parade featuring participants of the Ability Games! If you are part of a group or organisation, bring your flags and banners and celebrate the opening of the festival! Be there at 11, when the parade starts.

Family Fun Zone

Packed with engaging activities for children and families. Try out our inflatable bouncy castles, inflatable games, funfair games and more!

Nua Healthcare ‘Ultimate Obstacle Course’

A fun and inclusive physical challenge designed for individuals, as well as their carers, siblings, family members, and advocates, to participate in, as groups or individually. Challenge yourself on this giant inflatable obstacle course, brought to you by Nua Healthcare.

Inclusive Sports Zone

Come and experience adaptive and inclusive sports with the Kildare Sports Partnership. Why not find out how Blind Tennis works, try out inclusive pitch and putt or have a go at inclusive kids football with the GAA Allstars!

Barretstown Magic Moments

An opportunity for families to experience the Magic of Barretstown with fun therapeutic programs for all ages. With Face painting, bracelet making and so much more you are sure to enjoy your time with the Barretstown crew. And don’t forget to drop by their double decker bus and have a look around!

Live Entertainment

A vibrant lineup of music acts, a magic and puppet show, and funfair games. Sing along with Sing and Sign, clap along with the Newbridge Gospel Choir, or marvel at the acrobatic artists from Really Grand Events. Sit back and enjoy the wonderful Men’s Shed Choir, or grab some quiet time and watch Run of The Mill’s award winning short film ‘Headspace’. Plus much, much more….

Paradressage Demo by Heather Lemmon

Para National Champion 2024, Heather Lemmon and her Connemara mare Freya will be giving a dressage demo, showcasing how dressage can be adapted and enjoyed by riders of all abilities. Come say hello, watch them in action, and learn more about the joy of working in harmony with horses.

Stewarts Care Equine Therapy

The Stewarts Care Regional Equine Therapy Hub in Kilcloon, Co. Meath deliver equine assisted learning to children and adults with intellectual disability and autism from across Dublin, Meath and Kildare and will be at the festival offering an opportunity for children to be introduced to their horses and team.

Equine assisted learning and equine therapy focusses on building confidence and skills through working with horses, empowering individuals to gain new skills, increase physical strength and experience a new sense of self, through meaningful activities and interaction with peers, instructors and of course the horses themselves. All interactions involve work on physical, sensory, emotional, neurological, educational and psychosocial goals. Benefits include Increased core strength and stability, Improved fine and gross motor skills, Increased communication, Increased regulation, Improved confidence, Activities of daily living, Turn Taking, Literacy and numeracy. The hub is open to individuals, groups, special schools and ASD classes.

Discover more about the Hub and apply on Regional Equine Therapy Hub | Stewarts Care

Artisan Food & Craft Market

Featuring over 30 stands from local food producers and craftspeople.

Exhibition Stands & Service Provider Zone

Showcasing local services, supports, and organizations.

Plus much, much more….

Meet the Festival Comperes

We are thrilled to announce our comperes for the Kildare Inclusivity Festival! Award winning actor Mark Smith joins podcaster and former 2FM DJ Keith Walsh to guide us through the day onstage. Mark will also be our guest Grand Marshall at the parade.

About Mark Smith

Mark Smith is a multi award-winning performer. His work includes the Academy Award longlisted short film “Headspace” dir. Aisling Byrne, “Real Life” dir. Aisling Byrne (Project Arts Centre, 2024), ‘In the Cards’ dir. Leah Moore, (35th Galway Film Fleadh) and a 9 venue Irish National Tour of his autobiographical production “Making a Mark” by Shaun Dunne (Winner of Judges Choice Award at Dublin Fringe, 2019, nominated for Best Performer and Best Production). Mark has been a member of the Run of the Mill Arts company since its formation and recently completed Run of the Mill’s Artist Development Programme ‘Ready to Roll’ at Maynooth University.

Recently, Mark collaborated with renowned Irish poet Colm Keegan on creation of a new piece of poetry film work ‘Connections’ which was released on World Down Syndrome Day 2025. He has performed the work of Irish poet Eavan Boland for film in Quarantine (screened at Culture Night, 2020) and Outside History (screened on RTE/ St. Patrick’s Festival, 2021). His poetry film Vulnerable co-created with Aisling Byrne, was featured as part of the Abbey Theatres ‘Dear Ireland’ series in 2020. Mark is a passionate advocate for inclusion in the arts and has appeared on multiple programmes including The Tommy Tiernan Show (Series 4), Ireland AM and RTE Radio.

About Keith Walsh

Keith Walsh is a writer, broadcaster, mental health advocate and podcaster. He is a father of two, Finn 16 and Anna 22. He has worked in radio for twenty years, the last seven of which was with RTÉ. Keith was the anchor presenter on the breakfast show, Breakfast Republic, on 2FM for five years. He is currently rehearsing for a play with Newbridge Drama Group called ‘On the Bog of Cats’ and is working full time on an online news programme called MOTH, Monopoly of Truth, as a presenter and creator/producer.

Venue Facilities and Information

We are delighted to be partnering with The Curragh Racecourse for the very first Kildare Inclusivity Festival, a fully accessible and inclusive event. Information on the facilities available at the venue is below, but should you have any specific queries regarding accessibility for the Festival, please feel free to contact the Access Officer for Kildare, Michael Hurley, by email to accessofficer@kildarecoco.ie.

Free Shuttle Bus

A free shuttle bus service will be operating hourly for the day of the Festival, and is wheelchair accessible. The bus will be operated by Local Link and will have a poster for the Festival on the front.

The bus will operate between Newbridge and The Curragh Racecourse, with the first bus departing from Newbridge at 10.30am and the last bus for the day departing from The Curragh to return to Newbridge at 5.30pm. There are two pick up points in Newbridge, see below:

Pick up Point 1 Newbridge Train Station

Pick up Point 2 Woodies, Newbridge

Parking

There is a carpark available to festival goers at the Curragh Racecourse. Additional Accessible parking has been provided for the day of the Festival, and volunteers will be onsite to direct you. If you have mobility issues and require assistance getting from the carpark to the Festival entrance, please feel free to let a volunteer know and they will be happy arrange assistance.

Wheelchair Accessible Toilets

There are wheelchair accessible toilets at The Curragh Racecourse.

Changing Place Facility

The Curragh Racecourse has a permanent Changing Place Facility located inside the stand. The location will be clearly marked on your site map on the day. There will also be a mobile Changing Place Facility onsite on the day of the Festival.

Assistance Dogs and Spending Areas

Assistance dogs are welcome at the Kildare Inclusivity Festival and a Spending Area will be provided for them. Please note, we are not able to accommodate family pets on site

Quiet and Sensory Areas

A designated quiet area will be available for use on the day should you require it. There will also be several sensory areas around the site.

Food and Drink

There will be a range of food and drink available to purchase on the day, with a hot food counter, coffee dock and Spar shop inside the stand, and various food stalls and vans outside in the main outdoor festival area.

Site and Facilities Map

A large information and site map will be onsite in several locations, so that you can plan your day.

First Aid

Kildare Civil Defence will be onsite to administer first aid should it be required.

Directions

A link to the location of The Curragh Racecourse on Google Maps is here https://maps.app.goo.gl/XfVpb233f5NmMRYH7

If you are coming by car via the N7 use Exit 12 to access The Curragh Racecourse.

Contact Us

For queries on the Kildare Inclusivity Festival please contact the Access Officer for Kildare, Michael Hurley, at accessofficer@kildarecoco.ie