Inclusive Dance Cork (IDC) grew from a new €200,000 Cork Arts Fund announced by The Community Foundation for Ireland in 2021. Recognising the opportunity presented by the Fund’s focus on new arts initiatives addressing social disadvantage and inclusion, I began exploring what a genuinely new initiative could contribute to Cork and where such a project could find the right organisational home. Through a process of research, consultation and partnership-building with Dance Cork Firkin Crane and across Cork’s dance, education and disability-arts communities, the idea emerged for a new programme in inclusive dance practice, initially called Integrated Dance Cork. What followed was a collaborative process involving artists, educators, disability-arts practitioners and partner organisations including Dance Cork Firkin Crane, University College Cork, Cork Education and Training Board and Suisha Inclusive Arts/Cope Foundation. In July 2022, the project became Inclusive Dance Cork, a name that better reflected the language and ambitions of the work. Since launching its first programme in September 2022, IDC has developed into a distinctive national platform for inclusive dance training and professional development, bringing leading Irish and international practitioners into its programmes and conversations. Through its partnership with UCC, IDC became the home of Ireland’s first university-accredited introductory micro-credentials in inclusive dance and, in 2024, received the Community Foundation Ireland Creative Access Award at the Business to Arts Awards. ~ Yvonne Coughlan
Inclusive Dance Cork
Rhona Coughlan:
'You’ve got to move with what God gave you'
Tue, 06 Feb, 2024 - 14:58
Colette Sheridan
A programme built through collaboration
IDC has always been deliberately collaborative. Its early development brought together expertise from professional dance, disability arts, education and community practice, while its subsequent programmes have created opportunities for participants to learn directly from some of the leading voices in inclusive dance internationally. Early programme facilitators included Mary Hartney, Linda Fearon, Cindy Cummings and Adam Benjamin, with later programmes featuring artists including Marc Brew, Judith Smith and Lisa Cliffe. More recently, IDC has expanded its international network through workshops and conversations with Kimberley Harvey, Jorge Crecis, Nadia Adame and Kim Epifano, alongside Artistic Director Rhona Coughlan.
Fund Support for 2025!
We’re delighted to share that Inclusive Dance Cork (IDC), has been selected as one of seven awardees of the Resilient Cork Fund! This funding will support IDC’s work in 2025, continuing its mission to make dance accessible to all, foster creativity, and break down barriers for diverse communities.
The Resilient Cork Fund, created by Rethink Ireland in partnership with philanthropic donors and the Department of Rural and Community Development, supports organisations tackling inequality, promoting social inclusion, and strengthening mental health resilience across Cork. IDC’s inclusion highlights the impact of its pioneering inclusive dance programs, developed in partnership with University College Cork (UCC), Suisha Inclusive Arts/Cope Foundation, and Cork Education and Training Board.
Yvonne Coughlan, Chair of Dance Cork Firkin Crane and a founding member of IDC, expressed her gratitude for this support:
"This funding strengthens our ability to bring inclusive dance to more people, ensuring that creativity and movement are accessible to all. It’s a recognition of the dedication and collaboration behind IDC’s work."
This follows IDC’s recent success in securing the Business to Arts Community Foundation Ireland Creative Access Award 2024, further cementing its role as a leader in inclusive dance education. The award sculpture, Geallta (Promise), by Emmet Kane, will be proudly displayed at Dance Cork Firkin Crane, symbolising the power of partnership in the arts.
A huge thank you to Rethink Ireland and all funding partners for investing in a more equal and creative Cork!
#InclusiveDance #ResilientCork #CommunityDevelopment #Equality #SocialInclusion
Pictured left to right: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD; Denise Charlton, CEO of the Community Foundation for Ireland; Rhona Coughlan, Artistic Director of Inclusive Dance Cork; Yvon Bonenfant, Head of UCC Department of Theatre; Yvonne Coughlan, Chair of Dance Cork Firkin Crane, and Louise O’Reilly, Chief Executive of Business to Arts.
Image Credit: Conor McCabe and Andres Poveda.
Inclusive Dance Cork celebrated the Business to Arts Community Foundation Ireland Creative Access Award 2024 at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, Sept. 9th, 2024. The award marked a groundbreaking partnership between UCC and DCFC, creating Ireland’s first university-accredited micro-credentials in inclusive dance with IDC.
Meet the Cork woman whose life's work is to make dance inclusive
Wed, 28 Jun, 2023 - 07:00
Colette Sheridan
Autumn Course 2025
Applications are now OPEN for our free 10-week Inclusive Dance Cork training programme this autumn!
Inclusive Dance Cork is delighted to announce a new 10-week training programme for people with and without disabilities who are interested in learning inclusive dance methods, starting this September at Dance Cork Firkin Crane.
Enrolment is open to adults (ages 18+) of all abilities, with or without previous dance experience. Most important is a love of movement, an openness to learning new things, and an interest in working in an inclusive environment. The course is free to attend.
Who's it for? Adults (18+) of all abilities — no dance experience needed!
Where? Dance Cork Firkin Crane
When? Thursdays, 4 Sept–20 Nov | 10am–1pm (+ optional QQI afternoons)
QQI Level 4 Teamworking Certificate available!
Apply now by emailing louisa@firkincrane.ie with an expression of interest before 22nd August!
QQI Level 4 Accreditation:
All participants will be offered the chance to gain a QQI Level 4 certification in Teamworking (Module 4N1169). This module equips learners with the knowledge, skills, and competence to take part effectively as a member of a team. It includes understanding the dynamics of team collaboration, stages of team development, and strengthening communication, problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills.
About Inclusive Dance Cork
Inclusive Dance Cork (IDC) is a training programme for people with and without disabilities who are interested in learning inclusive dance methods. Designed to foster expressive movement, it provides dancers with the opportunity to explore different ways of dancing, facilitating, and supporting dancers of all abilities.
A project of Dance Cork Firkin Crane, IDC partners with Cork Education and Training Board and Horizons Cork | Suisha Inclusive Arts
IDC is kindly supported by Rethink Ireland's Resilient Cork Fund 2025 alongside local business and donor support. We gratefully acknowledge the additional support of CCP SICAP, Cork City LCDC, Government of Ireland and the EU in the delivery of this 10 week programme.
#InclusiveDanceCork #QQICourse #InclusiveArts #Dance #ArtsForAll
Pictures: Graduation ceremony for inclusive dance programme held in Cork
John Bohane Wed, 05 Jul, 2023 - 11:55
Inclusive Dance Cork by Yvonne Coughlan
From a €200,000 Cork Arts Fund opportunity to a lasting model for inclusive dance
Inclusive Dance Cork (IDC) began with a funding opportunity. In February 2021, I was alerted by the office of Michael Collins TD to a new €200,000 Cork Arts Fund established by The Community Foundation for Ireland through the generosity of a private donor. The Fund was specifically designed to support arts organisations in Cork developing new work that could address social disadvantage and injustice, give voice to marginalised groups and strengthen social inclusion. Importantly, applicants had to operate in Cork City or County and be registered as a charity, or have a clear charitable purpose within their founding documents; the Fund was open to arts organisations rather than individuals or commercial enterprises, and existing ongoing programmes were not eligible. The opportunity immediately prompted me to ask what a new initiative could contribute to Cork, and where such a project could find the right organisational home.
As Chair of Dance Cork Firkin Crane, I recognised that the organisation was uniquely positioned to respond. I began a process of listening and discovery: exploring what was already happening through Dance Cork Firkin Crane and across Cork's dance, education and disability-arts communities, meeting people with relevant expertise, and asking where the genuine gap was. I wanted to understand not simply what could be funded, but what Cork actually needed and what could be built that would have a life beyond the initial grant.
The resulting concept was my original proposal, initially named Integrated Dance Cork. From the outset, I brought together people with complementary expertise to explore how the idea could become a meaningful and sustainable programme. Early development involved Laurie Uprichard, Eoin Nash, Tara Brandel, Linda Fearon, Dr Yvon Bonenfant of University College Cork, Cork Education and Training Board, and a wider network of artists and advisers including Maeve Kelleher of Making Moves, Karen Gleeson, Laura Sarah Dowdall, Maria Svensson, Helga Deasy, Lisa Cliffe and Cindy Cummings, with Rachel Parry of Speckled Egg offering additional expertise around the development of education modules. The proposal was deliberately collaborative, connecting professional dance practice with inclusive education, accessibility, disability arts, community participation and sector development.
The project was developed within Dance Cork Firkin Crane, with the support of Executive Artistic Director Laurie Uprichard and the organisation's Board. The 2021 Board comprised Cllr. Dan Boyle, Conall Ó Riain, Kieran McCarthy, Anne Dempsey, Cllr. Mick Nugent, Luke Murphy and Linda O'Shea Farren, with Indra Rolands as Company Secretary. Their advice, experience and willingness to support an emerging idea were an important part of creating the organisational conditions in which the project could move from an initial concept to a viable programme.
The project subsequently secured €34,000 from the MC Four Fund through The Community Foundation for Ireland, enabling the development of the Integrated Dance Cork pilot. The original concept evolved as the project moved towards delivery, including a change of name to Inclusive Dance Cork in July 2022. Artistic leadership developed with Rhona Coughlan, whose professional expertise as a dance artist and educator, alongside her lived experience as a wheelchair user, brought important additional knowledge and perspective to the programme.
IDC launched in September 2022 as a pioneering professional training programme for dancers and movement practitioners with and without disabilities, created in response to the absence of formal inclusive-dance training in Ireland. Since its first programme, IDC has grown into a distinctive national platform for inclusive dance training and professional development, building a wide network of leading Irish and international artists, educators and practitioners. These have included international practitioners such as Adam Benjamin, Marc Brew, Jorge Crecis, Nadia Adame, Kimberley Harvey and Kim Epifano, alongside leading Irish inclusive-dance artists and educators including Cindy Cummings, Mary Hartney, Lisa Cliffe and Judith Smith.
What began as a new Cork arts project has grown into a nationally recognised programme. Through its partnership with University College Cork, IDC became the home of Ireland's first university-accredited introductory micro-credentials in inclusive dance. In 2024, the partnership received the Community Foundation Ireland Creative Access Award at the Business to Arts Awards, recognising the contribution of Dance Cork Firkin Crane, UCC and Suisha Inclusive Arts/Cope Foundation to accessibility and inclusion in the arts.
As a project of Dance Cork Firkin Crane, IDC has developed within an established arts organisation, benefiting from its governance, infrastructure, executive leadership, staff and artistic networks. It has subsequently been carried forward by successive project coordinators Emer Casey, Kaylie Streit and Louisa Sloan, under Rhona Coughlan's artistic leadership, with each bringing new expertise and energy to the programme.
IDC has attracted support from a growing network of public, philanthropic, corporate and community partners, including Rethink Ireland, Community Foundation for Ireland, the Machamer Charitable Fund – The Ireland Funds America, Stryker, Cork City Council, Cork Education and Training Board and Horizons Cork | Suisha Inclusive Arts, alongside University College Cork and other partners. The Machamer Charitable Fund – The Ireland Funds America has provided significant philanthropic support specifically towards Inclusive Dance Cork, including a €20,000 contribution to the project in 2025, thanks to my friend Lisa Machamer.
What began with an email about a €200,000 funding opportunity and a question- what is missing, and what could Cork build that would genuinely add something new? - has grown into a sustained platform for inclusive dance practice, professional development, education, accreditation and participation.
I am particularly proud of the way the original idea evolved through listening, collaboration, strategic partnership, persistence and adaptation. For me, IDC demonstrates what can happen when an opportunity is recognised early, the existing ecosystem is properly understood, the right people are brought around the table, and an idea is given the governance, resources and determination needed to become something that lasts.
An idea may begin with one person. Its ability to become meaningful and enduring, however, depends on the people who are willing to question it, strengthen it, resource it, govern it and carry it forward. I remain deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed expertise, encouragement, challenge, creativity and practical support to Inclusive Dance Cork over its development.
Perhaps one of the greatest personal gifts of IDC has been the people it has brought into my life. I am especially grateful for the journey I have shared with Artistic Director Rhona Coughlan. Although we share a surname, we are not related, and before IDC we had only briefly connected online and had never properly met in person. I could not have known then what an important creative partnership would grow from that first connection, or how much Rhona would bring to IDC through her artistic leadership, professional expertise and lived experience.
That has been one of the unexpected joys of creating something like this: an idea that began with an email and a funding opportunity became a reason to meet extraordinary people, discover new expertise, build lasting partnerships and see what can happen when people bring their own knowledge, passion and generosity to a shared purpose. I am deeply grateful for all of those relationships, and for everyone who has helped Inclusive Dance Cork become what it is today.
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