National Heritage Week

The National Lottery is delighted to announce its collaborative partnership with The Heritage Council to celebrate this year’s National Heritage Week.

The theme of this year’s Heritage Week is ‘Living Heritage’ with events taking place nationwide from Saturday 12th to Sunday 20th August. This week of activities will include over 1,200 free events and acts as a great opportunity for us to explore our traditions, practices, knowledge and skills that have been passed from one generation to the next, and that are still in use today.

Speaking about the collaboration, Jennifer Crowe, Head of Corporate Affairs at the National Lottery said: "The National Lottery is thrilled to partner with The Heritage Council for this year's Heritage Week 2023 to further support our natural, built, and intangible heritage. The National Lottery, through its Good Causes program, supports and makes a difference to thousands of charity and voluntary groups and organisations all over Ireland, including hundreds of heritage groups and projects who receive funding through The Heritage Council each year. This week of activities is a great opportunity for us to explore our traditions, skills and culture, to tell stories, and pass traditions from generation to generation as well as showcasing our natural heritage."

CEO of the Heritage Council, Virginia Teehan said: “Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are all torch holders of our heritage in one way or another and this year’s theme of Living Heritage provides an opportunity to explore this idea further. Anybody who has learned a skill from a family member, who has repeated a story told to them by an ancestor, or even anybody who has played GAA, has played a part in preserving our cultural heritage. Many of the events registered this year will highlight how valuable these traditions are and how richly they contribute to our understanding of who we are as a people.”