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Ted and Mary O'Regan Arts Bursary
In mid-2003 and early 2004 Waterford lost an inspiring and gentle couple - Ted and Mary O'Regan. Ted was the person to the forefront of many innovative and creative actions over the years, but Mary was his inspiration and confidante they were very much a team.
After their deaths a group of people from the arts in Waterford came together to launch an arts bursary in tribute to Ted and Mary. It aims to be an opportunity for a Waterford person to develop his or her creative talent. The criteria for this award are very open and flexible and people of all ages may apply.
Among the organisations who contribute at present to the bursary are: Waterford City and County Council, Waterford City Enterprise Board, Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford Spraoi, Theatre Royal, Waterford Youth Arts and other individuals and friends. Their combined support has enabled the Bursary Committee to dispense a total of €120,000 to local artists since 2005.
SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED UNTIL 5:30PM ON FRIDAY THE 31st OF MAY FOR THE 2024 BURSARY
Award Winners to be announced in the Summer
Application and information can be found below
Click here for contact information.
2023 BURSARIES AWARDED
The 2023 Ted & Mary O’Regan Arts Bursaries were presented at a ceremony in Garter Lane this week. This year’ winners are poet Joseph Hodgkins, playwright and actress Natasha Everitt, and visual artist, Bobby Comerford.
Joseph Hodgkins award will enable him to publish his first collection of poetry. Actress and emerging playwright, Natasha Everitt’s award will facilitate the completion of a ‘work in progress’ play script, with Bobby Comerford’s assisting the purchase of materials for a visual arts project.
The Award Scheme is the brainchild of a group of friends and colleagues of the late Ted and Mary O’Regan and was created to honour the couple’s invaluable contribution to Waterford's artistic and cultural life. Launched in 2005, the bursary is financed by local arts organisations and statutory bodies as well as by the O’ Regan family and by friends and admirers of the much-loved couple. To date the Award Scheme has disbursed more than €100,000 to local artists. Among the organisations who have contributed to the bursary are Waterford Youth Arts, Waterford City and County Council, Garter Lane Arts Centre, Spraoi, Theatre Royal and Waterford Youth Arts.
Presenting the Awards, Bursary Committee Chairman, Bertie Rogers, said that the applications for this year’s awards provided continuing and compelling evidence of both the range and quality of artistic activity in Waterford city and county. He paid tribute to the Bursary’s external assessor, Robert Browne and thanked the Bursary’s many benefactors, who have maintained their support for the Awards since their inception. Concluding, Mr. Rogers said that the 20th anniversary of the Awards in 2024 will coincide with the 40th anniversary of the opening of Garter Lane Arts Centre in 1984. Mr. Rogers thanked Garter Lane for facilitating the awards presentation and said he looked forward to a joint celebration of both anniversaries in 2024.
