On 28th June our Artistic Director Joanna Williams and wire walking tutor Mollie O’Brien joined Fran Curry on Tipp Today to chat about the very popular Wire Walking workshops, Circus Summer Camp and other club’s activities this summer.

Joanna gave a short introduction about the Wire Walking workshops and how they started a few years ago.

Initially this project was a European project headed by Galway Community Circus and they had the idea of developing a very accessible way of teaching the wire walking with big, long poles for balancing. They wanted to teach this art form to as many people as they could in Ireland, and lead to a big celebration event that was to be a part of Galway 2020. And then pandemic came along.

We were due to have some of our members go to Galway, learn the wire walking, and participate in this event as part of community involvement, but when pandemic came along, there was an opportunity to bring the workshop to Cloughjordan as a part of an outdoor event, and it was amazing. We used big, long poles so it necessitated the social distancing. It was outdoors so we were able to do it at times when meetings indoors were not possible.

Over the next couple of years, with support from Galway Community Circus, we held these workshops on village green, and lots of people came and learnt to wire walk. We gradually trained some of our own members to be able to teach the wire walking and they became very proficient at it, and in fact, took part in a big crossing last summer in Galway called ‘Lifelines’ – the biggest high-wire spectacle ever in Europe. – Joanna Williams, Artistic Director of Cloughjordan Circus Club

Molly shared her own experience about learning to wire walk, becoming a wire walking tutor herself, and sharing the joy of this activity with others.

I have been a member of Cloughjordan Circus Club since I was younger, later becoming also a tutor here. The whole idea of nearly being able to ‘walk on air’ was amazing to me. I first started out as a participant when Tony Mahon from Galway Community Circus came down and was teaching the workshops, and the following year I got trained in by Tony and became a wire walking tutor, and I have been spreading that joy with everybody since then.

There is a little bit of balance in it but it is also the mindset. It has been made very accessible for anybody – all levels, ages and capabilities. When you have started, it is very accessible, and once you get going, you get into this meditative state, you work on your breathing, and it keeps you calm, you are just able to ‘walk on air’ and just be free from your mind. – Molly O’Brien, wire walking tutor at Cloughjordan Circus Club.

If you would like to listen to the recording of the interview, please follow the link here or click on the recording below!

Read more about Wire Walking workshops in Cloughjordan here!

Book a place at the Wire Walking workshop here!

Celebrate Cruinniú na nÓg together with us! | 7th – 10th June

Cloughjordan Circus Club is proud to be part of #CircusExplored, a national initiative to highlight youth circus.  Join us to celebrate Cruinniú na nÓg – a day of FREE creative circus workshops and events for children and young people all across Ireland!

As part of our Cruinniú na nÓg Programme we will be presenting free circus workshops on Saturday, 10th June in Nenagh Library and Cloughjordan Library for children and families. Everyone will have the opportunity to learn plate-spinning combined with some fun activities led by our amazing tutors! Additionally, on Wednesday, 7th June and Thursday, 8th June we will present four amazing circus shows and workshops together with Frankie Magilligan for students of St. Michael’s National School, Borrisokane National School, Scoil Eoin Naofa in Roscrea and Cloughjordan No 1 National School.

PROGRAMME

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Cruinniú na nÓg 2023 was launched in May 2023 by Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media at Mud Island Community Garden together with this year’s young ambassadors.

#CircusExplored is produced by the ISACS Ireland and is supported by the Creative Ireland Programme in the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and under the government’s #SharedIsland Initiative in the Department of the Taoiseach. The initiative is presented in partnership with Dublin Circus Project, Galway Community Circus, Cloughjordan Circus Club, Circus Factory Cork, Circusful, and In Your Space Circus.

Wire Walking Workshops | Summer 2023

We are hiring! | Cloughjordan Circus Club seeks Operations Manager

Vacancy: Part-time  20 hours a week
Salary: €35-40K pro rata dependant on experience

ABOUT US

Cloughjordan Circus Club in County Tipperary was founded 12 years ago to offer an alternative social and creative outlet to children and young people aged 8-25. Participation promotes social connections, creative expression, and physical wellbeing, through inclusive, participatory circus arts with a unique, award-winning aesthetic. We provide a high quality, inclusive, and unique arts offer for young people in rural Tipperary.

Members have the opportunity to work with national and international professionals and learn from the best in the business. We employ freelance artists to co-deliver on the core programme and to provide one-off and weekend intensive masterclasses alongside our Artistic Director and lead artist, Joanna Williams, and the wider team.

The project has evolved and extended beyond Cloughjordan, engaging young people from the surrounding Midlands towns and villages of North Tipperary and South Offaly. We are also connected through youth circus networks across Ireland and Europe. Our project provides an exciting programme of weekly circus activities, creates regular performances for parades, festivals and theatres, involves young people in trips and exchanges, and runs peer education and leadership programmes for older members. Our outreach work has developed to offer workshop programmes in schools and youth groups throughout the Midlands region.

Find out more about our mission and goals here!
Read our strategy and annual reports here!

We’d love you to consider joining us as part-time Operations Manager, to support the team and lead the implementation of our strategic ambitions.

THE ROLE

The Operations Manager will work closely with the Artistic Director and Cloughjordan Community Circus team on the effective delivery of our artistic vision and strategic development according to Strategic Plan 2020 – 2025. The Operations Manager will ensure the ongoing running of the organisation while it’s growing and developing – working closely with the Artistic Director particularly in areas of organisational capacity and sustainability as well as having areas of discrete responsibility. The Operations Manager will oversee administration, finance, compliance, staffing (relating to the organisational / administrative team), implementation and upkeep of systems to record documentation, monitoring and evaluations, funding applications and reporting, all internal and some external communications.

THE PERSON

The ideal candidate will be an expert communicator with an ability to collaborate with colleagues and a wide range of external community and local authority partners. They will have experience of managing an arts organisation or similar community focused organisation with an understanding of governance and best practice required for publicly funded charitable organisations. They should have an understanding of how the arts can impact in a youth and social context and an ability to communicate this in written and verbal interactions. Ultimately, the operations manager should be driven by a desire to lead our company to maximum productivity and efficiency while achieving our company objectives as set out in our Strategic Development Plan. This role is part-time with a maximum of 20 hours per week, with at least 1 day per week in Cloughjordan.

HOW WE ARE FUNDED

We are currently funded by Arts Council through the Arts Grants Programme to which we apply annually. In addition we receive regular support from Tipperary Co Co Arts Office through their Arts Act Scheme; Festival and Events Scheme and from our local Creative Ireland. Each year we also receive support from a variety of charitable trusts and foundations which has included Arts and Business / Bank of Ireland Begin Together Fund, Ireland Funds, Community Foundation. In addition we nurture partnerships with national sector organisations for collaborative projects and seek funding collectively.

TO APPLY

Please submit the following by email:

• A detailed CV outlining suitability for the role and all relevant experience;
• A letter of application;
• Contact details for two professional referees

Applications should be submitted by email to Artistic Director / CEO Joanna Williams joanna@cloughjordancircusclub.ie

Application Deadline: 5pm on Friday 23rd June 2023
Interviews: Week of 3rd July 2023

Download full job description here!

Circus Summer Camp 2023

A fun packed morning of Circus Games and Skills.

Each day will include lots of games, juggling, hat manipulation, pyramid building, unicycle, tightwire walking, hula hoop and lots more!

Bookings:
Website: https://cloughjordancircusclub.ie/product/summer-camp/

YOUTH CIRCUS

Cloughjordan Circus Club was established in 2011 by Circus Artist Joanna Williams. We run a year round programme of weekly circus workshops in St. Kieran’s Hall in Cloughjordan. We have classes for Beginners, Juniors and Teens. Our Summer Camp programme invites international tutors to join our home team for a fun packed week of games, circus and fun. It is a great opportunity to have a first experience of circus or to develop skills.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT A SUMMER CAMP?

Each morning we begin with lots of games that encourage team building, creative expression, physical exploration and most importantly fun and laughter. Then we divide up into smaller groups to experience as wide a range of skills as possible. We take lots of breaks and we also come together as a bigger group for group activities like pyramid building, tableslide and acro.

WHAT WE TEACH?

* Manipulation Skills: Juggling, Diabolo, Hat Tricks, Hula Hoop, Plate Spinning, Flowersticks, Acrobatics: Pairs Acrobalance, Pyramid Building, Handstands, Tableside
* Balance: Unicycle, Stilt Walking, Rola Bola, Walking Globe, Tightwire
* Performance

WHY CIRCUS?

Circus is a fun, supportive, non-competitive way to work with people, building skills and growing confidence. It enables participants to engage with physical challenges and learn the value of practice and commitment as dexterity, resilience and fitness increase. It creates a safe space to fail and learn. It stimulates creativity and celebrates self-expression. We firmly believe in the positive impact that circus can have on the mental, physical and creative wellbeing of children and young people.

Circus Summer Camp 2023 is supported by:

Festival of Fools Trip | Belfast 2023

The May bank holiday weekend was a busy one here at Cloughjordan Circus Club as we embarked on a trip with 17 teens, all members of our Youth Circus Group, to take part in Festival of Fools. This trip has been a valuable part of our programme since 2016.

Festival of Fools is a fantastic programme of international and home grown circus and street arts presented over a packed weekend at numerous outdoor locations in Belfast’s City Centre. It’s an opportunity to see some of the best there is in street circus performances from around the world and the great thing is that festival founders, Circusful (formerly Belfast Community Circus School) make sure that they always include and feature members of their youth and community programmes alongside the professional programme. We are honoured, given how far away we are, to have been included on many occasions and, though daunting, the five hour road trip is definitely always worth it!

It’s this element, the taking part as well as attending and seeing the festival, that makes the trip so valuable in my eyes as Artistic Director of a Youth Circus. Our young people prepare acts in the weeks ahead in anticipation of the festival, some may have attended before, for others this trip will be a first exposure to circus in this context. They perform alongside their peers from other youth circus groups and really enjoy seeing other young people perform; they feel a part of the festival, they watch amazing professional acts perform on the same platform in the same festival that they have performed. They meet the performers and are proud to be included and feel a part of this bigger international circus family.

The festival gives our young people a chance to see circus presented in many different artistic styles, they see skills taken in different directions and in a new light. In the evenings we discuss what we’ve enjoyed, they analyse the performance styles, we talk about what makes for a good performance, presentation versus skill, the creativity in the development and individual styles of various skills and performances. I see all this exposure and learning reflected in their own performances and in how they return to Cloughjordan with new enthusiasm to develop their own skills or to devise a new act. The bonding and relationships within the group are also strengthened by this shared experience.

This year we were delighted to attend the festival as part of a bigger initiative with Irish Youth Circus sector. The trip was a part of Circus Explored programme which is supported by the Creative Ireland Programme in the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, as well as under the government’s Shared Island Initiative in the Department of the Taoiseach.

The initiative is presented by ISACS Ireland in partnership with Circus Factory Cork, Cloughjordan Circus Club, Dublin Circus Project, Galway Community Circus, Circusful in Belfast, and In Your Space Circus in Derry.

Photo Gallery – Festival of Fools 2023

The fun, the tricks and good memories | Interview with our Assistant Tutor Ewan Fox Powell

We are very excited to be a part of #CircusExplored this year, and are getting ready for our trip to Festival of Fools 2023 in Belfast from 29th April  – 4th May.

A team of performers from Cloughjordan Circus Club will be participating in the festival activities. You will have the opportunity to meet our team of stilt walkers and unicycling stars at 2 Royal Avenue in Belfast, enjoy our performances and join workshops with our circus artists. Join the fun & explore circus arts together with us!

The initiative is presented by The Irish Street Art, Circus and Spectacle Network (ISACS) in partnership with Circus Factory Cork, Cloughjordan Circus Club, Dublin Circus Project, Galway Community Circus, Circusful in Belfast, and In Your Space Circus in Derry.

Circus Explored is supported by the Creative Ireland Programme in The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media as well as under the government’s #SharedIsland Initiative in the Department of the Taoiseach.

It is my time to shine! | Interview with our Assistant Tutor Molly O’Brien

Choosing circus as part of Gaisce Award | Interview with circus volunteer Zoe Whelan

Zoe is 15 years old and has been coming to circus since she was 8, her older sister used to come along too! Zoe is an accomplished unicyclist and stilt walker and more recently she has been working on her pairs acro and hula hoop. Zoe is in TY this year and has been helping out at the Junior class as part of her Gaisce Award.

What were you first impressions or first memories of Cloughjordan Circus Club?

My first impression of Cloughjordan Circus Club was how cool this is. I can ride a bike with one wheel, juggle 3 balls and walk on meter high stilts. One of my first memories of circus was my first St. Patrick’s Day parade, I was a stilt walker, and it was amazing, I was finally taller than my dad! The parade was in Nenagh and loads of my family had come to see me. My sister was in the parade too. She was a unicyclist; I remember how great it felt to be up on the stilts taller than everyone and being able to show off my brand-new skills.

What kept you coming back?

The thing about circus that really appealed to me was the fact that each session was never the same. Each time I went I was learning a new trick or was being introduced to brand new things I hadn’t even heard of. And still to this day 8 years later I am still learning.

What is your Stand out circus moment?

My favourite circus moment was the trip to Belfast to attend and perform in the Festival of Fools. This was a weekend away trip, we had been working on our acts for months and we were finally ready to perform them. It was the best weekend, 12 of us from the teen circus went up and we were staying in a youth hostel area. Each day we would go into Belfast town and watch the street performers and for two of the days we performed our own acts. I think this was my standout circus memory because it was the first time that we had seen our skills taken to a whole new level, like we were taking part in a festival for circus!

When was your first time teaching / helping?

I started peer tutoring on the 5th of September 2022, and I volunteered for 13 Mondays after as a part of my Gaisce award.

What do you enjoy about teaching?

I really liked working with the young circus group and I got to experience circus from a teaching side of things.

What have you learned fromteaching with us?

I feel like I have learned ways of dealing with children in a teaching environment that will be very beneficial for me going forward.