All-island women’s soccer competition among 35 projects chosen for €1m cross-border funding

Tánaiste Micheál Martin announced grants worth a total of €1million to 35 cross-border projects.

They range from theatres to hospices, the environment, community development, local government associations, railway connections and the 2024 All-Island Cup, a women’s football competition staged by the Football Association of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Football league.

Mr Martin praised the projects as covering “a broad range of sectors and themes”.

“I established the Shared Island Initiative in 2020 with a positive vision for the future of our island – a vision of a more confident, inclusive and prosperous island for everyone, North and South,” he said.

“The Shared Island Civic Society Fund promotes practical co-operation and interaction in civic society on this island. This latest round of grants will promote North-South co-operation and enhance cross-border civic, economic, cultural and community links across the island.”

Mr Martin said there has been “huge interest” in the fund after its launch last year.

“People and communities are reaching out to each other, identifying areas of common interest, and agreeing ways to work together to address joint concerns,” he said.

“This is the essence of the Shared Island Initiative. Communities working together for the betterment of the island for everyone who calls this place home. And we can do more.

“I am pleased to confirm that we will be making increased levels of support available through the Shared Island Civic Society Fund in a further round that will open for applications in the coming months.”

Other projects that received funding included the Accidental Theatre and Smock Alley Theatre, which will get €50,000 for their Shared Cultures Across Borders project; the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG) and the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA), which get €15,000 for their Importance of Leadership at Local Level and Civility In Public Life project; and Girl's Allowed and the Belturbet Hens' Shed, which were awarded €10,000 for their Women on the Border project.