DkIT Researcher recognised with Civic Award in the category of Arts, Culture and Heritage
Crossmaglen singer Colleen Savage has received a civic award from Newry, Mourne and Down District Council in the category of Arts, Culture and Heritage. Colleen recently completed an MA by Research on the song heritage of South Armagh at Dundalk Institute of Technology under the supervision of Dr Daithí Kearney and Dr Gearóid Trimble. She is currently a Research Assistant in the Creative Arts Research Centre, where she is working on a project that seeks to explore the role of cultural production in promoting minoritised language learning and usage amongst youth supported by the DkIT-Maynooth University Seed Fund 2025 and funded through HEA’s Technological Sector Advancement Fund.
In recent years Colleen has led a number of cultural initiatives, including collaborations with the Oriel Traditional Orchestra, an ensemble-in-residence at DkIT. One of those projects involved the recording of songs from the region at DkIT in association with the Duncairn Arts Centre. Receiving the award, Colleen commented:
“I share this with all whom I collaborate, engage and work with, whether through arts and culture projects, community engagement initiatives, peace and cross community programmes, academic research, tourism and heritage festivals or music and song performance. This is as much yours as it is mine.”
Colleen established the cultural events company Oriel Events in 2019 and has since has curated several small-scale heritage festivals within the Ring of Gullion and its hinterland, which aim to celebrate both tangible and intangible cultural heritage practices and to engage not only the local community but those ‘culturally curious’ visitors to the region. Many of the festivals make reference to the Celtic calendar and have included events that coincide with Imbolc (1 February), Bealtaine (1 May) and Lúnasa (1 August).
In March 2024, Colleen was elected Chair of the Ring of Gullion Landscape Partnership (RoGLP), a key body within the area that works to promote local heritage, environmental awareness, and community engagement. Projects include restoring ancient pathways, preserving local folklore, and enhancing green tourism opportunities. In January of this year she presented alongside CARC director Dr Daithí Kearney at the Tourism and Hospitality Research in Ireland Conference hosted by TU Dublin. She is also collaborating with another CARC researcher, Dr Leandro Pessina, on a paper for an upcoming conference in Glasgow that critically considers opportunities for learning about the culture of the Oriel region with a particular focus on festivals and events.
