His book Motherfoclóir: Dispatches from a not so dead language won the Ireland AM Popular Non-Fiction award in 2017. Motherfoclóir takes a very witty and pun-filled approach to the Irish language, while included Darach’s personal stories of his relationship with the language. Darach has a growing Twitter account called @theirishfor where he tweets humorous and witty ‘translations’ as Gaeilge. He is the host of the podcast Motherfoclóir, featured in the Headstuff Podcast Network.

Follow Darach on Twitter @darachos or check out Motherfoclóir.

She uses various mediums in her work including performance, sculpture, film, drawing and installation work. Her work has been displayed in museums and contemporary art centres across the globe. Aideen delves into visual trickery to create a heightened suspension of reality through her work, which she has stated is to help deal with her anxiety. Check out Aideen’s work on her website or follow her Twitter @AideenBarry.

Irish singer/songwriter Mundy is one of a number of artists to successfully make the transition from street busking in Dublin to international stardom during the ’90s. Mundy’s mainly acoustic, folk-based pop/rock has been compared to Damien Rice and Josh Ritter; however, his style is more upbeat and celebratory than either, and his jangle pop influence and tendency to experiment with unconventional sonic textures and beats further distinguishes him.

She has independently released five solo albums, the latest being The Dangerous Harpist. She has composed a wealth of music for the Theatre Circus. She has toured the comedy circuit and the world with her harp. The multi-instrumentalist accidentally fell into comedy when she won the Irish Musical Comedy Awards in 2012 and her first trip to Edinburgh festival earned her a nomination for the Malcolm Hardee award for Comic Originality. Follow her on Twitter.

She has recently left people with ‘no words’ after teaching herself to play piano in just six months. Alma is from the Syrian capital Damascus. She has never taken a piano lesson before, but instead used YouTube videos to teach herself on a piano in the Mosney Accommodation Centre in Co. Meath.

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“I spent my entire life immersed in GAA culture. In my book, ‘South Leinster Cycle Routes’ I visit and celebrate many of the heritage sites of County Carlow and the importance of our sense of place and who we are. We are Carlow.

Culture takes so many forms, each of them enriching our lives. Irish culture finds its expression in our songs, our dance, our story tellers, our poets and our artists. It is what makes us Irish.

The artists I am most familiar with are those who play our native games. Our games are unique and nothing engenders greater pride in me, as an Irishman, than to be present on match days as our camán wielders and footballers display their silken skills while they compete with pride in the place they come from and the people they represent.

On a musical front, I never cease to be amazed by the work of my wife Mary and her choir ASPIRO as they push out the boundaries of performance and collaboration with other art forms.”

She is the director of a vocal tuition centre, Voiceworks Studio, which she co founded in 2011 and now has 2 branches in Cork and 1 in Kerry, run by a team of 14 diverse and inspiring vocal coaches training singers of all ages, levels and styles.

Gemma is classically trained and holds a 1st class hons MA and BMus from CIT Cork School of Music. She hosts masterclasses in Ireland and UK in schools and colleges including BIMM Manchester, BIMM Dublin, UCC and UL and festivals including Cork Choral Festival, Gospel Rising, Summer Sing, Sing Out Loud and more! Gemma completed her contemporary teaching diploma last year and is thrilled to be a board member at ViP, a global network of voice experts.

Gemma got her first job as a professional vocalist aged 17 when she toured Australia and Europe for 2 years with various Irish dance show companies. She most recently featured as the soloist with Jenny Greene and the RTE Concert Orchestra, recreating 90s dance classics at Electric Picnic and sold out shows at the 3 Arena Dublin, The Marquee Cork and Galway Arts Festival. Gemma is currently planning to release her own material in 2018 but loves working as a hired vocalist for TV, radio and events. She has performed as a backing vocalist with artists including Bon Iver, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Mark Feehily of Westlife, Brian Deady, Jack O’Rourke and has supported acts including Chic and Billy Ocean.

Emmet started acting at 21 in the Drama Society in NUI, Galway and completed a MA in Drama and Theatre in 2012. He moved to Dublin to pursue a career and since has acted on stages around Ireland including: The Lime Tree in Limerick, Town Hall Theatre in Galway, The Abbey, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and The Gaiety in Dublin, and The Royal Opera House in Belfast. Most recently he starred as Sean Bourke in Cell Mates at The Hampstead Theatre, London. He also recently starred in RTÉ’s Striking Out as Ray Lamont.

To celebrate Culture Night 2018, Tipperary Arts Office has appointed Roseanna Purcell as Culture Night Ambassador.  An actor and writer from Littleton, Thurles, Roseanna’s work includes Signatories at Kilmainham Gaol, Red Rock for TV3 and most recently Copper Face Jacks The Musical at The Olympia Theatre. She wrote her first play “Test Copy” in 2017 which premiered at Nenagh Arts Centre. Roseanna will return to Nenagh Arts Centre on Culture Night as Tipperary Culture Night Ambassador to launch the specially commissioned Culture Night exhibition “The Journey” by artist Carine Arnakis.

The Waterford Ambassador is Anna Jordan. Anna was born and bred a publican’s daughter in Waterford. She is the proud and doting single mother of three.

Anna is a playwright and the founder and director of Modwords and Modwordsfest. Founded in 2016, Modwords is a literary hub in Waterford. It is a safe platform for people to test new works, plays, spoken word, dance, film and all things creative. Anna facilitates creative writing classes, modword classes, and regular open mics, and cafe theatre. Anna founded Modwordsfest in 2017. A two day festival that celebrates Waterford City and all of its wonderful people through local creativy.

She also works as a freelance literary facilitator concentrating on mental health issues. Anna is a team member of Waterford Walls, the international street art festival based in Waterford. She also volunteers with Shine Discovery mental health drop- in centre and is co-founder of Busk Aid, a charity organisation helping to raise raise money and awareness of issues surrounding homelessness.

This is Anna’s second year on board with Culture Night Waterford and absolutely honoured to stand as this years Ambassador.

“Wexford is a county that treasures its communities, welcomes its visitors and celebrates diversity. This years Culture Night will be a showcase of this on a national stage.

With such a wide array of high quality events, opening up free of charge to the public, Wexfords’ Culture Night is going to be absolutely fantastic. At the heart of every cultural landscape should and must be a focus on its artists / cultural practitioners and Wexford is beginning to lead in this field.”

Since returning home to Wexford Richard has been invested in making Co. Wexford a livable destination for artists and cultural practitioners and through his work with OpenGorey has been extremely active in developing the cultural landscape of the county. Wexford has fantastic cultural facilities and its resources have continued to grow over the past few years.

“I believe it is possible to live and work as an artist outside of the cultural capitals and Wexford as a region can lead in this regard. Industry, culture and communities thrive when in each others company, working in a collaborative fashion by opening up and sharing resources and knowledge.”

Richard has proved himself as one of Ireland’s leading young artists. His recent solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art London was selected by Culture Ireland to feature as part of its national GB18 programme. Towards the development of this exhibition he was also awarded the ArtLinks Bursary Award for professional artists living in the South East.

Inni-K (Eithne Ní Chatháin) grew up in Kilcock, Co. Kildare & now lives in Dublin. Her mesmerizing vocals set off with tight musicianship and captivating stage presence creates a musical experience, rich with spine-tingling tenderness.

Inni-K, a now well established presence in Irish music, has received consistent praise for her distinct, fresh style of indie-folk since the release of her acclaimed debut album The King has Two Horse’s Ears’ in 2015 & most recently her new single ‘Edges’ released earlier this year.

“An album designed to make the world a better place, even if just for a moment in time” – State Magazine

Inni-K’s folk background is always recognizable but clearly here is an artist not afraid to explore into new musical territories. Following a summer of Irish festivals, including Body & Soul, Another Love Story, Earagail Arts Festival, Arcadian Fields; with New York, European & Irish dates in the pipeline for later in the year and 2019; Inni-K is busy preparing for her next album which is due for release in 2019.