Book Launch and Network Relaunch: Cultural Policy - Perspectives on the Island of Ireland

The launch event for (opens in a new window)Cultural Policy: Perspectives on the Island of Ireland (Routledge, 2026), edited by Dr Victoria Durrer UCD School of Cultural Policy, Dr Ali FitzGibbon, Queens University Belfast and Dr Kerry McCall Magan, British Council Ireland, took place on 10 November 2025 and was hosted by colleagues at Technological University Dublin. 

The new publication draws together a wide range of academic perspectives and disciplines that relate to cultural policy in the context of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Through the study of the unique context of this intertwined two-polity island, the collection examines the “situated” nature of cultural policy amongst people and place.

Featuring contributions on media, European integration, festivals, arts and education, sustainable development and cultural participation, the book opens an interdisciplinary dialogue on cultural policy studies in shared, local, regional and international contexts.

The launch event marked not only the release of this landmark edited volume but also the renewal of the (opens in a new window)Cultural Policy Observatory Ireland network. Established by Dr Victoria Durrer and Dr Kerry McCall Magan in 2015, this research, policy and practice exchange network brings together researchers, practitioners, students, and policymakers working on, and / or are interested in cultural policy on the island of Ireland. 

Chaired by Professor Dave O’Brien (University of Manchester), the occasion brought together academics, artists, policymakers and cultural practitioners. A panel of some of the book’s contributors, Maria O’Brien, University of Galway, Ailbhe Kenny, University of Limerick and Phil Ramsey, Ulster University, joined Professor O’Brien in an engaging discussion reflecting on the last ten years of cultural policy learning through the book’s core themes and their relevance to cultural life on the island. 

Further discussion emphasised the need to understand cultural policy as both relational and place-specific - shaped by people, institutions and histories. The evening underscored the enduring importance of cross-island collaboration between policy, practice and research. The event concluded by celebrating the relaunch of Cultural Policy Observatory Ireland.

The event featured participation from: 

• Victoria Durrer - Asst Prof in Cultural Policy at UCD
• Ali FitzGibbon - Sr Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Industries Management, QUB 
• Kerry McCall Magan - Director, British Council Ireland) as book co-editors 
• Professor Dave O’Brien - Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, University of Manchester
• Ailbhe Kenny - Associate Professor of Music Education at Mary Immaculate College
• Phil Ramsey - Lecturer in the School of Communication and Media, Ulster University
• Maria O’Brien - Lecturer in Taxation at the University of Galway
• Orla McDonagh - Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Technological University Dublin
• Dr Caroline Ann O’Sullivan - Senior Lecturer and Head of the School of Media at Technological University Dublin

Reviews of Cultural Policy: Perspectives on the Island of Ireland (Routledge, 2026)

"A particularly thoughtful and reflexive collection of contemporary cultural policy issues which, while rooted in a specific context, speak to a range of concerns being faced in very different global contexts. Highly recommended." Kate Oakley, Professor of Cultural Policy, School of Culture & Creative Arts, University of Glasgow, UK. 

"A timely and fascinating book on contemporary Ireland Cultural Policy studies, addressing pivotal issues ranging from working conditions of artists, ecologies of cultural production, disabilities and cultural participation, arts festivals, cultural events, cultural and audiovisual industries, to that of sustainability in arts. This is tremendously helpful for cross-cultural understanding and dialogues among local and international cultural policy scholars as well as practitioners in policy, arts, culture, and creativity." Jerry C. Y. Liu, Professor at Graduate School of Arts Management and Cultural Policy, and Dean of Humanities, National Taiwan University of Arts.