Pride of Place 2026
TESTIMONIALS FROM SOME USERS OF MUD ISLAND
Find out more about all these amazing projects by clicking on their names.
🌼Dee Doherty, Chair of North Strand Residents Association
“North Strand Residents Association was founded at Mud Island in February 2026, and the garden has been our home ever since. We hold our meetings here, and every one of our monthly community clean-ups starts and ends at the garden, where we store our bags, gloves and pickers. Residents have enjoyed a tea/coffee and chat after clean-ups at the Hacienda. We also held a street party from the garden, which was especially important for people new to the area and for those living in apartments or flats, bringing a real sense of community and belonging. Mud Island is the centre, the heartbeat, of our community. We represent a wonderfully diverse community area stretching from 5 Lamps to Annesley Bridge to East Wall, and just like the garden itself, we want everyone in that community to feel they belong here. Our aim is to make North Strand Village within the city a safe and clean place for young and old. We fill our Instagram with positivity and community pride”.
🌼Tolka Trad
“Tolka Irish Trad brings together musicians from across the wider Tolka area who meet at the garden on Thursday through the summer to practice tunes ahead of community performances. The group grew out of ceoltóirí classes at Joey’s in Fairview, and has since gathered more local trad musicians through festivals and community events. We also play at events in the garden itself, including the ceili and Celtic festivals, and have become something of an in-house band at Mud Island. Playing outdoors, rather than always in a pub, has been a real joy, especially in this fine weather, and we like to think the music does the plants some good too. Mud Island has been a great social space for the group to grow and enjoy music. We have also been invited to other community events, and practising has benefited our confidence. A Highlight was being invited to play in the garden for the visit of the now President Catheine Connolly”.
🌼Mud Island Ukuleles
“Mud Island Ukuleles brings together local North Strand ukulele players and musicians from the city, all connected through the garden. Over winter, we used the cottage to practice, which mattered a great deal to many of our older members, most of whom are retirees who’d rather not drive on dark winter evenings to their club practice. Some don’t feel safe in the dark and cold evenings. Some of us also play with Marino Ukulele and Clontarf Boat Club, but Mud Island gives us a reason to get out of the house in daylight through the darker months, and for members who live alone, that’s made a real difference. We also played at the Christmas market and the Street Feast!”
🌼Dale Uren, Doodle Den Early Learning Initiative – National College of Ireland
“Mud Island Community Garden has provided a welcoming space for the children in our Early Learning Initiative Doodle Den literacy programme where they can enjoy nature, learn through exploration and develop a deeper appreciation for the world around them. Our after-school programme supports educational needs of children in NEIC schools, and Mud Island has had an impact on tying in their literacy journey with the world around them and that they too can play a part in caring for their community. The children especially love planting their own seeds, taking them home to nurture them, and learning about various plants and herbs. We are so grateful to everyone at Mud Island for helping our children learn, grow and flourish”.
🌼Tara Doherty, All Together in Dignity (ATD)
“We at ATD Ireland, as an organisation working in partnership with those living in persistent poverty, are very pleased to support Mud Island’s nomination in Ireland’s Pride of Place Competition this year.
We are based in Mountjoy Square and, alongside our members, have utilised the garden on numerous occasions. The team and members there have always been welcoming and professional in supporting our initiatives. In 2023, it hosted our ‘Leave No One Behind’ launch event and art exhibition featuring purposeful art and groups experiencing some form of exclusion from around Ireland. More recently, the cottage and garden hosted Spring art workshops facilitated by a local artist. This was a really positive experience for all members. It enabled a calming, and inspiring environment. Further, it provided access to a green space for many of our members may not otherwise have access to in their daily lives. It also provided the opportunity to get involved in the garden/ become a member or learn about the process of growing, sustainability, etc. In this way the garden offers a much-needed community space, especially as it is wheelchair accessible. Further, the garden has provided a wonderful opportunity to bring different community members together. In our experience it allowed our members to meet others who were members from the garden, and others from the local community. The garden deserves this nomination as a welcoming, inclusive space which provides a much needed sustainable and green space right in the city centre”.
🌼Marian Casey, founder of Parent and Baby group that meets weekly in Mud Island
“The garden and cottage have been an invaluable resource for our parent and baby group, providing a safe, welcoming and inclusive space where parents can come together over tea and coffee, have a breather, and chat in a relaxed and informal environment. The babies have the opportunity to play and interact with each other, while friendships naturally flourish between parents. It has been a wonderful way to build a sense of community and help combat the loneliness and isolation that can sometimes come with being a parent of little ones. Having such a warm and accessible space on our doorstep has been truly priceless”.
🌼Charlotte Byrne, Operations Manager, Irish Refugee Council
“For several years now, Mud Island Community Garden has been our little space of peace and connection. Not only have we held an annual gathering where we invite current and past volunteers, staff and board members of the Irish Refugee Council but we have all been able to use the space for music and wellbeing sessions. It is a little oasis of calm in a busy city. Sending our love and thanks to Maeve, Nathalie and all who tend and care for this beautiful garden”.
🌼Lucy Reid founder of Library of Things in Mud Island
“ALLoT — A Library of Things for All — is a community lending library based at Mud Island Community Garden. Garden members can borrow tools, camping, sports & DIY equipment and more. Why buy something you only need occasionally when you can borrow it? By sharing resources, ALLoT helps people save money and reduce clutter, whilst providing a practical way to take climate action, share skills and build social connections. It reflects the Garden’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, biodiversity and community.
Mud Island is a beacon of possibility and opportunity in Dublin’s north east inner city, bringing people together, building friendships and creating positive environmental and community impact. We found a home at Mud Island thanks to the welcoming and empowering spirit of the Garden, its volunteers and community. ALLoT is very proud and grateful to be part of and supported by Mud Island Community Garden”. mudisland.ie/allot
🌼Roisin Lonergan Artistic Director & Marcella Parducci, project manager, Five Lamps Arts Festival
“Mud Island Community Garden is essential to our neighbourhood and a valuable asset for the Five Lamps Arts Festival. We hold family events, workshops and performances at the garden, bringing the community together in a beautiful and sustainable space.”
🌼Sal Roche, Creative Mindfulness Teacher, Playful Steps, Mindful Play.
“I was lucky enough to run a mindfulness through art camp for children from the local area in conjunction with the NEIC and City Connects in Mud Island. The camp ran for 5 days over the summer and provided 10 children from the inner city with the chance to come to the garden, paint, create and learn meditation and relaxation techniques. Some of the children were neuro diverse and some came from homes with no outside space and they all really enjoyed the freedom and tranquility of the garden. Thanks to Mud Island agreeing to host the camp and funding from the NEIC, places on the camp were available at no cost to children from the City Connects schools and very low cost to children from the Mud Island community which enabled families to enroll their children in a camp that otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to afford. It also introduced the garden to families from the City Connects schools who live in the area but hadn’t known about the garden before.”
🌼Jack O’Brien, Bohemian Football Club
“Mud Island has been very helpful and supportive of our pilot Bohs MOVE programme, a part of which involves a day of outdoor games and learning in the garden. This programme will now be expanded to all the primary schools in the north east inner city and Mud Island have been cooperative and facilitative of these large groups coming to the garden throughout. They have also supported us with the Bohs GROWs programme, where we were given a plot of land in the garden for young people living in emergency accommodation on Gardiner Street”.
🌼HAY Youth Diversion Project
“Mud Island was extremely helpful and welcoming in letting our youth project use the space for young people, families and staff events. Vulnerable young people from the area had opportunities to grow their own food and access a quality, peaceful natural environment which is seriously lacking in the north-east inner city.”
🌼Alison Donoghue, Coordinator, School Completion Programme NEIC
“We were delighted to bring a group of children from primary schools across the NEIC to Mud Island as part of our School Completion Programme (SCP) Summer Programme. The visit gave the children a wonderful opportunity to get outdoors, connect with nature and experience the benefits of being part of a community garden. They really enjoyed exploring the garden, tasting some of the fresh produce grown there and getting involved in watering the plants and flowers. It was lovely to see them working so well together, helping one another and taking responsibility for caring for the space. Mud Island provides a welcoming and valuable community resource where children and families can learn, connect, build confidence and enjoy the outdoors. The enthusiasm and dedication of those involved in Mud Island is clear to see, and it is fantastic to see the positive impact the garden has on the local community. We are delighted to support their Pride of Place nomination and feel Mud Island is very deserving of this recognition”.
🌼99th Dublin 2nd Port North Strand Sea Scouts
“Mud Island Community Garden serves as a base for North Strand Sea Scouts, as we don’t yet have a permanent Scout Den of our own. Our Scout and Venture sections meet there weekly, and the wider group gathers on-site from time to time for activities like practising pitching tents and building campfires — skills that are at the core of what we do, but hard to find space for in the city. Beyond our regular meetings we’ve taken part in Mud Island’s Hallowe’en event, Christmas Fair, and summer open days. The Hallowe’en event has become a real highlight, giving our adult volunteers and youth members the chance to get creative and work together on ambitious art installations — from a giant kraken to spooky reimaginings of traditional fairy tales. The Christmas Fair is an important fundraising opportunity for our group: our youth members make their own Scout and Christmas-themed crafts to sell on the day, alongside running stalls with fair games, selling second-hand outdoor gear, and giving local families the chance to try their hand at making s’mores on an open campfire. These events let us give something back to the garden that gives us so much, while also introducing Scouting to people who might never otherwise cross paths with us. What strikes us most is how Mud Island brings together people of every age and background — through the garden, we’ve built real connections with our neighbours, and become part of a community that’s much bigger than our group alone”.
🌼Ylonah Roelofs, Events Co-Ordinator, Hometree
“Mud Island has enabled us to reach a wider urban population, plant native hedgerows and install bat boxes to increase local biodiversity in the area. The garden provides a great opportunity for hands-on work and nature connection, while raising awareness and educating people about the benefits of native trees and urban gardens. Being able to work with people in an urban setting is really valuable to us. It gives people the opportunity to get involved in practical conservation, learn more about their local environment and see firsthand the wildlife and biodiversity that can be supported through relatively simple changes. For Hometree, Mud Island has been a valuable connection and we have done numerous workshops with them. It has allowed us to bring our work into a new setting, meet and work alongside a different community, and share our knowledge and passion for native trees. The garden has shown how restoration can be about much more than planting, it can also be about people, learning and creating a stronger connection with the natural environment”.
🌼Laragh Pittman, Cross Cultural Conversations
“A Place of Welcome and a Garden Paradise
We at Cross-Cultural Conversations in Dublin 3 are delighted to hear about the well deserved nomination of Mud Island Community Garden as a Dublin City ‘Pride of Place’. The garden community has been a constant support and a place of sanctuary for the CCC group since our establishment early in 2023. We are a voluntary group set up to promote English learning and integration and to celebrate our diverse local community and its new neighbours. The Garden has been the venue for many get togethers, parties, song rehearsals and discussions for our group as well as a place for participation in larger local festivals and events. On a quieter but no less important basis, our members have been able to volunteer in the garden, nurturing nature, planting trees and tending crops and have been made to feel very welcome. Our members originally from many parts of the world have been made to feel at home sharing elements of their culinary, horticultural and linguistic skills in this little urban Irish Paradise.”
And check also Intercultural Language Service
and their Dubylon project
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