Starling Start

Starling Start Cultural & heritage strategy for complex places

02/02/2026

๐—ข๐—ป๐—น๐˜† ๐Ÿญ ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ธ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ, ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป ๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป!

People in only have one week left to complete the survey and have their say in the development of the Cookstown Place Shaping Plan before it closes at 5pm next Monday, 9 February.

Make your voice matter and complete the short online survey now at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CookstownPlaceShaping

๐…๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‚๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ž๐, ๐š๐ญ: www.midulstercouncil.org/CookstownPlacePlan.

Studio Idir Starling Start

Your chance to review the proposals of the Cookstown Place Shaping Plan that weโ€™ve been working on with Studio Idir!
09/01/2026

Your chance to review the proposals of the Cookstown Place Shaping Plan that weโ€™ve been working on with Studio Idir!

๐†๐ž๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ž๐, ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐ž๐ง๐ ๐š๐ ๐ž๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐‚๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง!

People in only have until 5pm on Monday 9 February to complete the survey and have their say in the development of the Cookstown Place Shaping Plan.

In the run up to the deadline, residents, businesses and visitors are invited to come along to the Exhibition Area of The Burnavon Theatre, Cookstown where they can view the plan proposals until Friday, 30 January. Hard copies of the survey will also be available.

You can also complete the short online survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CookstownPlaceShaping

๐…๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‚๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ž๐, ๐š๐ญ: www.midulstercouncil.org/CookstownPlacePlan.

Studio Idir Starling Start

One of our exciting projects that we researched and authored with British Council ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿป
06/01/2026

One of our exciting projects that we researched and authored with British Council ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿป

This report explores UK-Ireland arts and cultural connections. It makes suggestions to drive growth, insight and partnerships in the cultural ecosystem between Ireland and the four nations.

Starling Start Flight Map 2025 It was a wonderful year for Starling Start, as our flock of clients, partners, and projec...
01/01/2026

Starling Start Flight Map 2025

It was a wonderful year for Starling Start, as our flock of clients, partners, and projects continued to grow. Our work carried us across the island of Ireland: north to south, east to west; and into research across Scotland, England, and Wales.

This year deepened our focus on heritage and culture, shaping how we work with people and place. Weโ€™ve been trusted with consultancy, advice, and strategic thinking, alongside community-led place plans. Weโ€™ve presented at conferences, shared learning with peers, and used creative methods to help people see places differently. Our research and thinking has been published internationally.

Our thanks go to the many clients and partners who kept us challenged, welcomed us into their places, shared their stories, and trusted us to fly alongside them throughout 2025.

Thanks also to Starling Start collaborators - Aisling and Studio idir, Delia, Jane, Morag, Meadhbh and Aaron

Stay curious in 2026!

18/11/2025

๐†๐ž๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ž๐, ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐ž๐ง๐ ๐š๐ ๐ž๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐‚๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง!

If you are a resident, business, trader or commercial property owner, member of a local society, sports club, community group, or church within Cookstown, then come along to the below drop-in engagement sessions this week to discuss plans for the future of !

๐Ÿ“Œ Friday, 21 November at the former Blacks Shoe Shop, William Street, Cookstown from 2pm-5pm
๐Ÿ“Œ Friday, 21 November at the Cookstown Christmas Lights Switch On event, in the marquee located outside Tom Morrows, William Street, Cookstown from 6pm-8pm.

Representatives from Studio Idir and Starling Start will be in attendance at the session to discuss the themes and proposals in person. We look forward to seeing you there.

You can also have your say by completing the short online survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CookstownPlaceShaping

๐…๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‚๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ž๐, ๐š๐ญ: www.midulstercouncil.org/CookstownPlacePlan.

14/11/2025

๐†๐ž๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ž๐, ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐ž๐ง๐ ๐š๐ ๐ž๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐‚๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง!

If you are a resident, business, trader or commercial property owner, member of a local society, sports club, community group, or church within Cookstown, then come along to the below drop-in engagement session to discuss plans for the future of !

๐Ÿ“Œ Monday, 17 November at The Burnavon Theatre, Cookstown from 10am - 4pm

Representatives from Studio Idir and Starling Start will be in attendance at the session to discuss the themes and proposals in person. We look forward to seeing you there.

Additional drop in sessions will also take on Friday, 21 November at the former Blacks Shoe Shop, William Street, Cookstown from 2pm-5pm and at the Cookstown Christmas Lights Switch On event, in the marquee located outside Tom Morrows, William Street, Cookstown from 6pm-8pm.

You can also have your say by completing the short online survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CookstownPlaceShaping

๐…๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‚๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ž๐, ๐š๐ญ: www.midulstercouncil.org/CookstownPlacePlan.

11/11/2025

๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ, ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป ๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป

Following the first round of engagement of developing the Cookstown Place Shaping Plan, which involved extensive research and collaborate engagement with the people who live, work, invest and visit Cookstown, the second stage of engagement has commenced.

This round of engagement is to review and have your say on the themes and proposals to be included in Cookstown Place Shaping Plan. This Plan will inform the responsibilities of key stakeholders on the delivery of initiatives over the next fifteen years, subject to funding.

Chair of the Council, Cllr Frances Burton, welcomed the continued development of the Plan, saying: โ€œThis second round of engagement provides the opportunity for those who live, work, invest and visit Cookstown to review and provide comment on the themes and proposals that have been developed following extensive consultation. It is important for residents, businesses and visitors to be involved and have their say.

โ€œPartnership working with key stakeholders will be vital in reviewing the key themes and proposals identified for the final Plan. I encourage all those with an interest in Cookstown to become involved by completing the survey and attending future drop-in sessions.โ€

๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐˜†, ๐—ด๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ผ:www.midulstercouncil.org/CookstownPlacePlan

Studio Idir Starling Start

05/10/2025

Dude, where's our spire? Our home is a beautiful and historic building but we can't help but notice it doesn't quite look like the original plans.

Built in 1878, Townsend Street Church was designed in the French Romanesque revival style by Belfast architects Young & MacKenzie, and features a hunter pipe organ and stained glass windows by the An Tรบr Gloine (The Tower of Glass) artistic cooperative. The spire, however, was never completed and was capped off at roof height.

We're beginning development to restore the buildings, celebrate our heritage, and create new opportunities for music-making, learning, and community connection and we'd love your views to help shape the programme and future of this project.

โœจ Fill in our short questionnaire at the link below before 17 October to be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets to an Ulster Orchestra concert of your choice.

https://buff.ly/FLTXRaS

Townsend Enterprise Park | Starling Start

02/07/2025
28/05/2025

๐†๐ž๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ž๐, ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐ž๐ง๐ ๐š๐ ๐ž๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐‚๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง!

If you are a resident, business, trader or commercial property owner, member of a local society, sports club, community group, or church within Cookstown, then come along to a drop-in engagement session to discuss plans for !

๐ƒ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ-๐ข๐ง ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐š๐ค๐ž ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐จ๐ง:
๐Ÿ“Œ Monday, 2 June, Business Drop In Clinic from 12.30pm - 2.30pm at The Burnavon Theatre, Cookstown
๐Ÿ“Œ Thursday, 5 June, Community/Voluntary Organisations Drop In Clinic from 4pm - 6pm at Rural Community Network, Cookstown

We look forward to seeing you there.

๐…๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‚๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ž๐, ๐š๐ญ: www.midulstercouncil.org/CookstownPlacePlan.

Hello. Nice to see you here. Weโ€™re Starling Start ๐Ÿ™Œ๐ŸปWe co-design inclusive and ambitious strategic plans, blueprints, or...
24/08/2024

Hello. Nice to see you here. Weโ€™re Starling Start ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿป

We co-design inclusive and ambitious strategic plans, blueprints, or approaches that guide cultural development.

We dream up and develop magical one-off gatherings and sustained programmes that are guided by people and place.

21/06/2024

Weโ€™ve got a new website. Check it out at starlingstart.com ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿป

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Sydenham

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