Galway Community Circus

Galway Community Circus Circus school offering youth, adult and community circus arts education programmes and professional training. We bring the joy of circus arts to the community.

Galway Community Circus is located in St. Joseph's Community Centre in Shantalla, Galway. Our aim is to advance the artistic, personal and social development of young people through circus arts. We are committed to creating an innovative and imaginative learning experience where all young people can realise their full potential. Through our ground-breaking programmes and high-quality productions,

Galway Community Circus has proven itself to be a cradle of artistic excellence and educational innovation in Ireland, working with over 600 young people from diverse backgrounds every week. Our youth circus programme is a membership-based circus arts education programme for children and young people ages 5-25. Classes run for 30 weeks September-June. We also offer adult circus classes that run for 12 weeks in autumn and spring. During the summer we hold circus summer camps for youth and adults. Throughout the year we hold specialised circus masterclasses and workshops. Our Social Circus programme offers accessible and inclusive circus outreach sessions and programmes for schools, youth and community groups to help disadvantaged, at-risk and vulnerable people develop self-confidence and social skills. Our Artform Development programme is key in supporting the professional development of circus artists and arts professionals in Ireland. We bring international best practice and skilled artists and students to Galway through long-term artists residencies and EU schemes. We are proud to be funded by Arts Council Ireland, Erasmus+, and Galway City and County Councils.

👀Last year, SABOTAGE sold out at Galway Arts Festival. This summer, the director behind the extraordinary production is ...
09/06/2026

👀Last year, SABOTAGE sold out at Galway Arts Festival. This summer, the director behind the extraordinary production is coming to Galway to lead an intimate two-day creative residency for just 15 artists.

🌟A rare opportunity to work with Firenza Guidi, acclaimed director of NoFit State Circus and the creative force behind the internationally celebrated production Sabotage, which captivated audiences at Galway International Arts Festival.

For two intensive days, Firenza will share her unique approach to creation, physical theatre, dramaturgy and performance-making. Her work is renowned for transforming movement into narrative and helping performers discover a powerful, authentic stage presence.

This creative residency and masterclass is designed for experienced artists who are ready to deepen their creative practice.

Who is it for?
• Circus professionals
• Dancers
• Musicians
• Physical theatre performers
• Multidisciplinary artists

📅 21–22 July
⏰ 10am–5pm
📍 Galway Community Circus, Shantalla
💰 €120
👥 Limited to 15 participants

Applications are now open.

Application Deadline: 23 June

If you’re interested in how movement becomes meaning, how physical sequences become story, and how performance can communicate profound and complex ideas, this residency is for you.

Spaces are extremely limited.

04/06/2026

✨ Meet Laura ✨Performer Spotlight 🔦

Laura will be performing at our End of Year Cabaret on Saturday June 13th, where our members will take to the stage to celebrate everything they’ve learned throughout the year.

Join us for an evening of exciting circus performances from our 12+ and adult members, along with members of the GCC team.

🎪 End of Year Cabaret
📅 Saturday, June 13th
⏰ Doors 4:45pm | Show starts 5:00pm
📍 St. Joseph’s Community Centre
🎟 Free entry (donations welcome)

No booking required ... just come along and enjoy a fantastic evening of community, creativity and circus.

⏰ Last chance to sign up! 🎪 Who is this for? Adults who have experience in inclusive, theraputic, or community-based wor...
03/06/2026

⏰ Last chance to sign up!

🎪 Who is this for?
Adults who have experience in inclusive, theraputic, or community-based work.

Learn practical circus-based approaches that support inclusion, wellbeing and participation for people of all abilities and backgrounds.

📅 6–10 July
🕘 9am–2pm daily
📍 Galway Community Circus
💶 €200

Join Dr. Jill Maglio, occupational therapist and founder of CircusAid & Holistic Circus Therapy, for a week-long Inclusive Circus Training as part of the Circus4All project.

Places are limited and the deadline is approaching.

✨ “We don’t make assumptions. We assume everything is possible.” 🎞️❤️ What a night we had at the premiere of Circus Is F...
02/06/2026

✨ “We don’t make assumptions. We assume everything is possible.”

🎞️❤️ What a night we had at the premiere of Circus Is For Every Body 🎪 The energy in the EYE cinema was electric, there was laughter, tears, huge pride and so much celebration of the incredible young people who took part in this journey.

Over six months they
🤹 learned circus skills,
🤩 built confidence,
🤡 discovered new strengths and,
🥰 perhaps most importantly, formed friendships that will last a lifetime.

🎬 The film captures their journey through workshops, rehearsals and the creation of Take Up Space, a joyful circus performance that showcased everything they had achieved together.

🤗 We are incredibly grateful to everyone who joined us for the premiere, including Minister Hildegarde Naughton, whose words highlighted the importance of arts, creativity and belonging for young people’s wellbeing, and confidence. 🎪

🍿 We couldn’t have made this beautiful film without Enable Ireland, Galway Autism Partnership, Extraordinary Bodies and everyone who helped make this project possible.

💯 This project showed exactly what we’ve always believed:

🎪 Circus is for EVERY BODY 🎪

01/06/2026

So looking forward to this!!

26/05/2026

TRY SOMETHING NEW 🎪
Acro Balance starts next week at Galway Community Circus ✨
A fun 4-week course where you’ll:
🤸‍♀️ try partner acrobatics
💛 meet new people
🎪 build confidence
✨ move, balance & play

❌ NO experience needed
❌ NO partner needed
✅ All levels are welcome!

Come, be curious and try something different 👀

Adults deserve spaces to play too 💛

Last Saturday, May 23rd, we had the pleasure of hosting another succesful Spotlight | Galway Circus Scratch Night!💫The e...
25/05/2026

Last Saturday, May 23rd, we had the pleasure of hosting another succesful Spotlight | Galway Circus Scratch Night!💫

The evening featured 9 incredible acts showcasing the talents of some of our Youth Circus Programme artists, alongside Freddy Burrows (.burrows ), one of our Lead Trainers here at GCC

After the performances, we held a feedback session, a model introduced by our Head Trainer, Marjolein, giving artists the valuable opportunity to hear directly from the audience about their acts.

We at the GCC Team couldn’t be happier with how the night went and want to extend a huge thank-you to both our performers and our audience for helping bringing this inspiring new system to life.🤗

Stay tuned to our socials and the Events section on our website for future Spotlight dates—we can’t wait to welcome you back!

🎪 Inclusive Circus Training at Galway Community Circus 🎪 Join us this July for a 5-day inclusive circus training as part...
21/05/2026

🎪 Inclusive Circus Training at Galway Community Circus 🎪

Join us this July for a 5-day inclusive circus training as part of the Circus4All project, funded by Erasmus+

📅 6th–10th July
⏰ 9:00am–2:00pm daily
📍 Galway Community Circus - St Josephs Community Centre, Shantalla, H91 A4VW

Led by Jill Maglio (), Occupational Therapist and founder of CircusAid & Holistic Circus Therapy, this training will explore inclusive circus practices through practical workshops combining circus, accessibility, wellbeing, and therapeutic approaches.

Throughout the week, participants will explore:

🌈 Inclusion & belonging
🤹 Accessible circus methodologies
🎭 Group facilitation skills
✨ Practical circus tools & games

This is a progressive training experience, so full attendance across the 5 days is required.

👥 Limited to 20 participants
🎟 €200 per participant

If you’d like to take part, please complete the application form by 5th June. Selected participants will receive confirmation and payment details by 9th June.

📩 To apply, click the link in our our bio and then click 'Circus4All - Inclusive Training - Application Form'

Hope to see you there! 🎪💫





If you want to know more about Circus4All, click the 'For Artists' page in our website, and then click 'Circus4All'

Join us for Spotlight! | Galway Circus Scratch Night on Saturday, May 23rd! 🤩⭐4.45pm Doors Open⭐5.00pm Show Starts⭐Live ...
13/05/2026

Join us for Spotlight! | Galway Circus Scratch Night on Saturday, May 23rd! 🤩

⭐4.45pm Doors Open
⭐5.00pm Show Starts
⭐Live Circus Acts
⭐Feedback Session
⭐Donations at the door

Ages 12+ to adult artists are invited to perform an act of their choosing - whether that's circus, theatre, dance, comedy or music - all acts are welcome!

Spotlight! is an opportunity for artists to explore their work in front of a live audience - it is a space for experimentation that allows artists to gather valuable feedback to shape their performances.

Audience members of all ages are welcome to attend and will observe work-in-progress performances. It’s a relaxed and informal evening for sharing, learning, and contributing to the creative process!

Performing at Spotlight! is our Lead Trainer .burrows , a circus artist specialised in aerial straps and floor acrobatics 💪🏻

We are very excited to see Freddy's new act, Messing up the Clean, inspired by 'trying to clean up our circus hall but getting distracted by doing circus'!

To find out more about Spotlight! visit the Events page on our website 💫

Free entry for all - No booking is required for audience members.

Address

St Joseph's Community Centre, Ashe Road, Shantalla
Galway
H91A4VW

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+353851117224

Website

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