Connecting Irish islands with Europe

In 2026, Oileán was awarded €10,000 through the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs' Communicating Europe Initiative to support a programme of engagement with Ireland's offshore island communities.
The project responds to a simple question:
How can island communities have a stronger role in shaping Ireland's relationship with Europe — and in the development of European policies that affect islands?
Throughout 2026, Oileán is travelling to inhabited islands around Ireland to hold a series of community workshops focused on the emerging EU Islands Strategy and the opportunities it could create for island communities.tion text goes here

Supporting young island leaders to participate at SB64 (UN Climate Negotations)
In June 2026, the Island Youth Network, coordinated by Oileán, supported a delegation of young islanders to participate in the SB64 UNFCCC Climate Negotiations in Bonn, Germany.
SB64 brings governments, civil society and other stakeholders together for the technical negotiations that help shape the annual UN Climate Conference.
For young people from islands, accessing spaces like these can be difficult. Accreditation, travel, knowledge of the process and access to networks can all create barriers to participation.
Working with accreditation partner SMILO, Oileán supported four young island representatives from:
- Montserrat
- Fiji
- Gran Canaria
- Mohéli, Comoros
Delegates were supported to follow the negotiations, participate in meetings, connect with international organisations and better understand how decisions within the UN climate process relate to their own islands.

University of Limerick
Understanding how development is financed is particularly important for island communities.
Oileán has delivered lectures at the University of Limerick exploring development finance through an island lens.
The sessions examine how governments, public institutions, communities and private investors interact when funding development, and some of the particular challenges faced by islands when trying to access finance.
Students are encouraged to think beyond funding as simply a question of finding money.
Instead, the sessions explore questions including:
- Who decides which projects receive investment?
- What makes an island project attractive to a funder?
- What happens when community priorities and investor priorities differ?
- What role should government play?
- How can smaller communities navigate complex funding systems?
- How can finance support long-term community priorities rather than short-term projects?

Through our communications work, Oileán is also documenting the people, places and experiences behind island communities.
In 2026, our team began developing documentary and visual storytelling work on Inis Bofin, alongside the Climate Gathering taking place on the island.

Our Work