Niall OCleirigh

Niall OCleirigh, Architect MRIAI, practices between community engagement and adaptive reuse of our built environment. He focuses drawing out and re-invoking the stories embedded in our towns and landscapes through conversations, workshops and design practice. Recent placemaking projects include Making Arklow & Reimagine Tuam alongside architectural work reimagining public sector historic buildings and landscapes.

Linkedin: Niall OCleirigh

Instagram: @niallocleirigh

Image credit: Ste Murray

April brings a new energy each year as we stretch away from winter. A renewed light falls across the facades, and streets reawaken. As winter recedes, we venture out with a fresh appreciation of our environment—a time to reflect and look forward to projects gaining momentum.

A few standout events in April focus on the appreciation of our existing built environment—both the communities and the built assets, their stories, and the social infrastructure that helps us imagine their future lives.

Early this month, I recommend visiting the exhibit on Villa Tugendhat at the Irish Architectural Archive. Many years ago I visited the house in Brno, standing out as a moment of inspiration for me back in my student days.

Returning to our local context, Revitalising Rural Communities Through Our Heritage Assets at the RDS aims to frame a conversation that is much akin to my own focus in practice.

Along the same narrative, Understanding the built environment in towns through data with Dr. Anna Skoura (UCD) on April 23rd seeks to capture the evidence needed to inform decision-making for our towns’ futures. This talk is part of the Spring 2026 edition of the Talking Towns seminar series hosted by the UCD Centre for Irish Towns.

Two interesting events in Kilkenny explore the social history of our built environment and the interplay of craft, making and development of built form. Architectural historian Emma Gilleece will present Form, Function and Footwear: State Ambition and the Industrial Modernism of Kilkenny at Padmore & Barnes. Meanwhile Jan McCullough’s exhibition I Took a Hammer in my Hand at the Butler Gallery celebrates the process of making and the ‘shared gestures of labour’.

Back in Dublin two talks are taking place as part of the excellent Conversation Club lecture series hosted by the Office of Public Works in partnership with the National Library of Ireland: Donaghy + Dimond Architects present on 16th April followed by Duncan McCauley 30th April.

Lastly, if you’ve not already booked in with your local architect for a consultation, the RIAI Simon Open Door 2026 takes place from 13 to 19 April, with proceeds going to the Simon Communities of Ireland.