New Creative Climate Action Community Art Project unveiled at Castleconell Railway Station
23 Meán Fómhair 2025
New Creative and Climate Action Community Art Project unveiled at Castleconnell Railway Station
A new art piece on the Iarnród Éireann network has been unveiled at Castleconnell Train Station, Limerick, as part of Síolta Glasa AR Trail initiative: The Heritage Line, Linking History, Rail and Climate Solutions.
A creative and climate action collaboration between Iarnród Éireann, Castleconnell Tidy Towns and Artist Ana Colomer, the mural merges art, education and Augmented Reality (AR) elements, created by Professor Mark Marshall, from the University of Limerick.
The Station is the starting point for an AR trail of six stops highlighting historical or natural landmarks within the beautiful heritage village of Castleconnell. Each stop features a short green video, hand drawn animations of native plants or animals, and interactive text designed to deepen understanding of biodiversity and sustainability.
Through funding provided by Iarnród Éireann, a deeper experience and direct community involvement was provided through creative biodiversity workshops, including local nature walks, with students of Castleconnell National School to co create the interactive mural for the railway station. The initiative is planting the seeds of environmental stewardship by linking community stories and history, nature and climate action solutions.
The project has been co supported by Limerick City and County Council and Creative Ireland Climate Action fund, which encourages creativity to empower communities to take climate actions.
Joanne Bissett, Iarnród Éireann Arts and Social Officer said:
"We are delighted to unveil the latest art piece on our network and have worked with Ana Colomer, Castleconnell TT and the students of Castleconnell NS on this project. With the assistance of our Station Manager and Building and Facilities Department, we have utilised our station space in a new way to highlight the power of art as a visual for heritage and community. It also demonstrate how different groups can work together for positive climate action."
Castleconnell Tidy Towns said:
"We are overjoyed with the outcome of the project that highlights Castleconnell Train Station and public transport as an option for residents to reduce their carbon footprint. Creative Ana Colmer, worked with Castleconnell NS to create a mural that combined physical art and digital technology to encourage and nudge the community to be more sustainable. A broad section of the community contributed to the development of the Heritage Line linking history Rail and Climate Solutions, a resource available to all the community. We would like to especially credit Ana and Mark Marshall from University of Limerick (UL) for helping us to bring this concept to life."
Full details on Síolta Glasa AR Trail initiative: The Heritage Line, Linking History, Rail and Climate Solutions be viewed at: castleconnellheritageline.com
