Context. Indene, a small PAH, has been detected in the gas phase in the cold dense cloud TMC-1. Due to the low temperature in the cloud, below indene condensation temperature, its presence in the ice mantles of dust grains is likely. Aims. The aim of this work is to study the stability of indene against the energetic processing by VUV photons or cosmic rays in the ice mantles of dense molecular clouds. Methods. Ice layers of pure indene or indene diluted in water ice were grown by vapor deposition on a cold surface held at 10 K, 100 K, or 140 K. The samples were processed with VUV photons (120–180 nm) and 5 keV electrons and the destruction of indene was monitored by following the decay of its absorption bands in the infrared (IR) spectrum. Finally, we recorded the mass spectra of the decomposition products sublimated by thermal programmed desorption of the processed samples. Results. Photolysis and radiolysis cross-sections, along with half-life energy doses for indene in the solid form and diluted in water ice matrices at 10 K were derived. Ketones and alcohols were identified as the main processing products in indene and water–ice mixtures Conclusions. Dilution in water ice enhances the destruction rate of indene under energetic processing. The molecule is expected to survive for more than 107 yr in the ice mantles of grains in the interior of dense clouds, but it will end up getting destroyed within the next few hundred years by the intense VUV field in the diffuse region at the edges of the cloud.