Martin Cullen has cut funding to two Writer's Centres.

[Mr.De-Regulation]

First the writers centre, then poetry in schools. Progression. This is good. So called "artists" should be shown who is boss. me thats who.

[locke]

The Arts, often thrive in a bad times, think of the Commitments in recession bleak Dublin of the 80s.

You do realise that The Committments was a work of fiction????

In relation to the cut to the Cork opera festival, or whatever it was called, I would have to say that all opera funding should be put into one centralised company and season. The media is so cost intensive all we have presently is small amounts scattered giving poor quality productions.

I think that depends on what you regard as the role of the funding. If it's just to put on performances, you may have a point, but if it's to give opportunities to performers, then you definitely need some form of regional distribution. As well as putting on productions in Cork and Limerick, Opera 2005 provided the only opportunity for young performers to get involved in those two cities.

They only had a 110K grant last year, but still put on well-regarded (nominated for an Irish Times award) productions. Not a bad return on investment.

[corelli]

You do realise that The Committments was a work of fiction????



I think that depends on what you regard as the role of the funding. If it's just to put on performances, you may have a point, but if it's to give opportunities to performers, then you definitely need some form of regional distribution. As well as putting on productions in Cork and Limerick, Opera 2005 provided the only opportunity for young performers to get involved in those two cities.

They only had a 110K grant last year, but still put on well-regarded (nominated for an Irish Times award) productions. Not a bad return on investment.

If you don't have quality performances you wont have people coming back, thus putting the entire project in doubt. They may well have been nominated for an award but that, to be honest, is more a reflection of the poor standards we are exposed to in this country. We have absolutely no serious opera critic writing in this country, for one very good reason, they would have nothing to write about. Vienna, London, Berlin, Barcelona, anywhere in fact, have much better production standards.

Opera is entertainment, not a vehicle for jobs for the boys.

[locke]

Well, they filled Cork Opera House on 3 occasions last year and UCH in Limerick once. So people did come back.

If the standard of opera from the other companies is so poor, you'd really need to ask how the funding was unaffected.

[corelli]

Well, they filled Cork Opera House on 3 occasions last year and UCH in Limerick once. So people did come back.

If the standard of opera from the other companies is so poor, you'd really need to ask how the funding was unaffected.

I would be perfectly happy for Cork/Munster to get all the funding. I am not making a Dublin v rest of country argument. Just centralised excellence.

[Christine Murray]

Cuirt :Cúirt International Festival of Literature

Western Writers :The Western Writers Centre

The new Snippy A/C board .. ( whose Sheelagh O Neill ?):

The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon: News

The Board of the Arts Council was appointed within a few days of drastic cuts
to two independent writer centres, one of which was founded by Fred Johnson
(the founder of the Cuirt Festival of literature which imho is the only equivalent
we have to Hay , along with the Merriman and Listowel). )% funding has
gone to the IWC, whilst I presume huge building grants go to the halls/barns/
conventions centres where parents are creamed of cash to watch Disney dross
in sweet package deals.

[Christine Murray]

WOMEN RULE WRITER: WESTERN WRITERS' CENTRE FUNDING CUT

poethead

Fred Johnson would like to thank the people who have so far signed the petition
and for the many messages of support. I have decided against my better judgement
to release excerpts of his emails to me onto the docs page of my blog. The matter
is quite serious given the culling of funds to the Irish Writer's Centre also.
It appears that the Arts Act 2003 which allows Government Interference to
the evolution of Arts In ireland has found its perfect bureaucrat in Martin Cullen.

[fiannafuddy]

There's a recession.

Health and education is priority over everything, certainly including this.

Exactly...there will still be an arts budget, just scaled back. If 2 writers centres are top of your priority list I have no sympathy.

Funny that the man funds other concerns in the Arts and co-opts wealthy unqualified
ladies to do jobs that they are manifestly unqualified for. He exhibits a lack of
coordination on issues of Heritage and Arts that is indicative of FF other interests.

( His work on both the NMA(2004) and the abolition of Duchás (2003) would attest to that.)

Those wealthy ladies are willing to do for free/nominal fees what others would want payment for, that's certainly a consideration and one I have no issue with. Who are you to determine their qualifications? Artistic ability is subject to taste.

Quite frankly there's an awful lot of shite out there that we could do without and if this helps then good.

[Christine Murray]

The links are sent on to International PEN .

If FF prioritised health and education then they must blush at OECD reports on critical underspending ?

http://www.hotpress.com/archive/2862046.html

[Fred Johnston]

I write here in a personal capacity. I am immensely grateful for the fact that the recent funding cuts to the Western Writers' Centre - Ionad Scribhneoiri Chaitlin Maude - Galway are up on site and being discussed and that people have taken the time to sign our petition. The generosity of both pocket and spirit shown by writers in the past fortnight has been stunning. 'The Forge at Gort' festival will continue on March 27th as a result.
Deeply shaken by the cuts, I was further shaken to read how this decision had been arrived at. The removal of funding from the Irish Writers' Centre in Dublin is appalling and perhaps the two events are not entirely unrelated. The Council appear to me to have retreated to an old view (using the recession as a cover) of institutionalising the arts: there is no room, in such a view, for new things. Clearly the Western Writers' Centre is viewed by some as a threat to a comforting and comfortable status quo where everything could be managed safely: hence every innovation, every award or prize we won, was perceived as a threat, not something to be lauded.
At the same time, criticism of the arts in Galway, for instance, is frowned upon and seen as 'divisive' - clippings of letters I had published in local papers critical of the arts in Galway were sent to the Arts Council by a concerned citizen. I found this particularly disturbing, an Orwellian view of the nature of free speech. Documents attempting to deride the Western Writers' Centre and even undermine me personally have been sent anonymously to the Arts Council before now.
There is a politics being played out here and it remains to be seen whether the Council will consider it the wisest thing. Removing funding from two of the only three writers' centres in the country will contribute to, not prevent, divisiveness or 'fracture,' a Tony Soprano word the Council seems fond of; it will contribute greatly to triumphalism among some and dejection and resentment among others. There is true divisiveness amongs arts' groups in Galway city (this posting is already being sent to the Arts Council!) but the Arts Council will not or cannot investigate it. Their reluctance is curious. Interestingly, the media seem very reluctant to discuss the implications of withdrawal of funds from these two organisations.
Clearly the Council view the messenger and not the message as the most dangerous thing. Finding a scapegoat rather than examining why and how bad things happen is clearly a happier choice at Merrion Square.