Cave gigs, festivals and West Cork bars: Munster recipients of live performance grants
After 15 months of unemployment and uncertainty, the Irish live events industry looks set for a busy few months ahead, following the awarding of government grants under the Live Performance Support Scheme.
The 2021 scheme is an expansion of the grants system created last year during the early stages of the pandemic. Basically, it's aimed at generating employment for a sector that has been hit hard by Covid restrictions. While musicians, comedians, etc, are the most visible set of people to benefit from the carve-up of the allocated €25 million, these grants will support thousands of others in the industry: promoters, producers, technicians, PRs, bar staff, etc.
Amounts ranged from €10,000 for small, local events, to €581,000 for Aiken Promotions. Other biggies included €400k+ for Pod Festivals and Body & Soul. Inevitably, not everyone is happy, as some people were refused grants, or didn't get the amount they'd requested. In terms of counties, Cork has received over €2m, while Waterford gets just over €10,000. Overall, the scheme has been met with a general welcome from the sector nationally, and a huge sigh of relief from many who've had a very tough year.
Putting in a detailed application is one step; actually realising an event takes another huge effort. Many organisers are currently engaged in a frenzy of emails and phonecalls to get everything in place for the next few months. To receive the grant, most events will have to take place by the end of September, with late July and August probably being the busiest times.
- Indiependence - €264,460 for the organisers of the former Mitchelstown festival to organise a series of outdoor concerts in Cork city during the summer. Originally reported as being planned for Tramore Valley Park, it may take place in an alternative venue.
- Tom Keating Presents - The proprietor of Fred Zeppelins bar in the city has also been putting on live shows in other venues for many years, and has been awarded €190,411.
- Subterranean Sessions - €116,362 to Curve, an organisation with ties to the Indiependence organisers, for music events at Mitchelstown Caves. The first of these was recorded last December, and will be broadcast on RTÉ during the summer. The new funding will go towards further concerts at the underground venue, hopefully with live audiences.
- Mike the Pies - €131,992. The Listowel venue has been a stalwart of the live music scene in Munster, not least for a famous gig by Fontaines DC in 2018. This allocation is for a series of indoor, outdoor and streamed shows.
- Patrick Talbot Productions - €333,440. Cork-based Talbot has put on dozens of theatre productions through the decades, and has received this allocation for a production of Brian Friel's classic, Philadelphia Here I Come.
- Dolans Limerick - €104,200. The Shannon-side city is bubbling with creativity at the moment, and the people behind its main music venue have been given this allocation for a series of live outdoor performances that will also will be streamed online.
- The Good Room - €157,539. With an excellent pedigree from involvement in the Kino and St Luke's venues in Cork city, it'll be interesting to see what these organisers have planned for the courtyard at O'Mahony's Bar in Watergrasshill. We're promised “a series of live multidisciplinary performances; outdoors / streamed”. They are also involved in the It Takes a Village festival in Trabolgan, which has been awarded €140,670, and may take place in September.
- Reardens – The popular bar and nightclub on Washington Street in Cork gets €21,157 for live entertainment.
- Cyprus Avenue - €152,065. The revamped venue off Oliver Plunkett Street in Cork had established itself as a jewel in the crown of Leeside venues, and will see a welcome return to live gigs.
- Cork Pops Orchestra – €31,735, for live orchestral music performances curated for schools and older audiences, with online educational resources.
- Coughlans – The much-loved Douglas Street bar and venue in Cork gets €131,992 for live gigs at its premises, while the related promotional arm, Coughlan's Live, gets €106,805 for a festival they are planning for elsewhere.
- DeBarras – €131,992. The legendary Clonakilty venue will put on a number of live events through the summer, while other premises outside of Cork city to receive grants included Connollys of Leap (€131,992); Levis Bar in Ballydehob (€131,992); and The White Horse in Ballincollig (€131,992).
