Clowns give circus cultural status

THE red noses in Leinster House weren’t just confined to the Dáil bar yesterday.

And Ireland's involvement in the Euro 2008 bid wasn't the only farcical aspect of the political scene.

As the denizens of Dáil Éireann clowned around inside, Fossett's Circus came to town and were celebrating their elevation to the status of an art form.

Lifting the gloom of soccer bid failure, the real clowns from Ireland's oldest circus were in jubilant mood.

That well-known harlequin, Jester O'Donoghue, the Minister for Arts, Sport, Tourism and Custard Pies has decided that the circus will now be recognised as an art form and thus entitled to State funding.

Circus ringleader Marian Fossett said the decision guaranteed circus life would continue for another while.

But the recognition also marked the culmination of a 30-year campaign originally started in 1973 by the legendary Teddy Fossett, who died five years' ago.

The recognition makes the 115-year old circus the oldest performing arts institution in the country, 30 years' older than the Abbey Theatre, according to Fossett's marketing manager Charles O'Brien.

The granting of legal foundation as an arts form means the circus will now be able to apply for funding from the Arts Council and local authority arts budgets.

The arrival of large touring groups from the continent has put a squeeze on the Irish acts recently.

"Nobody is going to open the door to funding but now we have been given the key. Funding was not the issue it was the respect. We are an art form with our own needs," Mr O'Brien said.

Subtle lobbying by the circus, not treading on any toes with their big shoes, resulted in the successful outcome.

The Droll Minister O'Donoghue, a lifelong fan of the circus, said that he was defining the circus as an art form in the Arts Bill 2002 as it was a dying art form in need of resuscitating.

Now all he has to do is persuade Charlie McCreevy to run away with the circus to get the country really laughing.