Music school to stand student in election
Music teacher Gerry Kelly has already decided to stand for a council seat in protest at the delay, which has kept classes for thousands of young people in temporary accommodation for two years.
The latest move comes with no sign of an announcement on funding imminent from the Government, which has stalled on the 60 million public private partnership (PPP) project because of difficulties over EU budgetary rules. The Teachers Union of Ireland Cork colleges branch decided on Monday night to put forward candidates in each of the six electoral wards next June.
"We will be choosing one of the school's students to run as well, and we aim to get support from people across the political voting divide," Mr Kelly said.
"This campaign is strongly backed and we won't be stopping until the wrecking ball knocks down the old building on Union Quay," he said.
Mr Kelly said the planned Cork School of Music and the talents of its students were used as major selling points to secure the European Capital of Culture 2005 for the city. He said it is a disgrace that the commitment on the new building has been reneged on by the Government to date.
A series of fundraising events and concerts will be held to help publicise the election campaign, with local and international musicians being lined up for their support.
Single-issue candidates do not have a history of major electoral success in Cork but one of the most successful in recent years was former students union president at Cork RTC, Matty O'Callaghan. He got 1,254 first preference votes in Cork South Central at the 1997 Dáil election, when he was campaigning for Institute of Technology status for the college, of which the music school is a part. As Education Minister, Micheál Martin who announced the Cork School of Music redevelopment plans four years ago granted IT status to the college just a few months after the 1997 election.
