O’Donoghue perfects the art of patronage

NOT content with being the tourism and Gaelic football capital, Kerry could also boast about being top of the charts nationally in relation to arts funding.

Since 1997, the Kingdom has received more than €7.5 million in State funding for arts and cultural projects, for which Kerry-based Arts, Sport and Tourism Minister John O’Donoghue has been claiming due credit.

The minister, however, is quick to dismiss any suggestions of favouritism by arguing that Kerry has been neglected and is merely making up lost ground.

A list of State-funded Kerry projects has been obtained by the Irish Examiner from Mr O’Donoghue’s department.

The biggest allocation by far is going to a project in his home town and political base, Caherciveen, with a centre in nearby Waterville, also receiving substantial funding. Between them, the two projects are receiving more than €2.6m.

The Caherciveen Arts Centre has been allocated €1.6m. To be built on the former Christian Brothers’ school site, it will also include Kerry County Council area offices and a new library. A centerpiece should be a 120-seat auditorium-cum-performance area, with plenty of space for exhibitions and other activities. Construction work is due to begin soon.

At least 30 people are engaged in arts pursuits in south Kerry, including painters, potters, sculptors, ceramics and woodcraft workers and others.

However, according to Caherciveen librarian and arts committee member Noreen O’Sullivan they have no place in which to display their work.

“A public arts centre is absolutely essential for the Iveragh Peninsula. There’s nothing all the way along the Ring of Kerry from Killarney until you come to Kenmare. There’s a huge contingent of artists living in the area and they need a proper centre,” Ms O’Sullivan said.

It was only appropriate that Mr O’Donoghue himself should officially open Tech Amergin in Waterville with some fanfare at the weekend. Located on the site of a former technical school, the centre has received funding of €1.05m.

Tech Amergin has a strong educational focus, but also has a 100-seat auditorium and exhibition area, workshops for ceramics, woodcraft and painting and a general purpose room.

Better known for its angling and golfing attractions, Waterville is dependent on tourism and is obviously hoping for more visitors with an artistic bent.

However, there are fears that some arts centres, especially those in areas with small populations, will become white elephants unable to pay their way.

Some of those funded in Kerry are already feeling financial pressure, including the recently-opened Tintean Theatre in Ballybunion, which has received €825,000 from the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism.

It got a further €709,000 from Shannon Development and €30,000 from the Kerry Enterprise Board.

Kerry County Manager Martin Riordan has voiced serious reservations about giving any more financial help to the Ballybunion facility, which is now seeking planning permission for 10 houses on its property. These would be sold to clear debts of several hundred thousand euro.

Tintean directors have denied reports the theatre will close and say they are addressing debt problems.

Funding for the arts, nationally, has increased from €26m in 1997 to €80m this year. And, while centres are expected to make every effort to pay their way, some of this money is being used to ensure centres remain open.

A spokesman for Mr O’Donoghue said communities could generate revenue by supporting centres.

“These centres have the potential to raise revenue, especially in tourist areas.

“But they should be seen primarily as amenities for local communities, for getting people together and a means of preserving a rural way of life,” he said.

“The days of damp and cold community centres are passing quickly. Nowadays, communities are looking for better, more comfortable facilities. Arts centres can be seen as resources for communities, which can also use them for educational and other purposes.”

The spokesman also said that Kerry, especially the southern half of the country, had been underfunded in regard to the arts.

One of the most successful projects in Kerry is the Siamsa Tire Theatre and Arts Centre in Tralee, which received €420,000 from the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism in 2005 and was offered €395,000, in 2006.

Siamsa Tire, home of the National Folk Theatre, was founded in 1974. It stages a variety of productions, including plays and concerts, all-year round and is a tremendous asset to Tralee.

An unusual artistic venture in Kerry is the Cill Rialaig Project, spearheaded by Dublin publicist Noelle Campbell Sharp in a remote area near Ballinskelligs. It has received almost €500,000 in funding.

Cill Rialaig offers free-of-charge retreat periods to artists, writers, poets, composers and playwrights. In 2005 alone, 187 free-of-charge residencies were awarded. Over 70% of these went to Irish-domiciled artists.

The project is linked to a local arts exhibition centre and the long-term plan is to construct an artists’ village in the area. Many people believe Cill Rialaig will need ongoing funding.

While some isolated areas in Kerry now have modern arts centres, it’s ironic that Killarney, despite being a major tourist destination, does not have a public theatre-cum-arts centre.

This is regarded as a significant deficiency in a town which offers much popular entertainment to its visitors.

Killarney is the biggest town in Mr O’Donoghue’s constituency and an application for funding for a local arts centre would, undoubtedly, receive favourable consideration.

Grants to the arts centres have been made under the Cultural Development Incentives Scheme 1994-2000 and the Arts and Culture Capital Enhancement Support Scheme 2001-2004. Some funding is independently allocated by the Arts Council.