This is not the spectacle Limerick needed — Wallace had the right one

SOME puppet show. There are moments when you despair for this country. One of those moments was when I heard Minister for the Arts, Jimmy Deenihan, thus describe on RTÉ Royale de Luxe, the theatre company whose proposed visit finally broke the relationship between Limerick City of Culture’s board and artistic director, Karl Wallace.

He wasn’t alone. Amidst all the debate, I didn’t hear a single media voice which attempted to understand what Karl Wallace was attempting to do for Limerick by proposing to spend a third of the year’s budget on this one show.

If it’s any consolation, Karl, I think I get it. Royale de Luxe have only performed in Ireland once, at the Galway Arts Festival in 1991. So vivid are my memories of this show that it came as some surprise to find I hadn’t been there. But I had edited a jaw-dropping account of the proceedings written by journalist Paddy Woodworth.