Council gives €85k to Arts Festival

Date Published: 16-May-2007

THE City Council is to make an effort this week to set in train a new 'peace process’ between some of Galway’s main artsgroups — and has agreed to give the Galway Arts Festival an additional €85,000.City Council Director of Services Tom Hernon is to invite representatives of the Galway Arts Festival, the Project '06 group and Macnas to come together and find common ground over the coming weeks and months.The Galway Arts Festival has taken a major bodyblow this year with the decision of drink giants Diageo to 'pull the plug’ on their €190,000 sponsorship of the festival.A 'once off request’ from the Arts Festival for financial support from the City Council was made to members of the Council’s Corporate Policy Group last month.That group recommended that a report be brought back before the City Council and that 'any monies being given, be subject to Project 06 and Macnas being included’.Now according to City Manager Joe MacGrath, the Arts Festival have informed him that the Macnas Parade will be part of the overall Festival programme.However according to Mr. MacGrath the situation on the Project 06 situation is not so clear. “In relation to Project 06, the Arts Festival organisers have indicated that their understanding is that this was a once-off event which is not being repeated for the current year.