€40,000 windfall for Glór Irish Music Centre

THE Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport has recently agreed to provide €40,000 in capital funding to the Glór Irish Music Centre, to purchase necessary equipment.
Director of Glór, Katie Verling, said this is particularly significant when budgets are so constrained and it demonstrates a commitment to the long-term success of Glór and its importance in the cultural life of Ireland.
In a written report on Glór, Ennis municipal venue, presented to Ennis Town Council at this month’s meeting, Ms Verling recalled how the centre had been opened by the then Minister for the Arts, Síle de Valera on November 30, 2001.
“The original rationale for Glór Irish Music Centre was to establish an iconic building in Ennis to attract international visitors to stay in the town and to celebrate Clare’s international reputation for traditional music, song and dance in a purpose-built state-of-the-art building,” the director said.
She continued, “Now in 2010, Glór is Ireland’s finest and largest, municipal music and theatre venue outside Dublin. Glór is also the de facto national centre for the performance of Irish traditional music, song and dance. In the last nine years, Glór has become embedded in the community life of Ennis and County Clare and Ireland’s cultural life,” she said.
The centre’s municipal theatre space currently has capacity to accommodate upwards of 600 people. The venue is used for fundraising events, for example, Clare Crusaders, Alzheimers Society, Clare Haven, HELP (for homeless people in Ennis), Cahercalla Hospice, the Samaritans, ClareCare and the Special Olympics.
Ms Verling explained both primary and secondary schools also use the theatre and in recent times, schools including Barefield National School, Cloughleigh School, O’Rourke and Hehir Schools of Dancing, Ennis Gymnastics Club, Ennis Academy of Performing Arts, Maoin Cheoil an Chláir, the Dinan School of Ballet and the Clare Youth Service have all staged productions in the theatre.
“By now, most schools in Clare have brought their children to perform or to be entertained in Glór. These children are treading the same boards that held Eamonn Morrissey, Mick Lally, Sharon Shannon, Druid Theatre, Josh Ritter and Christy Moore. Ennis and Clare children are privileged to have such a facility for their own productions so as to generate a sense of pride and community amongst their friends and families,” Ms Verling commented.
She also pointed out a host of different support organisations choose Glór as a meeting point due to its ease of access and its community focus. According to the director, the diversity of the audiences and performers for these types of community events enhances the social cohesion of the Ennis community and creates opportunities for different groups and individuals to meet and to share a common purpose and experience.
Ms Verling also emphasised the strong relationship Glór has with local business and with local tourism providers and destinations.
“Each year, the music and entertainment events programme in Glór attracts audiences and artists to Ennis who stay overnight and shop in town. Over the years, headline events such as Planxty, John Prine, Young at Heart, John Williams, Maura O’Connell, Moving Hearts, the Waterboys and the Ciarán Mac Máthúna celebration concert attracted national and international visitors to Ennis. Each of these stayed in local hotels and added money to the local economy. Each year, Glór spends in excess of €1.2 million in the local economy. Almost all of Glór’s suppliers and contractors are sourced locally. In addition, Glór’s 33 employees, whether full-time, part-time and occasional staff, bring their income into the local economy,” she remarked.
She added Glór’s facilities have been instrumental in the development, or growth of a number of great festivals, such as Fleadh Nua na hInse, the Ennis Trad Festival, Ennis Fashion Fortnight and the Ennis Book Club Festival.
Ms Verling also noted that traditional music is central to Glór, firstly because there is a huge local audience for music and dance and secondly because visitors to Clare are attracted by the wealth, diversity and international reputation of excellence of Clare’s music.
“Glór is a venue where all ages can experience great music in a purpose-built environment. It is a cultural tourism initiative of national significance. Traditional music and dance concerts are consistently Glór’s highest selling events. These attract local, national and international audiences. Indeed, we have had visitors to Glór concerts from 22 different countries, including North America, Great Britain and Continental Europe, as well as Israel, Korea, the Nordic countries and the Antipodes,” she explained.
Ms Verling commented that the key to Glór’s cultural success lies in the mixture of local and national programming. “For example, Glór’s programme promotes Ennis Musical Society’s latest production, a Druid or an Abbey Theatre show, alongside the Ennis Panto, Pat Shortt and Christy Moore, without preference or distinction. The programme of events is inclusive and tries to attract people from all communities and groups in the area. Glór music programming seeks to meet all interest groups: folk, country and western, rock and classical music. The theatre programming has been successful in becoming an annual touring partner with Galway’s Druid Theatre Company. They form the backbone of Glór’s theatre programme, while other professional and amateur companies provide a diverse range of shows. Ennis Players are part of this diversity, producing consistently high-quality award-winning shows to the delight of large audiences annually,” the director concluded.