OVER €345,000 is being allocated to seven Clare venues under the State’s Live Performance Support Scheme 2021, writes Owen Ryan.
The biggest allocation in Clare is one of €157,539 to Hotel Doolin to support performance there.
Some €5 million was allocated in total under the scheme, with a total of 237 organisations benefiting.
The scheme aims to support live performances particularly where capacity for live attendance is restricted due to Covid-19, and where funding will make live performances viable or alternatively make them available online if audiences cannot attend due to restrictions.
Also in Clare Pot Duggan’s of Ennistymon has got €15,868 for a series of live streamed events. In Lahinch, Kenny’s Bar is getting just shy of €25,000.
In the east of the county, Pepper’s Bar, in association with Ruth Smith and Paula Carroll, is being allocated €25,750 for the Feakle Folk Club, which is holding a series of intimate concerts showcasing emerging and established folk acts.
The €25m Live Performance Support Scheme supports a range of concerts, festivals & live events across the country
These events will create employment in the arts & greatly impact on audience's wellbeing
I'm excited to see performers &crews get back to doing what they do best🤩 https://t.co/YpgPBjFvbI pic.twitter.com/aMlJxPqds4
— Catherine Martin TD (@cathmartingreen) June 15, 2021
The Armada Hotel is getting €27,949 for traditional and country music concerts to be streamed live. Marquee by the Sea, a live performance event to be held in Kilkee, will get €36,470. Finally in Clare, Crossroads Music Limited will get €57,310 for the Lisdoonvarna Music Series at the Royal Spa Hotel.
Clare TD Cathal Crowe said he was delighted that the funding has come to Clare businesses. ““We have missed a huge, huge number of things over the past 15 months but for a county like Clare, the loss of live music and performance has been a difficult pill to swallow,” said Deputy Crowe.
“Thankfully, we are seeing a bit of a return – we saw James Vincent McMorrow perform an outdoor socially distant gig in Dublin last week and while that’s not the type of music event we know and love, it’s a step in the right direction.
“The LPSS will ensure that venues across our county will once again be able to host performances and further boost our tourism sector over the summer months.
“Here in Clare, a number of varied types of performances will be able to go ahead as a result of this funding.”
He said he was looking forward to seeing what the venues would do with the funding.
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin said, “I am very pleased to announce this funding, which will encompass and support a wide range of performances over the coming summer months.
“I know this funding will assist in the employment of performers, artists, technicians, creative and performance support staff across the sector, bringing much-needed employment to many who have not had work for many, many months. I look forward to the high quality artistic output, as demonstrated in the pilot, which has been so important and enjoyed by so many.”
“I have recently provided a further €5m under the Local Live Performance Programming Scheme for local authorities to engage local performers and crew to stage live performances in their areas, creating further employment opportunities over the coming months.”