Theatres and venues postpone nationwide

EVENTS and shows in venues right across Kerry have been cancelled on an unprecedented scale in response to the growing fears about the spread of COVID-19.

Following the government’s announcement last Thursday of a series of emergency measures introduced to help combat the spread of the virus, cultural institutions and venues across the entire county released statements announcing the postponement of upcoming shows.

Amongst these were Siamsa Tíre in Tralee, the Gleneagle INEC Arena in Killarney, and St John’s Theatre and Arts Centre in Listowel.

In a statement sent to The Kerryman last Friday, Siamsa Marketing and PR Manager Michelle Murphy said the following:

“Siamsa Tíre has been closely monitoring the evolving situation regarding the novel coronavirus outbreak and COVID-19. The venue has maintained continuous communication with the authorities and colleagues across the country to ensure that we take all necessary precautions and put in place the timely and appropriate responses to the threat to public health arising from the outbreak.

“Today, the government has directed the suspension of public gatherings and, as a result, Siamsa Tíre is postponing all upcoming public events and suspending operations until further notice.

“Customers will be contacted directly by Siamsa Tíre staff regarding any existing bookings.

“We would like to thank all of our patrons for their co-operation and understanding and look forward to welcoming our customers back once it is safe to do so,” it continued.

Similarly, the INEC sent out the following statement through their social media:

“Following the directives issued by the government and health authorities, all events up to and including March 29 are now postponed. We are currently working with each promoter to secure dates in the future.

“Please note tickets purchased for all affected events will remain valid for rescheduled dates,” it said.

Finally, St John’s Theatre and Arts Centre in Listowel released a statement saying that they will be postponing all public events until Monday March 20.

“All of these will be rescheduled in the future,” the statement read.

“If anyone has purchased tickets for any of these performance, we will arrange refunds immediately. Events outside of these dates remain unchanged, unless further advised. However, we are aware that this is a rapidly evolving situation and will be posting any updates on our website and social media,” it added.

Looking on the bright side, the popular Listowel theatre said that they will be using this enforced downtime to catch up on “many of the ‘put off ’ jobs around the church!”

“Stay safe everyone, and we look forward to welcoming you all back to our theatre in the very near future,” it added.