€71k funding for six festivals in Cork and Kerry announced

TWO projects in Kerry are set to benefit from the Arts Council’s Invitation to Collaboration Scheme, a programme that aims to forge stronger links between local authorities in relation to the arts.

The announcement was made by Minister for Arts Heather Humpreys in Dublin last Wednesday. Killorglin’s K-Fest Music and Arts Festival, and Listowel Writers’ Week are among six festivals in Kerry and Cork that will benefit from an award of more than €70,000 for creative mentoring in the two counties.

Caroline Lynch of Kerry County Council’s Arts Office feels both festivals have done more than enough to earn that support: “They’re fertile ground for creative mentors, albeit for different reasons”, she says.

“K-Fest is a relatively new venture promoting disciplines such as contemporary art, so it deserves the best expertise.”

“Writers’ Week is hugely established but is always looking for ways to grow, so they’ll also benefit greatly from creative mentoring.”

The Sliabh Luachra Music Trail, an initiative geared towards promoting and protecting the Sliabh Luachra region’s unique musical heritage, is also set to benefit, with Kerry, Cork and Limerick’s County Councils to receive €10,000 in funding for the festival.

Kerry County Council Arts Officer Kate Kennelly said “for two Kerry projects to be among six being funded nationally is a testament to the wealth of artistic practice and events in our county.”

Minister Heather Humphreys (centre) with Orlaith McBride Arts Council Director, Kate Kennelly, Arts Officer Kerry County Council, Liz Dunne, Chair of Listowel Writer’s Week, Mike Dowd, K-Fest and Deputy Danny Healy Rae on the very right alongside Cork...