The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
ÉIGSE ORGANISERS ANGERED BY MINISTER’S NO-SHOW
Minister Kyne was to open Iveragh festival
ORGANISERS of the annual Éigse na Brídeoige Festival in and around south Kerry’s Uíbh Ráthach Gaeltacht said they were left bitterly disappointed as Minister Seán Kyne did not attend the festival and that funding has not yet been made available for a project manager for the Iveragh Task Force’s Action Plan.
The Minister of State for Gaeilge, the Gaeltacht and the Islands was to open the festival last Friday night in Caherdaniel Community Hall, organisers said, but he was represented instead by Aodhán Mac Cormaic of his department.
“We are disappointed for two reasons: that the Minister wasn’t there and that we still haven’t got funding for a project manager. We left him a message that Minister Kyne is responsible for the Gaeltacht regions and that we are not looking for much money for something that is vital [the Action Plan],” Fíona de Buis told The Kerryman. “We only need one person to put our plan in place over the course of three years.”
The taskforce was established in 2017 by Minister Kyne, and the recently completed action plan consists of 130 individual actions to be carried out over three years.
It seeks to capitalise on the region’s potential in tourism, recreation, culture and creativity; and support sustainable communities, enterprise and employment.
It followed research which showed Uíbh Ráthach’s population has declined by more than 40 per cent since 1956 – even though the population of all Gaeltachts combined has risen by almost 20 per cent in this time.
Without funding, it is felt the plan has little chance of success.
Indeed, population decline and the topics of emigration and migration were heavily discussed over the course of the three-day festival, which Ms de Buis said was well-received and well-attended.
She said a personal highlight for her was last Saturday night’s concert at the Sea Lodge Hotel in Waterville and, in particular, the ‘It Takes a Village’ performance, which featured around 20 dancers from Direct Provision Centres in Tralee, Killarney, and Longford.
“Another source of disappointment, however, is that we couldn’t receive sponsorship for our translation service,” Ms de Buis added.
“A lot of our events are in Irish, but since this festival started in the early ‘90s, it has always aimed to be a bilingual festival.
“We are worried about the implications not having this service might have in years to come.”
The Minister’s Department had not responded to a Kerryman query on the matter by time of press.