Getting behind the Yeats Society
HOUR OF NEED:
THE Sligo Yeats Society is at risk of imminent closure – but the response to a fundraiser launched by members of the 51-year-old group has provided a ray of hope.
The society, founded in 1960, requires income of €100,000 by the end of September to secure their future – which includes the capacity to host the Yeats Summer School, the world’s longest-running literary summer school.
An online fundraiser was launched on Monday and by Wednesday more than €51,000 was raised, with further donations being sent to The Yeats Building on Lower Knox Street.
The announcement regarding the uncertain future of the society came just one day after the 10th annual Yeats Day.
Susan O’Keeffe, director of the Sligo Yeats Society, discussed the bittersweet week for Yeats enthusiasts as celebrations were quickly replaced by concern. “People have been celebrating Yeats for a long time and have understood the value of his poetry for a long time. He is a global poet and many of our visitors to this building come from all around the world. Around 95 per cent of our visitors are from overseas, so great is his impact and the interest in his work. “For us to find ourselves in a position to announce to Sligo, the country and the world that the Yeats Society will have to close its doors at the September if we don’t raise €100,000, I am personally heartbroken.” Susan O’Keeffe has been in the role of director since 2017 and pre-pandemic had seen her vision for the Sligo Yeats Society to become self-sufficient take an important step forward.
“We had just turned a corner at the end of 2019. We were about to be completely self-sufficient and the diary of events was heaving.
“We were in for our busiest ever year in 2020 and on the week of the first lockdown we had presented a new visitor experience plan to Failte Ireland and Sligo County Council.
“Since then we lost every single stream of revenue. Local people were using the rooms for classes, readings, launching films and we even had a wedding here. People were beginning to see the space here in a new light.” It is a worrying time for all who treasure the intrinsic link between Sligo and the celebrated poet but Ms O’Keeffe believes that his place in Irish culture and recognition around the globe is something worthy of preserving in a county he considered his home. “People get the value of poetry and Yeats. They know the impact he has had – he’s not the national poet for nothing. This is a man born in the 19th century still being quoted by an American president in the middle of a global crisis in the 21st century – there is barely a handful of poets who fall into that category.” In 2019, 14,000 people visited the Yeats Building. In 2020 that number was just 800.
Those pre-pandemi figures have been driven by international tourism and this has been reflected in the online response to the fundraiser. “This is a global response. I have had emails from people who were students here 20 years and from people wanting to visit Sligo. Back when we were open I would have looked at the visitor book and I was amazed by the array of countries people have visited us from. Why would we not stay open to allow people to enjoy this and benefit both them and the community here? It’s well worth the effort.” The appeal has also resonated locally according to Ms O’Keeffe who said that donations have been delivered directly to their door.
“We had an envelope dropped in the door yesterday with €15 in it. I don’t know who it was, but I know every gift counts. People give what they can. “Someone went to the trouble of taking that money out, finding an envelope and coming here to donate it to us. That really touched us, it shows us that this matters in Sligo.”
While the fundraising drive is around half way towards their target, Ms O’Keeffe stressed that the journey towards €100,000 will not be easy and still requires a lot of goodwill from people near and far – and that donations of all sizes are greatly appreciated.
“We need your support. It’s not somebody’s elses job to support us, it is everyone’s job. This can be achieved if we all work together. We have the capacity to make this happen, I believe we do because I know the people of Sligo care. There is no such thing as a donation that is too small, it is all valued equally at the end of the day. It is a donation from the heart and that’s what counts.”
Donations to save the Sligo Yeats Society can be made online at www. yeatssocietysligo.causevox.com/. Donations can also be brought to the Yeats Building on Lower Knox Street. They can also be contacted in relation to donations by calling 071 9142693 or emailing info@yeatssociety.com.
l Sligo-Leitrim TD Marian
Harkin in Dáil Eireann yesterday called on the Minister for Arts and Culture, Catherine Martin, to consider providing funding for the Sligo Yeats Society. Minister Martin said that €5,000 has been allocated for the 2021 Yeats Summer School – which is being held digitally and that the provision of ongoing funding will be considered with her department for the 2022 budget.