A First for Roscommon
Emer Mayock
Irish Traditional Flute Music.
Now that the Arts Council has announced the allocation of f3 million to the traditional arts for 2006 – with increased funding to follow in the coming years – it seems as if a point has finally been reached from which traditional musicians, dancers, singers, festival organisers and cultural institutions alike can now advance under the legitimate auspices of munificent officialdom. A bite at the cherry that is the long awaited funding gives a genuine and realistic opportunity to many who could not have until now ‘realised the full potential of their ideas’ within the traditional arts.
How the funding will be put into practice remains to be seen; conceivably many ‘dreamed-about’ projects simmering on back burners for years may now see the light of day. There are those who work tirelessly within their organisations with only meagre funding who may now perhaps breath a little easier, and, in the absence of incongruous criteria formerly requested in order to fit a grant profile that was generally unsympathetic to the traditional arts, we can possibly also look forward to a creative stirring in many who previously demurred against an idea as being unrealisable.
All of this, it is anticipated, will mean a brighter future for the traditional arts in Ireland, and if one were to ponder on how adequate funding might be...
