Tag: government plebeianism

Letter: Filming On Skellig Michael

July 30th, 2014

My letter to the Editor regarding how we treat heritage in Ireland, published July 30 2014.

Sir, – It is now more than 10 years since Martin Cullen TD abolished Dúchas, the Heritage Service. Our national and built monuments are not adequately protected. When I questioned the OPW decision to allow filming on Skellig Michael, a general response was “it’s about jobs”. In the deep recession of the ’80s the OPW partnered with private agencies and owners to train young people in heritage protection and craft skills (stonework, wood-carving and preservation). These were jobs and skills geared toward protecting and conserving our heritage.

In the 10 years since the abolition of Dúchas, 39 sites in Tara were demolished to facilitate the M3 toll road. There are robberies of stunning stonework and the job of Dúchas has been divided between the Department of the Environment and the OPW.

Heritage is not adequately protected. We are not training the young in conservation techniques and we have no statutory agency for protecting our natural and built heritage. There are jobs in protecting our fragile heritage infrastructure in the long-term: people require skills training.

The Hollywood machine is a temporary thing. Where is the long view on jobs, on awareness and on stewardship in Ireland?

It is the job of the Minister to propose a far-sighted agenda for the work of the divided heritage agency, and yet I have seen no comment or response to the OPW decision on Skellig from her office. We are used to disgraceful decisions affecting our environment in Ireland. Why should we be surprised now? – Yours, etc,

CHRISTINE MURRAY,

Where is the Arts Plan ?

December 15th, 2012

Letters by Colm Toibín and Hugh McFadden on Arts Policy in Ireland.

The following letters published in the Irish Times re Arts Policy in Ireland.

Where is the arts plan?

“Sir, – At Listowel Writers Week on May 31st the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht spoke about the importance of the policy of maintaining a system of one-remove between politicians and decisions about arts funding. It seems curious then that Culture Ireland, which was, as a result of a report commissioned and accepted by government, run as an independent body has now been brought into the Minister’s department from where it will be run directly. I think those of us who have worked with Culture Ireland have a right to ask on what basis this was done. Is there a document, for example, which shows how this move might save money or create efficiency? Is there a document which deals with possible problems in the future, should a minister, from whatever political persuasion, wish to decide what artists represent Ireland abroad and what artists should not?

Since there are 113 national archives in the world and only two of them are merged with a national library, it might also be helpful to see a document which would show how money could be saved by such a merger here – the Canadian merger actually cost 15 million Canadian dollars – or how services would be improved, or how nothing would be damaged. The ethos behind a National Library – the making of books and manuscripts available to scholars – and the function of a National Archives – the preservation of documents emanating from government departments – seem quite distant from each other.

As a novelist, I plan what I do. I would not dream of starting a novel without a blueprint, and I put a great deal of thought into that. Would it be too much to ask the Minister, or indeed his civil servants, to produce a document which would explain the reasons for merging some cultural institutions, abolishing boards, and bringing them and Culture Ireland directly under the Minister’s and the civil servants’ own control? – Yours, etc,”

COLM TÓIBÍN

Cancellation of the 2013 Éigse Michael Hartnett Poetry Prize

Hugh Mc Fadden’s letter (15/12/2012)

“Sir, – Not content with cutting funding for the health services, making life more difficult for the sick, the very young, the elderly, disabled, halt and lame, our benighted leaders are busily cutting funds for the arts.

Grants to some publishers and magazine proprietors have been cut for 2013, thereby jeopardising the future of literary writing and the livelihoods of Irish writers.

The latest news on the literary front is that Limerick County Council’s Arts Office has been forced by lack of funding to cancel the Michael Hartnett Poetry Award for next year, as they informed this correspondent this week. Who voted these governmental Philistines into office? – Yours, etc,”

HUGH McFADDEN

My response to weak arts policy in Ireland.

I find the general response to the unconsidered and undebated continuation of previous governmental policies interesting. Arts in Ireland have moved toward a simple bureaucratised functionality based in the 2003 Arts Act. The mere fact that such letters are scant, confined to comment or letters pages, and not really looked at in terms of reportage indicates a lack of consideration for protecting and nurturing the arts and their fragile infrastructure.

Response to inadequate arts policies reflect Irish intellectual response to such issues as blasphemy legislation, the destruction of Tara, and the run-down of critical institutions – a paucity. How utterly sad that short-termism and bureaucracy dominates Irish political (or supposed intellectual) thought.

‘Yes, Minister’ a poem by John Walsh

October 4th, 2011

While brushing my teeth
I stop to think of the Minister’s words
and I feel how lucky we are indeed
to have a Green Minister like him to tell us
not to be wasting water running it
while brushing our teeth.

And I wonder if he’s noticed
that it’s been pissing the rain for weeks
and the eco-warriors are up to their eyes in muck
in their flooded dugouts on the Hill of Tara.

But he says he is not in a position to go there
for he is afraid of getting his hands dirty
and he’ll have to go washing them all over again,
wasting everyone’s time and energy,
including his own.

Seamus Heaney thinks it’s a disgrace,
but sure nobody listens to him.

Thanks to John Walsh. This poem is from Chopping Wood with T.S Eliot, Publ. Salmon Poetry 2010.