FEBRUARY 2008

GRANT FOR CARNIVAL GROUP

The Arts Council has awarded the Inishowen Carnival Group €30,000 grant. The funds will pay the increasing costs of keeping the group running at a professional level.

For years the group has existed almost solely on the voluntary input of its management committee and key volunteers, but in July 2007 the group employed a development worker, Kevin O'Neill, to take on the demands of the marketing and administration functions of the group.

Mr O'Neill said: "While it's great to get the funding, we actually need more to do what we would like to be achieving, especially locally. To put our €30,000 in perspective, you must look at what other carnival groups got. Macnas got over €210,000, Waterford Spraoi something similar and Bui Bolg in Wexford got over €120,000. They've done the leg work to get this funding over a decade or more by producing consistently high quality work and we hope to follow in their footsteps and attract that sort of funding up north." Mr. O'Neill said we have also been given additional project funding from the Arts Council to work with artists and groups across the northwest over the next few months to design an outdoor spectacle which we hope might tour round a number of festivals in Summer 2009. We hope to confirm additional support from Donegal County Council again later this year." The group is one of only four street theatre companies funded annually by the Arts Council.

Mr. O'Neill said "We have depended heavily for a number of years on our annual visit to Dublin's St. Patrick's Festival which provides unrivalled funding to help us make costumes and props of the highest quality, Without this annual event we would probably not have been able to keep the carnival group going in Inishowen". In the future we would love to be taking part in more events across Ireland and in Britain and an invitation to take part in some international festivals would be something we hope to attract over the next few years. But we would also like to be taking part in more regular events locally."

Thirty five performers will travel to London to parade there on 16th March. Then the group will travel to Dublin to meet up with anther 50 local performers to perform this year's new production Eureka. Inishowen Carnival props and costumes will also be taking part in parades in Downpatrick and Derry.

There are still places left for anyone wishing to get involved in the Dublin parade and anyone interested in performing, carrying and pushing props on the day or helping out making props and costumes should contact the office at 93 73375 or email info@inishowencarnival.com

Back