Birr Theatre and Lough Boora are key parts of Council's future plans

BIRR Theatre & Arts Centre and Lough Boora are key parts of Offaly County Council's future development plans, a meeting in Áras an Chontae was told last week.

With the April opening of Esker Arts Centre in Tullamore some people in Birr and South Offaly are wondering what impact that will have on Birr Theatre & Arts Centre and will it receive less support from the Council?

Sharon Kennedy, Director of Services for Housing, Community, and Culture (including Libraries, Arts and Sports) told the meeting that nothing could be further from the truth. She assured everyone that the Council is determined that Birr Theatre will continue to get all the support it needs and will continue to develop.

Cllr Seán O'Brien told the meeting that the opening of Esker Arts Centre in April will be an exciting and very positive time for the county. He said the Centre will provide a lot of cultural, aesthetic pleasure for people, as well as creating a significant economic spinoff in the town and wider region. He said the phoenix rising from the flames is Tullamore's hopeful motif and the new arts centre is a bit like the phoenix because it is giving people a lot of hope and something to look forward to.

The councillor pointed out that the staff in Esker are highly experienced in the arts and have drawn up a fantastic programme of events for the months after the centre opens.

Cllr Neil Feighery said the centre's opening will be an exciting time for Tullamore. "We have seen over the years how successful Birr Theatre & Arts Centre has been for Birr and the wider region. We are very hopeful that Esker will be equally positive for Tullamore."

The Offaly County Council Arts Officer Dr Sally O'Leary told the meeting that Birr Theatre & Arts Centre is one of four cultural venues/locations which the Council will be focussing on during the coming years. She said the county's Arts Infrastructure Strategy (AIS) has been drawn up and it's an important strategy which will cover the period from now until 2028 and is focussed on four artistic endeavours in the county, namely: Birr Theatre and Arts Centre; Edenderry Library and Arts Space; Esker Arts; and Lough Boora Sculpture Park.

She said Birr Theatre has a long track record and is recognised for its audience development. "It's an important resource for festivals in Birr; however its space for visual arts and workshops is limited and this is currently an area of competitive weakness. The theatre is the centre of the creative ecosystem in the town of Birr and we want to develop on that." She said a review of Birr Theatre's strategy going forward would be necessary. "A post-Covid review of Birr Theatre is necessary," she remarked, "and there are operational pressures."

She pointed out that a number of things concerning Edenderry Library & Arts Space were highlighted in the Blundell Masterplan. In the Edenderry Library and Arts Space, she remarked, "crucial elements of design, management and day-to-day operating processes need to be structured to achieve a sense of belonging. Further consideration is also needed regarding mixing arts and library uses and how the various spaces within the space will be managed in terms of staffing and scheduling. There's a unique opportunity with Creative Places Edenderry; and there will be links between the space and Birr Theatre and Esker Arts Centre."

She said the Arts Infrastructure Strategy is recommending the following: that Offaly County Council focuses investment on the four identified signature arts infrastructure projects of Edenderry Library, Birr Theatre, Esker and Lough Boora; that the focus of Offaly County Council and its Arts Office would shift to a more strategic and enabling role, less engaged in programme development (except in areas of crucial gaps in delivery) and more engaged in supporting the signature arts infrastructure to deliver on its potential (as highlighted within the AIS analysis and key considerations), and to deliver on Offaly County Council's strategic priorities; that Offaly County Council's investment in signature arts infrastructure projects supports alignment with current and future Arts Council policy.

Cllr Neil Feighery said the proposed collaborative approach between the four signature arts infrastructure projects is a very important part of the county's Arts Infrastructure Strategy. He said the more collaborative the four arts projects are the better it will be for the arts in the county.

The Arts Office representative said Lough Boora, with 100,000 visitors per year, is a great success story, but it is evident that Lough Boora Sculpture Park is in need of substantial revitalisation. "The potential of Lough Boora Sculpture Park is well understood by Offaly County Council," she remarked. She warned though that "without targeted programme leadership, the opportunities for Lough Boora Sculpture Park will be difficult to realise."

Cllr Neil Feighery said it's been evident for a few years that Lough Boora Sculpture Park needs rejuvenation.

Cllr Declan Harvey said Tullamore has been waiting a long time for Esker Arts Centre. "It's been a very long time coming and we are all keenly looking forward to its opening in April. I want to warmly congratulate, for their great work, the Chief Executive and the former and present committee. Well done too to Brian Cowen who got us a grant of €2 million all those years ago."

Cllr John Carroll said Birr and South Offaly is very fortunate to have Birr Theatre and Arts Centre in the town. He added that he expects the Birr Theatre to develop further under the Council's current Arts Infrastructure Strategy. He added that he would like to see more Irish music concerts and Irish language promotion events taking place in each of the county's Arts Infrastructure Projects.

Cllr Carroll pointed out that sometimes people are looking for more space than Birr Theatre could provide. "The proposed Creative Court, in the former courthouse, will solve that problem when it comes into existence." He added that all four infrastructure projects "should get a big shout-out in the Ireland's Hidden Heartlands promotional campaigns."