Council urged to increase funding for Tipperary festivals

Photo from Thurles Halloween Arts Festival Facebook page

The funding for festivals in Tipperary from the Arts Council has come in for criticism.

The problem was highlighted by Thurles councillor Jim Ryan at the April meeting of the county council.

He urged the local authority to increase their funding for festivals to make up for the lack of input from the Arts Council

The Independent representative says the cost of running festivals is increasing every year.

“I wouldn’t be very happy with the way the Arts Council allocate their funding. They tend to give it to the bigger festivals like the Galway Arts Festival or the Kilkenny Arts Festival at the expense of the smaller festivals here in Tipperary.

“I would hate to see a situation where festivals are struggling to put a budget together. In some cases some committees have contacted me say that they are no longer going to hold a festival because the costs are too much. So I did ask that the council would put aside extra funding for the festivals here in Tipperary.