Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 December 2013
15. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he has made any progress on the commitment in the programme for Government to make the Culture Night initiative a twice yearly event; the actions he plans to ensure this commitment is kept; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51457/13]
View answerFollowing on from discussions between my Department and relevant stakeholders, including Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, Temple Bar Cultural Trust and St. Patrick's Festival, it was agreed that the commitment in the Programme for Government to expand the Culture Night concept and to consider making it a twice yearly event would be best met by the designation and delivery of an International Week of Irish Culture, based around the St Patrick's Day Festival. This would allow for the cultivation and development of the solid foundations already in place to showcase to the world Ireland's rich and varied cultural heritage and to promote Ireland as a destination for cultural tourists.
2012 was essentially the first year of a 5-year development plan in this regard, with the emphasis on the international launch of the "International Celebration of Irish Culture" brand abroad and a series of programme activities based in existing cultural venues around the Merrion Square/Kildare Street areas of Dublin, marketing the message of "I Love my City ". The existing St. Patrick's Festival activity was used to promote Ireland and its culture, both domestically and internationally, and the initiative was well received and supported in both national and international spheres.
This year, the international element had "Culture Connects" - the international culture programme of Ireland's presidency of the EU - as its key focus. The domestic element of the celebration took place over an extended 4 day period and featured 16 free headline events staged in the beautiful surroundings of some of our most prestigious cultural institutions and venues. In addition to these specially programmed events, a citywide Cultural Events Programme also took place throughout the city during the St. Patrick's Day Festival. Once again, the initiative was well received and supported and it is proposed to further expand it in 2014, ultimately building towards linking with the 2016 commemoration celebrations.
In further recognition of the Culture Night commitment in the Programme for Government , my Department continues to work with relevant stakeholders to foster and develop the event. Culture Night has grown from a relatively small-scale cultural event, staged only in Dublin in 2006, to the significant national cultural event it now is.
Culture Night 2013 took place on 20 September 2013 in 34 locations across the island of Ireland, in 3 UK cities and in Leuven in Belgium. The feedback from the 2013 event has been overwhelmingly positive with many participating locations reporting larger turnouts than in previous years.
Discussions have already commenced with key stakeholders in relation to Culture Night 2014. As it enters its 9th year, the challenge is to keep Culture Night fresh and exciting, whilst building on the platforms and success of previous years to further develop and enhance the event. Clearly, while we want people to really enjoy Culture Night, we also want to use it as a stepping stone to encourage more people to visit cultural venues and experience culture in their locality.
