New Committee for the Traditional Arts in Ireland

John O'Donoghue TD, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, last week announced the establishment of a Special Committee on the Traditional Arts. According to a press release the Committee will be charged with reviewing the structures, supports and policy for Traditional Arts nationwide, and making recommendations for the future development of this sector.

The five-person Committee was announced at a function in Boyle, Co. Roscommon and will be chaired by Jerome Hynes (Deputy Chair of the Arts Council). The other members are Philip King, Micheál O hEidhin, Una Ó Murchú and Katie Verling, all of whom are active ractitioners in the Traditional Arts field. The Committee must report to the Arts Council by 1st September 2004 .

This is the first committee of its type ever to be established in traditional arts and has been appointed under Section 21 of the Arts Act 2003. Its recommendations are expected to shape policy on the Traditional Arts for the next three to five years. Under the legislation the Minister appoints the Chair, who is selected from the membership of the Council, and two ordinary members, with the remaining two ordinary members appointed by the
Council itself.

Commenting at the announcement, the Minister said,

"When I assumed responsibility for the arts, I quickly became aware of the sense of dissatisfaction that existed within the traditional arts sector with the treatment that the sector had received over the years. Accordingly, I have now asked the Arts Council to establish a Special Committee on the traditional arts so as to examine these issues in detail, and to furnish a view to the Council by September 2004. I am delighted with the composition of the Committee."

"Irish traditional arts are a precious and fundamental part of our national cultural life. In an increasingly homogenised world, our arts, like our language, say something special about who we are, about where we came from as a people, about what distinguishes us and our culture from others in the world. Very many people enjoy the traditional arts, but even those whose taste runs in other directions would say that our distinctive Irish art forms are special, that they are worth protecting, and that if we lost them we would be much the
poorer."

With people like Philip King a well respected musician and broadcaster himself on board the committee should be an asset but only time will tell. The Arts and traditional music of Ireland to me seems to have fared well under the people who make it but if this committee can make it easier to make a living for them then it will be a worthwhile venture.