A war of words and claims and counterclaims have broken out between the Galway Arts Festival, Saw Doctors manager Ollie Jennings, and Fianna Fáil Cllr Michael J Crowe over the Saw Doctors’ summer concerts in Galway city.
At the recent Galway City Council meeting, Cllr Crowe questioned why the festival should receive council funding until an explanation was given as to why The Saw Doctors were not given use of the Festival’s Big Top for their 20th anniversary concerts.
Cllr Crowe said the band should have held their 20th anniversary concerts in the Festival Big Top as it was an opportunity for the festival to “get in a substantial amount of money, but it was not taken up”.
Cllr Crowe said a request from the Saw Doctors was put to the festival committee but was rejected. He said he also called for a meeting with the festival manager, John Crumlish, but alleged he received no reply.
His statement has led to criticism by the Galway Arts Festival but support from Mr Jennings.
A spokesperson for the Galway Arts Festival said Cllr Crowe “claimed he had been waiting for five weeks for a response” in relation to the issue. However the Festival said Mr Crumlish contacted Cllr Crowe on August 5 requesting a meeting “and has yet to hear back from him”.
“Cllr Crowe’s remarks against the Festival remain a mystery,” the spokesperson added. “Based on an independent study, during this year’s festival, it is worth €24.5 million. The festival cost €2.3 million to produce and promote this year, with less than three per cent coming from the Galway City Council.”
However Mr Jennings says Cllr Crowe is “correct” in his allegations and has raised an important issue. “It is very strange that the Festival would turn down an offer by us to rent the Big Top for €35,000 and then go to the Galway City Council asking for more funding. We feel Cllr Crowe is raising valid questions and we support him.”
Different accounts of what actually happened have been put forward by both sides.
In a statement, a Galway Arts Festival spokesperson said: “Ollie Jennings made a request to Galway Arts Festival in May 2008, to festival artistic director Paul Fahy, to use the Festival Big Top for a Saw Doctors concert.
“At that time the Big Top was booked on the dates in question. The Festival Big Top was offered to Mr Jennings for any dates at any other time of the year. Mr Jennings declined this offer.
“When difficulties arose for The Saw Doctors with the Salthill Park venue the band had to seek an alternative site in the city at short notice.”
A representative of the band approached the arts festival to explain their predicament and asked if the festival could look at making the Big Top available. The Festival was aware the band and management were in difficulty and made arrangements to delay the departure of the Big Top in Fisheries Field by two days to accommodate The Saw Doctors’ concert.
The Festival also made the necessary arrangements with the Gardaí, NUI Galway, the Big Top stage and lighting suppliers, and security, and made significant rearrangements with the Festival’s production and technical teams in order to facilitate this request.
The Saw Doctors’ management were made aware of all these arrangements and the Big Top was offered to Mr Jennings on Wednesday July 16 “at a fee as he had requested”.
“Mr Jennings, however, pursued alternative arrangements,” the statement continued. “A court hearing occurred regarding an objection to a new site at St Enda’s School in Salthill on Monday July 21. Mr Jennings spoke of the Festival’s Big Top’s non availability on his initial request in May, however he made no reference to the Festival’s new offer of the Big Top.”
Mr Jennings claims the Saw Doctors wrote to the festival in February seeking inclusion on the GAF programme but were turned down in May. After that the band made arrangements for the Salthill Park gig.
When the Festival programme was published in June the band noticed the Big Top was not hosting any events on the last two days of the festival. Mr Jennings approached a prominent member of the Galway arts community to see if the festival might consider renting the tent but the offer was turned down.
On June 5, the band made a formal application to the festival through their solicitor for the Big Top to be made available to the band (for which €20,000 was offered to the GAF ) for the night of either July 26 or 27, or else for both nights at €35,000.
On June 13 a letter was received by the band stating that the GAF “regrets that it is unable to make it’s Festival Big Top venue and facilities available to The Saw Doctors” due to its own “Programming and commercial requirements”.
However the letter added that the Festival would make the tent available at another time. In response Mr Jennings told the Galway Advertiser that this was not suitable. “When was this ‘other time’ meant to be? Christmas?” He alleged that the big top is in storage in England and it would be impractical to bring it back to Ireland again until next summer.
Mr Jennings said the then Mayor, Cllr Tom Costello, was asked to intervene, but his efforts also met a dead end. After that the Docs set up their tent in Salthill and proceeded with the concerts.
However the Festival’s artistic director, Paul Fahy, alleges that Mr Jennings “avoids the specific details of the rental of the Big Top”.
“I don’t know why our offer to The Saw Doctors to rent the Big Top was never discussed publicly when difficulties arose concerning the Salthill Park venue,” Mr Fahy told the Galway Advertiser, “and, when objections arose from a resident of the Threadneedle Road area concerning the St Enda’s school site where the concert eventually took place. But the bottom line is The Saw Doctors were offered to rent the Festival Big Top and they declined this offer.”
Last evening, Arts Festival manager John Crumlish said that he has documentary evidence that disproves what Mr Jennings and Cllr Crowe are saying and that he is willing for this to be shown to an independent arbiter in order for the truth to emerge.
