Galway arts organisations to get close to three million in funding
Galway arts organisations are set to benefit from a combined total of €2,923,760 in funding from the Arts Council.
The Arts Council said the funding will support artists, festivals, publishers, theatre groups, etc, to create work which will “lead and inspire Irish society as we recover from the pandemic”, while also acknowledging that the sector was “suffering disproportionately” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Galway recipients of funding are Druid Theatre Company (€884,000 ), Galway International Arts Festival (€640,000 ), Macnas (€305,000 ), Baboró International Arts Festival for Children (€294,000 ), Town Hall Theatre (€160,000 ), Galway Arts Centre (€160,000 ), Galway Film Fleadh (€150,000 ), Galway Community Circus (€150,000 ), Cló Iar-Chonnachta Teo (€85,000 ), Áras Éanna (€63,500 ), and Galway Dance Project (€32,260 ).
The Arts Council said the Strategic Funding grants would allow key organisations to stay afloat during the remaining months of the pandemic, adapt to the changing landscape, and renew their work for the future.
Noeline Kavanagh, the artistic director of Macnas, has welcomed the funding. “The Arts Council provides the core funding to support Macnas’ main objective which is to advance education and access to the arts.
“We create work year on year that truly engages with audiences of all ages and at a level and scale that would simply not be possible without this Strategic Funding. The Arts Council allows us to invest in something at the very heart of the company, our comprehensive education, and training programme to nurture and develop the next generation of artists, magic makers, and engineers of imagination.”
Ultrasound services to be available in Tuam from next week
An interim ultrasound service will begin in the Tuam Primary Care Centre from Monday March 8, the HSE has confirmed.
The HSE is also progressing detailed design of the required clinical room, which is expected to be completed by end of April. Following completion of the detailed design, the works will be tendered.
The news has been welcomed by independent Galway East TD, Seán Canney. “Finally, we are reaching a conclusion to this long running saga and I expect full diagnostic services to be in place by end of this year,” he said.
When the service is fully operational, it is expected that up to 3,000 x-rays and 6,000 ultrasounds will be carried out in Tuam.
