Galway's Western Writers' Centre Looks Forward

national | arts and media | press release Monday November 24, 2008 17:20 by WWC - Ionad Scríbhneoiri Chaitlín Maude, Gallimh westernwriters at eircom dot net 27 Nuns Island, Galway 091.533594 & 087.2178138

The Western Writers' Centre is seven years on the go . . . .

Galway City's Western Writers' Centre is looking forward to 2009, in spite of Arts Council jeremiads. . . . .

Fred Johnston, Director, The Western Writers' Centre, Galway

The Western Writers' Centre, flush from winning a major Bus Éireann-Foras na Gaeilge Award to have three poets write a potted history of Galway city in Irish, are looking forward to 2009. Two of the poets so far named are Collette Nic Aodha and Carna poet, Seosaimh Ó Guairim. In spite of dire warnings sent to arts' organisations from the Arts Council advising that the Budget has hit the arts also, the Centre, seven years in existence, is looking forward to the challenges of the New Year.
"We are planning ahead, the next stop after a series of drama workshops in Irish is our second 'The Forge Literature Festival' at Gort, Co. Galway," says the Centre's Director, writer and critic, Fred Johnston. "We have a strong Board, it's not only me involved, though often people may think it is!" And the Centre's commitment to the Irish language has been there from the outset.
The recent bequest of 400 works of literature signed by European authors, plus a set of furniture and display items necessary for a writers' centre, came from Dublin. "There is so much support from Dublin, from Limerick, from the rest of the country. People have been very good to us. We're established, and well-established, now. We are negotiating with a number of people, including Galway County Library, to show these works and make them available."
The only dim note he can sound is that quite recently copies of published letters and items from the Western Writers' Centre were sent to The Arts Council under an apparently false name, with a view to doing down both he and the Centre. "The kind of reputation this sort of begrudgery secures for the city is not good." And he was disappointed that Galway missed out on the chance to pursue the designation of 'City of LIterature,' which Dublin is pursuing, with a committee comprising Arts Council representation and representation from Poetry Ireland. "We could have made an effort at that, by 'we' I mean the city of Galway. But someone's cultural eye was certainly off the ball. This title meant £2.2million to Edinburgh in created tourism revenues."
Meanwhile, the search goes on to secure new and bigger premises, which will comprise a section celebrating writers and the literary heritage of the West of Ireland, a small café and library. The Centre, he stresses, is not about him, but is a Centre for the City of Galway and the region of the West. "Anyone interested in supporting us, in whatever way - and anyone with news for our newsletter, 'The Word Tree' - should contact us. It's probably not to early to get in a 'Nollaig faoi shéan 's faoi mhaise.' "
The Western Writers' Centre is currently funded by Poetry Ireland, The Arts Council, Galway County Council, Foras na Gaeilge and Galway City Council. It is a limited company - Galway Writers' Centre Ltd.