No Home for Major Books' Bequest in Galway?

national | arts and media | news report Wednesday October 28, 2009 21:01 by Fred Johnston - The Western Writers' Centre, Galway - Ionad Scríbhneoiri Chaitlin Maude westernwriters at eircom dot net Canavan House, Nuns Island, Galway 0872178138

City Hall Intransigence Could Mean Change of Location

The Western Writers' Centre, Galway (Ionad Scribhneoiri Chaitlín Maude) have been gifted no fewer than 400 copies of books by eminent European authors, complete with display furniture and are the legal, documented owners of this immense and valuable library. But the Centre, eight years in existence in Galway, has nowhere to house it.

The bequest is one of the biggest in literary terms ever gifted to a writers' centre and would, according to the Centre's director, writer Fred Johnston, be of immense value to the City of Galway.

"Sadly, the City Arts Office appears to be opposed to the development of the Western Writers' Centre, and in such a manner as convinced some of us that dealing with that Office, for funding purposes or otherwise, was utterly a waste of time. Therefore we did not, for instance, apply for funding this year."

At the same time, there is support at Council level for development of the Centre and finding utilitarian premises for the Centre (to include a commemorative space for Galway's literary heritage, an office and a readings' room open to all.)

"This makes it doubly frustrating. To think that, when Limerick and Cork both have writers' centres, the Arts Office here should be inexplicably opposed to ours, speaks to something I frankly cannot understand and makes no cultural sense. Who could oppose such a gift as these books?"

The library bequest, it had been hoped, would be housed in such a manner as to leave the books open for public viewing under controlled conditions. At present, they are still in Dublin.

The Western Writers' Centre have been so discouraged by the action of the City Arts Office that they would be quite content to house the library outside the city and, indeed, even outside the County.

"I am anxious to hear from anyone interested in supplying us with a decent overall premises, but if someone can begin with providing a home for the books, I don't personally care whether it is in Limerick Writers' Centre, the Munster Literature Centre, or in Ennis, Westport or Athlone," says Fred Johnston. "I'm getting a little too old to argue the obvious. I went through all of this nonsense when I founded the Cúirt festival."

The recent dispute with City Arts Officer, James C. Harrold, has now been taken up by the local media.

Anyone with ideas for housing the collection and display cabinets, including rostrum, should contact the Western Writers' Centre at westernwriters@eircom.net or 087.2178138.

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Meanwhile, upcoming events organised by the Centre include a visit by world-renowned harper, Ann Heymann and her husband, who is a story-teller; and the launch at Galway City Library of the Bus Eireann/Foras na Gaeilge book of three poems in Irish specially composed by poets Seosaimh O Guairim, Colette Nic Aodha and Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh, designed by Kinvara-based Sabine Springer.