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Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture

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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 4,323 ✭✭✭Homelander


    https://galwaybayfm.ie/galway-bay-fm-news-desk/meeting-to-discuss-additional-funds-for-galway-2020-projects-deferred/

    In fairness asking Councillors to stump up another €2.5m after everything that's gone on is likely to cause some controversy.


  • Registered Users Posts: 22,880 ✭✭✭✭zell12


    Interesting interview between DriveTime presenter and Galway 2020 agents at the moment. About Funding. Very Probing and Good interview!
    It was a right ding-dong between Judy Murphy of the Tribune and Patricia Philbin of ECOC
    Judy was highlighting serious deficiencies in funding, non-transparency, non-accountability etc
    Taxpayers will end up bailing out the ECOC private company


  • Registered Users Posts: 672 ✭✭✭Ashleigh1986


    Part of the "2020" programme on their website is ....
    The arts festival in July .
    The music festival at galway airport on the bank holiday in June .
    Both these events have been running for years in galway .
    It's obvious the "2020" organisers are trying to fill in their year with events that have nothing to do with them .
    It's also obvious that they haven't got the financial backing from private companies that they had thought they were going to get originally .
    Without that backing they couldn't get the artists they probably had hoped to get.
    That's why they're high jacking these other events to fill in their programme .


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,323 ✭✭✭Homelander


    It's also obvious that they haven't got the financial backing from private companies that they had thought they were going to get originally .


    I think this is exactly the problem and has been for a long time. Every presentation they've given has been flimsy and full of vague committments and deflection about exploring options, pursuing partnerships, and all that rather than just saying in plain English "We need X, we have Y".

    Can't see Councillors being too happy having to put another €2.5m into the pot, considering the grumbling that went on before that. It will have to come from somewhere and will impact services/funding to other areas.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 828 ✭✭✭tototoe


    Part of the "2020" programme on their website is ....
    The arts festival in July .
    The music festival at galway airport on the bank holiday in June .
    Both these events have been running for years in galway .
    It's obvious the "2020" organisers are trying to fill in their year with events that have nothing to do with them .
    It's also obvious that they haven't got the financial backing from private companies that they had thought they were going to get originally .
    Without that backing they couldn't get the artists they probably had hoped to get.
    That's why they're high jacking these other events to fill in their programme .

    According to that interview they were expecting 2 or 2.5 million in sponsorship and have about 6-700k. Sounds like this is just the tax payer paying for most/all of this.and if they can't get additional funding some events will not go ahead. Some Chinese artist was one example. Weiwei was the artist I think. Also sounded like a lot of money being spent on art/ art installations tbh.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 672 ✭✭✭Ashleigh1986


    Originally they had said they had hoped for 4 to 6 million in private donations .
    It was laughable when after 2 meetings they had received €29,000 .
    It was obvious from than on that this " programme " was in serious trouble .
    With such a shortfall it was always going to be the taxpayer that would again bale it out .
    This comes after the fiasco of the Volvo ocean race .
    This will go on the endless lists of galways inability to run an event in a proper way .


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,470 ✭✭✭Whereisgalway


    They’ve half of South Park closed off for the next three weeks, must be preparing a big opening ceremony


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,337 ✭✭✭Wombatman


    Interesting interview between DriveTime presenter and Galway 2020 agents at the moment. About Funding. Very Probing and Good interview!

    I find this bit very, very interesting....
    City Manager Brendan McGrath said that budgets were in place for all planned events and that the additional funding being sought from the City Council would go towards additional activities. During the course of the meeting it emerged that €600,000 of the €2.5 million would be used to pay the salaries of Council staff seconded to Galway 2020.

    https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2020/0127/1111186-galway-2020/

    So a good chunk of the money allocated by the council is going back into the pockets of council staff?

    I wounder how much of the original allocation, from both County and City Councils, is being redirected back to council members \ staff?

    In the Drive Time interview Judy Murphy said that the Galway 2020 company is a private entity, with no accountability, although most of their funding is public. She said that any request she made for details of spending have been met with "we can't give that information out because it is commercially sensitive". I would imagine most of the shows are also making a profit through ticket sales.

    Really smells like another Palas Cinema scam.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,470 ✭✭✭Whereisgalway


    Wombatman wrote: »
    I find this bit very, very interesting....



    https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2020/0127/1111186-galway-2020/

    So a good chunk of the money allocated by the council is going back into the pockets of council staff?

    I wounder how much of the original allocation, from both County and City Councils, is being redirected back to council members \ staff?

    In the Drive Time interview Judy Murphy said that the Galway 2020 company is a private entity, with no accountability, although most of their funding is public. She said that any request she made for details of spending have been met with "we can't give that information out because it is commercially sensitive". I would imagine most of the shows are also making a profit through ticket sales.

    Really smells like another Palas Cinema scam.

    Wow the mind boggles


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,763 ✭✭✭thesandeman


    It's all starting in Clifden next Sunday.
    Hardly anybody here knows anything about it. They stuck flags up last week and gave us posters today.
    So far we know there are going to be ten drummers unless they bus people in from outside the town.
    We presume there's going to be lights or fire as well because some of the streets are closed off but there has been no discussion with the locals (unless it was all organised through Facebook or something).


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  • Registered Users Posts: 25,593 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    Wombatman wrote: »
    So a good chunk of the money allocated by the council is going back into the pockets of council staff?

    I wounder how much of the original allocation, from both County and City Councils, is being redirected back to council members \ staff?

    You make it sound like paying council staff is some kind of scam. That's rubbish. A good deal of the money allocated by councils to do pretty much anything is used to pay the wages of the people who do the work that is being funded.


  • Registered Users Posts: 672 ✭✭✭Ashleigh1986


    Interesting interview between DriveTime presenter and Galway 2020 agents at the moment. About Funding. Very Probing and Good interview!

    Should be played to Keith finnegan and show him how an interview regarding this project should be done .
    This is going to be galway people's / businesses taxes that are going to be used to " help out " a failing project .
    What's going to happen is other projects will not be supported by city council because of lack of funding.
    When they are including events ( arts festival / galway airport event ) that are already taken place to fill their programme , it's obvious it's a disaster waiting to happen .
    Will Keith finnegan ask the questions that need to be asked ???
    I seriously doubt it .
    He and galway bay fm are part of the propaganda regarding this event .
    His radio station was USED to promote the Volvo ocean race finale last time it was here .
    He himself was going to announce the boats arriving at the docks but just when they arrived ... VOLVO TOLD HIM TO STAND ASIDE AS THEY HAVE THEIR OWN PEOPLE TO TAKE OVER FROM HERE .
    You would have thought he would have learned from that experience .


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 511 ✭✭✭ChewyLouie


    Wombatman wrote: »
    Really smells like another Palas Cinema scam.

    Exactly.

    Ask for X from public money to joint fund along with Y from private sources.

    Fail to get Y (no prior commitments? what efforts were made?) then ask for Y from public funding to chase the X that would otherwise be wasted if it was all a flop.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,337 ✭✭✭Wombatman


    You make it sound like paying council staff is some kind of scam. That's rubbish. A good deal of the money allocated by councils to do pretty much anything is used to pay the wages of the people who do the work that is being funded.

    What? The people who are being 'seconded' are being paid by the council already.

    Why not get people who are in need of work to do it? Were the positions seconded to advertised publicly I wonder?

    If the governance of the Galway 2020 project is not in front of the PAC I'll eat a kitten.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,152 ✭✭✭ratracer


    They’ve half of South Park closed off for the next three weeks, must be preparing a big opening ceremony

    It would be a good time to buy a truck load of wellies and have them on sale down there before the event!


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,470 ✭✭✭Whereisgalway


    ratracer wrote: »
    It would be a good time to buy a truck load of wellies and have them on sale down there before the event!

    GCC will need a cut


  • Registered Users Posts: 25,593 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    Wombatman wrote: »
    What? The people who are being 'seconded' are being paid by the council already.

    Why not get people who are in need of work to do it? Were the positions seconded to advertised publicly I wonder?
    .

    Any time I've been seconded, my "home" organisation stopped paying me, and the other org paid me instead.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,675 ✭✭✭ronnie3585


    ratracer wrote: »
    It would be a good time to buy a truck load of wellies and have them on sale down there before the event!

    I was there at the weekend and the ground is absolutely saturated, it will not withstand tens of thousands of people waking on it.

    The Swamp is call the Swamp for a reason, it's a swamp. To hold such a big event there in the depths of winter, with completely saturated soil, is asking for trouble. Compounding this, is the lack of nearby parking/transport to the venue. The double header in Pearse Stadium on Sunday was a complete sh*t show in terms of illegal parking and congestion, proving yet again that Salthill does not have the capacity for such large events.

    It's baffling that this event is not being held in the Racecourse.


  • Registered Users Posts: 22,880 ✭✭✭✭zell12


    It's closer to town in terms of public transport
    Idea that people will walk


  • Registered Users Posts: 672 ✭✭✭Ashleigh1986


    ronnie3585 wrote: »
    I was there at the weekend and the ground is absolutely saturated, it will not withstand tens of thousands of people waking on it.

    The Swamp is call the Swamp for a reason, it's a swamp. To hold such a big event there in the depths of winter, with completely saturated soil, is asking for trouble. Compounding this, is the lack of nearby parking/transport to the venue. The double header in Pearse Stadium on Sunday was a complete sh*t show in terms of illegal parking and congestion, proving yet again that Salthill does not have the capacity for such large events.

    It's baffling that this event is not being held in the Racecourse.

    Galway city councils fear is that if it was held in galway racecourse people would attend and than go home .
    Because it's on within the city the hope is that people go to the pubs and restaurants after the event .
    This helps the pubs / restaurants .
    Which in turn pay their rates .
    Which means they get their salaries .


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  • Registered Users Posts: 5,301 ✭✭✭gordongekko


    ronnie3585 wrote: »
    . The double header in Pearse Stadium on Sunday was a complete sh*t show in terms of illegal parking and congestion, proving yet again that Salthill does not have the capacity for such large events.

    This never happened anyway.


  • Registered Users Posts: 904 ✭✭✭pure.conya


    Homelander wrote: »
    https://galwaybayfm.ie/galway-bay-fm-news-desk/meeting-to-discuss-additional-funds-for-galway-2020-projects-deferred/

    In fairness asking Councillors to stump up another €2.5m after everything that's gone on is likely to cause some controversy.

    is it? anybody that didn't see this coming way back is an idiot, it's not like the city council can say no at this stage lol


  • Registered Users Posts: 904 ✭✭✭pure.conya


    zell12 wrote: »
    It was a right ding-dong between Judy Murphy of the Tribune and Patricia Philbin of ECOC
    Judy was highlighting serious deficiencies in funding, non-transparency, non-accountability etc
    Taxpayers will end up bailing out the ECOC private company

    just as i predicted, another ocean race scenario


  • Registered Users Posts: 904 ✭✭✭pure.conya


    tototoe wrote: »
    According to that interview they were expecting 2 or 2.5 million in sponsorship and have about 6-700k. Sounds like this is just the tax payer paying for most/all of this.and if they can't get additional funding some events will not go ahead. Some Chinese artist was one example. Weiwei was the artist I think. Also sounded like a lot of money being spent on art/ art installations tbh.

    well with a population as disinterested in standing up against this carry on as we are, it shouldn't be surprising that we pay for everything


  • Registered Users Posts: 904 ✭✭✭pure.conya


    Wombatman wrote: »
    I find this bit very, very interesting....



    https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2020/0127/1111186-galway-2020/

    So a good chunk of the money allocated by the council is going back into the pockets of council staff?

    I wounder how much of the original allocation, from both County and City Councils, is being redirected back to council members \ staff?

    In the Drive Time interview Judy Murphy said that the Galway 2020 company is a private entity, with no accountability, although most of their funding is public. She said that any request she made for details of spending have been met with "we can't give that information out because it is commercially sensitive". I would imagine most of the shows are also making a profit through ticket sales.

    Really smells like another Palas Cinema scam.

    so the well connected are being paid handsomely for "working" with ecoc 2020,i feel a few FOI applications are in order


  • Registered Users Posts: 904 ✭✭✭pure.conya


    It's all starting in Clifden next Sunday.
    Hardly anybody here knows anything about it. They stuck flags up last week and gave us posters today.
    So far we know there are going to be ten drummers unless they bus people in from outside the town.
    We presume there's going to be lights or fire as well because some of the streets are closed off but there has been no discussion with the locals (unless it was all organised through Facebook or something).

    jesus christ they couldn't organise a piss up


  • Registered Users Posts: 904 ✭✭✭pure.conya


    Should be played to Keith finnegan and show him how an interview regarding this project should be done .
    This is going to be galway people's / businesses taxes that are going to be used to " help out " a failing project .
    What's going to happen is other projects will not be supported by city council because of lack of funding.
    When they are including events ( arts festival / galway airport event ) that are already taken place to fill their programme , it's obvious it's a disaster waiting to happen .
    Will Keith finnegan ask the questions that need to be asked ???
    I seriously doubt it .
    He and galway bay fm are part of the propaganda regarding this event .
    His radio station was USED to promote the Volvo ocean race finale last time it was here .
    He himself was going to announce the boats arriving at the docks but just when they arrived ... VOLVO TOLD HIM TO STAND ASIDE AS THEY HAVE THEIR OWN PEOPLE TO TAKE OVER FROM HERE .
    You would have thought he would have learned from that experience .

    Keith finnegan knows what side his bread is buttered


  • Registered Users Posts: 904 ✭✭✭pure.conya


    ChewyLouie wrote: »
    Exactly.

    Ask for X from public money to joint fund along with Y from private sources.

    Fail to get Y (no prior commitments? what efforts were made?) then ask for Y from public funding to chase the X that would otherwise be wasted if it was all a flop.

    oldest trick in the book, too much skin in the game to back out now boss


  • Registered Users Posts: 904 ✭✭✭pure.conya


    Wombatman wrote: »
    What? The people who are being 'seconded' are being paid by the council already.

    Why not get people who are in need of work to do it? Were the positions seconded to advertised publicly I wonder?

    If the governance of the Galway 2020 project is not in front of the PAC I'll eat a kitten.

    bahahahahahaha advertised bahahahahahahaha


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  • Registered Users Posts: 904 ✭✭✭pure.conya


    Any time I've been seconded, my "home" organisation stopped paying me, and the other org paid me instead.

    so you're not part of the clique so


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