COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

south dublin county council crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, June 11, 2012

QUESTION NO. 10

Question Cllr E. Tuffy

To ask the Manager to note that this Council reaffirms its support for the excellent work done by the Council in supporting  artistic and cultural events and activities in the County, in the Council's own facilities such as RUA RED, the Civic Theatre, the Council's Libraries and Library Service, the Big Picture and Tallaght Stadium, and activities in other venues and locations, and asks if she can provide a summary report on the Council's work directly and in support of cultural activities and events, including the amount of money allocated in the Council's 2012 Budget for such activities, events and programmes?

Reply:

South Dublin Libraries deliver over 3500 programmed events each year and one and a half million visitors attended events across the branch network in 2011. These programmes span a wide range of areas including education, literacy, culture, health, business support, employment support, heritage and information. Many of these events including pre literacy, digital literacy, language learning, eBook events and book club activities are delivered by library staff. Volunteers recruited from the South Dublin County Volunteer Bureau deliver computer sessions across the branch network and a wide range of partner agencies deliver events for free including IE Network, CPLN, ITT Dublin, National Gallery, Tallaght Hospital, and Poetry Ireland. Many of the events delivered are also provided as joint programmes with other departments across SDCC including Seachtain na Gaeilge, EcoWeek, Engineer’s Week, Social Inclusion Festival and many others. During 2012 two artists in residence will be jointly shared between the Civic Theatre and the library services and they will work with schools in South Dublin delivering music, drama and literacy workshops and showcasing the work of the Civic Theatre and the library service.

Many specifically cultural activities will be delivered by the library service during 2012 and funding for these programmes is incorporated in the annual libraries operations budget – if external authors/performers and other event facilitators are required. These events will include the Red Line Book Festival, Bealtine Festival, Children’s Book Festival, Seachtain na Gaeilge, Heritage Month, the Summer Reading Challenge for Children, Children’s Arts Festival, Ruaille Buaille, ongoing Age Friendly events and the 1916 History Lecture Series.

South Dublin County Council provides opportunities for access to and participation in the arts through a range of programmes and supports including participatory programmes, events, facilities, public art, arts grants and information services. In 2011, over 134,000 patrons in the county engaged with the arts, the majority of these attending the Civic Theatre and Rua Red South Dublin Arts Centre.

The Arts Service has a particular focus on providing quality arts experiences and resources for young people through the Youth Arts and NOISE web and festival programmes, and music education programme including Ruaille Buaille Lucan Childrens Music Festival. It engages with older people through the Bealtaine programme and intergenerational media literacy projects. These programmes and projects are carried out with the support of partner organisations and agencies.

The Amateur, Voluntary and Community sectors make a vital contribution to the cultural life of South Dublin County, creating significant opportunities to participate, to be innovative, to develop arts practice and to present work. Many people in the county access the arts through these structures and they form an important element of sustaining local arts. South Dublin County Council supports this sector through the Arts grants.

Tallaght Stadium also provides a venue for a variety of events from football with Shamrock Rovers as they play this season defending their role as Premier League Champions, rugby, St Patricks Day parade and many more events all of which have an economic value to the County. The conference facility at the stadium is also an attractive choice for organisers and has held many events including the opening and closing ceremonies for Bealtaine this year.

 The Council makes a contribution of €277,300 in respect of the Civic Theatre and the sum of €320,000 in respect of Rua Red as provided for in the 2012 budget. The Council also organises and supports cultural activities and events in many of the Council's facilities through the Libraries, Arts, Social Inclusion and Sports budgets.  

  Mayors Office/ Communications Unit- Civic/ Cultural Events 2012

Over 125 events have been attended by the Mayor Caitríona Jones to date in 2012, reflecting the council’s interaction with local community groups, schools, businesses and other public bodies Highlights include:

 Chinese New Year 2012

South Dublin County Council for the first time in association with the Institute of Technology Tallaght and South Dublin Libraries organised a fantastic evening of Chinese and Irish Culture on Thursday 26th January in the County Library Tallaght.  Each year of the Chinese calendar is represented by one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac and 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. The Chinese New Year is a huge festival among Chinese communities across the world and here in South Dublin County we celebrated with a programme of events including:

On the evening students and staff from the Institute of Technology Tallaght, shared their experiences about how the Institute through its International office is collaborating with the Nanjing University of Technology in China with exchange Programmes in Pharmaceutical Science and Engineering. For the academic year 2011/2012 there are 60 Chinese students living and studying in Tallaght

 Link to SDCC Chinese New Year Video Clip

 Promotion of the Irish Language 2012 

2012 has been another busy year, with much being done to promote the Irish language within the County.  Seachtain na Gaeilge Átha Cliath Theas 2012 was again a huge success, with over 100 events and over 7000 people attending each event.   Also this year there was great progress made on the IT side of things, with Deisighdoshraid.ie (fixyourstreet.ie) being launched and is now being used by other local authorities in Ireland.  Also launched was an app as Gaeilge for South Dublin libraries, so you can now renew your items, review your account etc as Gaeilge on the move!  This year also saw Áras Chrónáin reaching its 21st Anniversary and the birth of a new Irish speaking group – Pobal na Gaeilge Átha Cliath Theas.  The Irish Office has been closely involved in both these public movements. 

 Twinning Event  

South Dublin County Council has formal twinning arrangements in place with the London Borough of Brent and Kreis Segeberg in Germany. The Council also supports the community twinning arrangement between Rathcoole and Ecole Valentine in France. In April 2012, a delegation from Rathcoole and Ecole Valentine attended an evening organised in their honour in County Hall, the theme for this visit was ‘Connect with Energy’.  

Christmas tree Lighting and Unwrapped Events, December 2012

The Council’s interdepartmental events team in partnership with local artists and community groups co-ordinate the ‘switching on’ of the Christmas tree lights by the Mayor of South Dublin County each year in our civic spaces in Clondalkin and Tallaght.  Plans for the Unwrapped, Event for 2012 are already underway, our annual winter celebration will take place on the 8th December and the theme this year is based on Oscar Wilde’s short story the ‘Selfish Giant’ .These events are extremely well attended and have proved increasingly popular over the years as both spectators and participants enjoy an afternoon of fun and entertainment for all. The civic Christmas tree lights and festivities add to the aesthetic appearance of our villages and town centres attracting shoppers and visitors. It is important in the current financial climate to support the local business community and provide an attractive atmosphere for citizens during the festive season.

 Unwrapped 2011 - YouTube