6 May 2004 Edition

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Anger as major Belfast festivals are refused funding

The NI Events Committee, which angered community groups throughout nationalist Belfast over its refusal to fund a St Patrick's Day Carnival event outside Belfast City Hall, has now upped the ante.

In a shock decision, the committee has now decided to refuse to fund the Ardoyne Fleadh Ceoil, the Greater New Lodge Community Festival and the Féile An Phobail festival in West Belfast. All three successful summer festivals were granted funding last year.

The decisions to refuse funding to these festivals was made during a single meeting of the NIEC on Monday night 26 April, which also saw the body, set up to promote tourism and locally-led events throughout the North, turn down an appeal by the St Patrick's Carnival for £27,000.

Reacting to the knockback, representatives of all three festivals held an emergency meeting at the Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau on Thursday 27 April.

During the meeting, the groups said they were outraged at the NIEC, which has effectively removed over £100,000 from the budgets of the three festivals.

Irene Sherry of the Greater New Lodge Festival and chair of the St Patrick's Day Carnival, raised questions about the fact that the decision not to fund the New Lodge Festival was made at the same time as the NIEC's decision to refuse funding to the St Patrick's Day Festival.

Carol Jackson of Féile an Phobail said she was "gutted" by the news and pointed out that the NIEC had funded all three festivals last year.

"We will be meeting the NIEC next week, "added Jackson, "and we will be asking them why they have made this u-turn. Is there any coincidence between the fact that Irene Sherry, Kevin McVeagh and myself [who represent all three festivals] all sit on the St Patrick's Day Carnival Committee and that all these festivals got rejected?"


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