For the past 112 years, the Feis Ceoil has given young Irish musicians a chance to show their talent, but lack of funding now threatens this popular festival.
Oscar Murphy O'Kane emerges from his performance of WF Bach's Minuet, followed by a Camidge Scherzando, wearing a grin from ear to ear. "I was happy about my performance," says the nine-year-old pianist, instantly divested of all his pre-show nerves. "I had the butterflies beforehand," he confesses with disarming candour.
In fact, he's now a seasoned performer, having made his Feis Ceoil debut the previous year. Whether he beats the other 48 competitors in his Junior Pianoforte Solo category and takes home the cup and gold medal is irrelevant, however. Regardless of the outcome, Oscar will be back. "I'm doing it with my brother next year," he vows. "He's never done it before."
As one of the 4,000 young competitors in this annual showcase for Irish musical talent, Oscar is blissfully unaware that next year his brother may not get the chance. The future of the 112-year-old Feis Ceoil is in doubt after the loss of its sponsor of 22 years, Siemens. "The Feis is in serious danger unless we get funds," admits Maurice Flynn, this year's Feis Ceoil President. "The situation is bad because looking towards the future we have to have money in the kitty to allow us to go forward and plan forward."
That money - which goes towards everything from venue hire, to paying adjudicators and organising programmes - is vital to ensure that one of the oldest festivals of its kind continues to nourish Irish musical talent and provide a platform for future performers. Its demise would mean Oscar's brother, and generations of Irish musicians to come, would be deprived of a moment granted to so many before who went on to become big names in Irish music, among them John McCormack, Finian Collins and Bernadette Greevey. Even James Joyce took home a Feis Ceoil bronze medal for solo tenor in 1904.
Over the years, the Feis Ceoil has grown from its starting point of 32 different competitions categories to the 177 it now boasts. Choirs, orchestras, ensembles and soloists on all manner of instruments from eight years old upwards have been steadily convening in halls and venues in and around the RDS in Ballsbridge since last Monday for this annual event, which has expanded to such an extent that it now spans a full fortnight.
Every day, the competitors arrive dragging cellos, oboes, accompanists, parents and grandparents for the performances which begin at 9am. Fourteen hours later, the last note is hit or missed, and the centres shut down again into an eerie silence. For over a century, this daily ritual has been repeated on an annual basis with generation after generation of young musicians passing through. In all this time, the Feis Ceoil has only faltered on one occasion, when it was cancelled six years ago during the height of the foot-and-mouth crisis.
"Apart from that it has always gone ahead," says Carmel Byrne, who has been the Feis Ceoil administrator for the past 10 years. "Through wars and the Easter Rising, and the Talbot Street bombing and everything, they still went on with the Feis."
Now it seems that an event world wars couldn't hold back may be threatened instead by lack of funds, even as its popularity thrives and the number of entrants increases on an annual basis. It is its exponential growth that may even bring about its downfall, explains Deirdre Kelleher, who has been on the Feis Ceoil's board of directors for three decades. "The Feis Ceoil has expanded and there are more people, therefore more usage of halls, therefore more time spent," she says. "The artistic cost of living has caught up with us."
Regardless of the financial burden it may bring, Kelleher is delighted to see so much enthusiasm among Ireland's musical youth. "We love when the numbers go up every year," she says. "When those boxes with the entry forms are bulging and we're having to put rubber bands around them to keep them closed, we're delighted."
Over its two-week run, the entrants are assessed in their various categories by adjudicators carefully selected as some of the most respected experts in their fields. England's Timothy Ravenscroft studied piano at the Royal College of Music in London and the Vienna Hochschule. He has performed all over the world, from Japan to South America, and has recorded CDs for a number of different labels. This week finds him at St Mary's Church Hall in Ballsbridge, listening to repeat performances of the Minuet and Scherzando as the adjudicator in the Junior Pianoforte Solo category. "I'm amazed by the standard here," he says simply. It's not his first time adjudicating at the Feis Ceoil, and he says he is always eager to return. "It is always a pleasure for me to come here because of the sheer musicality of the contestants, the preparation that they've all undergone and the wonderful performances I hear."
Having himself performed in various festivals as a young musician, he says the importance of such events cannot be underestimated when it comes to forming the musicians of the future. "I think it encourages the youngsters - it is stimulating for them to hear their contemporaries."
VIOLINIST CORA VENUS Lunny was one such youngster when, at just 14 years of age, she wowed the judges during the competition's centenary year of 1996, winning various competitions, including the Centenary String Bursary. Since then, she has toured with Nigel Kennedy, recorded with Damien Rice and is due to release her first solo album this year, but she still remembers her Feis Ceoil experiences. "It was an invaluable help for my studies . . . and a huge encouragement," she recalls. "To be just 14 years old and have the jury putting their faith in me above much older, more experienced performers felt amazing, and I never forgot it."
She feels the possibility that the festival's days are numbered reflects badly on the country as a whole. "The opportunity to perform is a really important part of any young musician's development - and it's fun, no matter how serious you are about music. If the Feis Ceoil had to shut down for good it would be a real shame, and indeed would be a disgrace and a very poor reflection on how much culture is valued in this country."
Deirdre Kelleher agrees. "It would be very tragic for standards of music here if it did fail to go on," she says. According to Kelleher, it is not just important for the performers, but for their teachers as well, giving them an opportunity to see their year's work bear fruit. "It's a way of enthusing people," she says.
Enthusing people comes at a price, however. According to Maurice Flynn, some €100,000 is currently needed to ensure the Feis Ceoil keeps pace with changing times. "We desperately need to upgrade our IT, we need to put everything concerned with the competition online," he explains. "We have to come into the 21st century and it all costs money."
While he is appealing to private donors and corporate sponsors for help, he insists the Government also has a part to play in the future of the Feis Ceoil. "I'm optimistic about getting funds from the corporate quarter or from some philanthropist who might give us money, but I do feel that it's the responsibility of the Government - either the Arts Council or the Department of Education - to step up and to help us."
With this in mind, those behind the Feis Ceoil have written letters to TDs, councillors and senators across the country highlighting the plight of this festival, and appealing for funding. They've also organised a petition and are hoping for some 20,000 signatures which they will present to those in a position to divert the much-needed funds to this struggling event. Just last month, in announcing his arts and culture plan for the year, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Seamus Brennan revealed his investment in the area had increased to €245 million for 2008. The organisers of the Feis Ceoil are hoping a sliver of this sum can be set aside to ensure the festival's survival. "There is extra money for the arts, and that's what we're pleading for," says Flynn.
WHETHER IT IS granted or not, he won't be giving up without a fight. "I'm really confident for the future, even though we haven't any money at the moment," he says. "It will all happen! Could you visualise football without the All-Ireland? The Feis Ceoil to music is the grand finale of all the effort that's put in by music teachers, parents and students, throughout the whole year and throughout the years."
This year, at least, the show goes on, and nine-year-old Helen Briscoe has just finished her performance. Did she win? She laughs. "It's not over yet," she says with absolute conviction. As another of the 49 competitors in her category does battle with Bach, it's hard not to believe her.
Feis Ceoil runs until March 14th