A chara, - In trying to make the best of a bad hand, Damian Smyth (September 22nd) goes rather too far in his defence of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland's "credible" record on Irish language arts.
At the "Visioning the Future" conference I criticised the council, correctly, for having no vision for Irish-language arts, for having no development strategy, for funding reactively, and for failing to develop adequate planning, evaluation or monitoring structures. I did not take a dogmatic stand on whether the council's shortcomings stem from indifference, tokenism or spinelessness.
Mr Smyth should have known that I did not argue that the council should "provide for" Irish (I did imply that it had a responsibility for Irish-language arts). He could usefully have consulted his colleagues in the council who heard what I said, and it was unworthy to nitpick one phrase in Pol O Muiri's account (Front Page, September 10th) out of context. He was also familiar with a lengthy article in a supplement to Fortnight (editor: Damian Smyth) in which I made a very strong - and unpopular - case for protecting Irish-language arts development from those who cannot distinguish between promoting the language and promoting creativity in the language.
Pol O Muiri and I, as members of an advisory panel, are "ideally placed" to collude with a flawed and aimless policy. We have some input into the council's (reactive) funding decisions on a limited range of grant applications. There is only a tiny, uncommitted budget for fresh applications for a wide range of art forms in at least two languages. Perhaps mistakenly, I do not see the panel as a forum for grinding the Irish-language axe, and would be surprised if the council wished its advisory panels to become bear-pits of warring sectional interests.
Members of advisory panels have no input into council strategy, as I learned to my cost during my last stint. In the early 1990s, when the council's funding for Irish-language arts was on an upward trend from derisory to inadequate, I submitted a series of lengthy and closely argued strategic recommendations. No-one in the council took a blind bit of notice; no-one in the council bothered to point out where my arguments were flawed.
I argued then and continue to argue that the development of Irish-language arts depends on a complex dynamic which involves vision, commitment, identifying and nourishing emerging talent, flexible funding and advisory structures, and courageous quality control. Only pro-active and informed engagement by the council will maximise the effect of whatever limited funding is available. These tired truisms remain true.
Harassing a new and unprepared chairman in public is not my tactic of choice. Unfortunately, headline-grabbing theatricality appears to be the only way to get an issue on the council's agenda. - Yours, etc., Aodan Mac Poilin,
Director,
ULTACH Trust,
Belfast.