Galway's image as Ireland's leading city of the arts has been dealt a severe blow by an European panel's decision to award Cork the title of European Capital of Culture in 2005. The judgment issued by the selection panel, which is due to be submitted to the European Commission, indicated that Galway narrowly lost out to Cork because of limited physical infrastructure for major events.
The judgment identified this as the major weakness in Galway's very strong bid for the title, which was also sought by Limerick and Waterford. In its ten-page document, the panel praised the "high level of enthusiasm and involvement" in the cultural life of the city, and the possibilities attached to the presence of two language communities. However, it said the proposed programme lacked continuity, and could be unsustainable due to the dearth of major venues.
The panel's decision has come as a shock to the city's artistic community, given that Galway has long regarded itself as this State's cultural capital. However, the city manager, Mr John Tierney, was philosophical about the decision. "We are very disappointed, but the procedure was fair and open and every bid was given an equal opportunity to make a pitch," he told The Irish Times. He noted that the panel's report made observations on every submission, and no one city was perfect. "This is not going to deter us," he emphasised. "We can now build on this experience to further the artistic and cultural development of the city."
Ironically, Mr Tierney's predecessor in Galway, Mr Joe Gavin, is now celebrating Corks' success as its new city manager. Cork's application demonstrated a strong commitment on the part of city council to the cultural life, the panel noted, and existing cultural activities included deprived areas.
However, it observed that the artistic ambition of the programme proposed for 2005 is "somewhat modest", and the city's capacity for staging and managing high quality, innovative projects requires strengthening - as does its approach to marketing.
The international experience of several arts organisations, including the Druid Theatre Company, Macnas and the Galway Arts Festival, was noted by the panel, and it also highlighted the cohesion of the local arts community and the "positive contribution made to the bid by many local artists and thinkers". However, "although impressed by the passion, track record and imagination of organisations and artists in the city and region," the panel said the artistic aspirations should have been higher.
The panel, chaired by Mr Robert Palmer, said Galway had strong potential to develop further its bilingual cultural identity and reputation for innovative cultural activity.
The panel prepared its report for the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission, and Cork's selection is all but a fait accompli.
However, the southern city will have to take "a leading role in Irish cultural life in the approach to 2005", the judges stated, and they hope it will collaborate with some of the important artistic organisation in the three other applicant cities. The European city of culture has become a much coveted designation since it was initiated in 1985 by the EU Council of Ministers on the initiative of Mrs Melina Mercouri.
