The manager of Armagh's 'biggest community cultural centre' has hit out at the council over their ignorance of some communities as part of their bid to be crowned UK City of Culture 2025.
Gearóid Ó Machail, Acting General Manager at Cultúrlann Aonach Mhacha Cultural Centre expressed his frustrations regarding the operating of the campaign.
He told Belfast Live:“The outcome of the bid was what I had anticipated; based on the track record of ABC council in relation to cultural development. It came as little surprise to me that they didn’t get beyond the preliminary stages of the attempt.
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“We run the biggest community cultural centre in Armagh with a range of organisations within it. We didn’t get a single mention anywhere in the campaign,” he continued.
“This centre has been endorsed by the President of Ireland. We had an official opening here with MLAs and MPs but were studiously ignored by ABC council."
Gearóid said he believes Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon council need to be 'more tolerant' of others.
“I don’t know how much longer ABC council think they can hold out when there is such a burgeoning community of non-English speakers including Irish and other European languages. I didn’t see any criticism from any elected representatives of their bid for UK City of Culture. I sense a growing pressure and more campaigns are needed to make the council more tolerant of others and not just one community alone," he stated.
Armagh Tourist guide, Barbara Ferguson said she too was disappointed by the bid failure but hopes more funding will be granted for tourism in the county.
"Naturally I was disappointed but a good part of me wasn’t surprised. We are a small city. I am disappointed surely, but I hope maybe it has put us on the map."
“I would hope that the council would build more money into the tourism industry but not just let it fall into a dark pit of lost resources and instead make it work; to revive that again," she said.
“Something a bit more upmarket would work there. There’s not an awful lot of major accommodation. Maybe if they had the old gaol sorted, it would be a huge interest because like Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast, people are curious and would love to know where Armagh was involved in it all. That should be open, but I suppose it’s all about money, added Barbara.
"I think now they should reach out to a different circle of people. It’s a small city but it’s the rural people around the city that may well have a voice. They could try to incorporate some of the rural parishes that have a link into the city and its Cathedrals. I do think that they undersold the city being known as the ecclesiastical and Christian capital of Ireland. I think that got lost in the whole package."
“I don’t really know that it’s a place that would lend itself masses of tourism. The city is a hidden gem that’s just a bit too small to stand up as the City of Culture”, Barbara stated.
Speaking on behalf of the ABC council, Brian Johnston said they will take any criticism or suggestions on board for the future.
He explained: “It was very much an Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon bid. It started out as an Armagh city bid; it wasn’t influenced by anyone it just evolved. The campaign was about Armagh as the oldest city in Ireland, Craigavon as a new town and Banbridge with its connection to the series Game of Thrones."
“We will definitely take on any criticisms or feedback. We want to see where our weaknesses lie and where it could be strengthened. We have to be openminded about these things. It would have been ideal to have started the campaign a bit earlier; we condensed everything into a short period of time. In terms of the bid, we’re proud of it. It’s not often you put something in and think that it was as good as it could’ve been," he added.
“Looking forward, we will want to grow tourism from an ABC point of view. We get a minuscule investment in arts and culture, beyond what the council invests. The Government investment in ABC is really small.
“We had a brilliant team working with us, even beyond the council, working with some brilliant individuals. I think it showed us what ABC could achieve given a longer timeframe and the experience gained to move it forward," added Brian.
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