Culture Night

20 Towns, Cities, Counties and Islands announce late opening 24th September 2010 to mark largest Culture Night ever

Temple Bar Cultural Trust today revealed the date for Culture Night 2010, and announced the largest ever Culture Night will take place on Friday 24^th September 2010.  To mark the announcement Dermot McLaughlin, CEO of Temple Bar Cultural Trust, Seamus Kirk, TD, Ceann Comhairle and Mary Hanafin, TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture & Sport greeted the ‘King of Tory’ Patsy Dan Mac Ruairí, the last ‘King in Ireland’, at Leinster House.

 

This is the fifth year of Culture Night and 2010 sees the event expanding to 20 towns, cities, counties and islands across Ireland reaching as far as the islands of Tory and Inis Meáin marking the first time the Gaeltacht regions will host a Culture Night.  Having began as a small scale cultural event in 2005 in the Temple Bar area, the first Culture Night took place in Dublin in 2006 making this year’s expansion a significant milestone for organisers Temple Bar Cultural Trust as it brings closer their vision of an all-Ireland Culture Night, accessible to people of all ages, from all backgrounds.

 

Culture Night is essentially an evening where all forms of culture can be explored and enjoyed - museums, cathedrals, galleries, theatres, artist studios and other cultural venues will stay open late, with many open until 11pm, welcoming visitors of all ages in for a taste of free culture for one night.

 

Minister Mary Hanafin, said, “Culture Night gives an open invitation to thousands of people in towns and cities around the country to get a free taste of late night culture ranging from theatres, museums, galleries to Churches, parks and street performances.  The atmosphere in previous years has been electric as cities become alive and families enjoy a host of culture and creativity. 

 

Temple Bar Cultural Trust, Fáilte Ireland and Dublin Tourism are all working with many organisations and companies to promote what is great about our cultural tourism for audiences at home and for tourists visiting Ireland.  I am delighted too, that even more people will get the chance to experience cultural events as more areas are participating and that Gaeltacht regions will participate for the first time.  Culture Night has something for all ages and best of all it is free to participate, explore, learn and enjoy.”

 

Dermot McLaughlin, CEO, Temple Bar Cultural Trust, said “Despite the huge economic challenges faced in the last year, the expansion of Culture Night demonstrates that the value of culture to our society is being recognised. Last year Dublin saw an amazing 152,000 in Dublin alone, for Culture Night. With this year’s expansion thousands are expected to descend on each participating region, with people travelling from far and wide to experience Culture Night in their preferred area. So save the date, the 24th September 2010 will be a night of cultural exploration and fun!”

 

Patsy Dan Mac Ruairí, “King of Tory” commented, “In the past, on Tory Island, we have experienced pressure from the mainland to change our culture and language. As an island we have stood against this and Culture Night provides us with a fantastic platform to demonstrate just how vital and strong modern Tory culture is. As well as our community of artists we have a strong Sean Nós tradition which is embraced by young and old; on Culture Night there will be many a Céilí welcoming people to sing and dance with us on our unique piece of Ireland”.

 

Culture Night provides the platform to celebrate our distinct cultural and creative resources which are a source of great national pride and an essential element of our national competitiveness in a globalised world. Streets, venues and open-spaces will come alive with a rich cultural offering of electric atmosphere, colour, music, performance and workshops providing people with an opportunity to reacquaint or introduce themselves to a vast and rich cultural offering. 

 

Culture Night is co-ordinated by Temple Bar Cultural Trust and supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport in partnership with the regional arts offices and local authorities.  Other partners include Dublin Bus and Luas as transport partners, the Council of National Cultural Institutions and the OPW.

 

* The full programme of events and participating venues for Culture Night 2010 will be available on www.culturenight.ie from 18^th August or by calling organisers Temple Bar Cultural Trust on 01 6772255.

 

-ENDS-

 

For further media information, please contact Anna Murphy, Conway Communications; Tel. 01-7071704 or Mob. 0857266191

 

Notes to Editor:

 

Ø  Culture Night regions include; Dublin, Galway City and Galway County; Oughterard, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Wexford, Sligo, Mayo, Wicklow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Westmeath, Letterkenny, Kerry, Carlow, Leitrim, Roscommon, and The Gaeltacht regions, facilitated by Ealaín na Gaeltachta.

 

Ø  Derry and Belfast will also hold a Culture Night on Friday 24^th September.