Athy Arts Centre stops bookings amid 'delicate' discussions 

The Athy Arts Centre has been temporarily closed as “delicate discussions” take place over a lease and repair work.

“The committee has closed its booking diary for now, although it is honouring all those who had been booked in previously,” confirmed arts centre chairperson Brid Brophy when contacted by the Kildare Nationalist.

“The negotiations are in a very delicate stage between the Methodists (the centre’s owners) and Kildare County Council (the lessee),” she confirmed.

“But there is communication between the two parties with a view to do whatever they can to resolve this,” she said.

“The situation is that the Methodists originally came to the then Athy Town Council in 2009 to see if they would like to use the building and that Kildare County Council would lease the property,” she said.

“At present however, there is no lease signed, so we’ve closed the diary for now and are honouring previous bookings,” she confirmed.

“There’s a meeting to be held before the end of October that should settle things.

“I opened an exhibition there on Friday night, and Riff-Raff comedy from Newbridge is booked in for three nights. These are delicate negotiations at this fragile time about the lease agreement.

“We are a voluntary committee who put hours into promoting the arts, so why would we be willing to cut off the source?” she pondered.

“We’ve gathered lovely momentum from the people of Athy, and the Methodist community allowed us to put a huge stage in their church, so we’d have to be hopeful because arts are vital to a community.

“It is like a third space for people, not their home, not their office; it’s a lovely community space, and every community needs something like that. Our committee started out as a sub-committee of Athy Town Council, now we’re third parties.

“A decision will be made within a fortnight, absolutely.

“There’s still lots of interest, and people coming from Canada and the USA.”

She added: “There are urgent repairs needed on the roof, but there have been some gorgeous gigs there; and there’s always been lots of opportunities for people in the arts centre.

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t turn out positive for the people of Athy,” she said.

Former mayor Thomas Redmond said he became aware of the issue when he recently attempted to book the venue for a political event (the Sinn Féin Selection Convention).

He said: “This closure is a blow to the many groups and individuals who have long relied on the arts centre.

“The space has hosted hundreds of concerts, community gatherings ... and served as a venue for artists as well as the occasional political meeting, and now, these events must relocate, as our Sinn Féin convention was held at a local hotel instead.

“The closure, while seemingly minor, highlights the broader issue of poor oversight that has put the council at odds with the Methodist community, the rightful owners of the church-turned-arts-centre, and has nearly dismantled the voluntary group responsible for managing the space.”

Kildare County Council has been approached for a comment about the matter, but had not replied at the time of going to press.