Update, please reach out to us on savethecloister@gmail.com with your opinions
A Chara,
May we begin by thanking you for your support and trust in the Save the Cloister Team.
Over the last few weeks the team has worked to represent you as best we could — seeking either the
reinstatement of the removed art and community spaces, or a genuine alternative that delivers the
same thing elsewhere in the town. Before we update you, we want to state clearly where we stand.
We are not against tourism. We are not against a larger tourism element at the THRIVE Cloister
site. We understand the benefit such a venture would bring to Ennis and Clare.
Nor do we believe anyone in the arts community are against Tourism.
Sadly despite engaging directly with Clare County Council and its elected representatives, it is now
clear the Council does not intend to reinstate artist studios at the Cloister under the new Part 8
proposal as it currently stands.
The new Part 8 proposal, 268006, contains no artist studios and significantly reduces community
space in favour of a larger tourism element. This goes before councillors for a vote next Tuesday. Of
the ninety-three submissions that were made in earnest on the application only a synopsis of them
will be presented at that meeting. It has become evidently clear that they matter little; as the
decision now rests with the elected Council. We must apologise as this only came to light early last
week.
In fairness the former Presbyterian Church (De Valera Library) as a second site for artist studios and
community workspace was put to us — and that offer remains open but let us be very clear there is
no funding to facilitate that venture. Moreover we were told that the library is not fit for purpose
and has to be demolished. If indeed the Council do secure funding what is to stop them or the
Councillors for that matter in doing a complete turnabout like they have done with the Cloister.
With that knowledge at hand we presented the following bullet points to the councillors as it is in
their power to insert the following conditions in to the new Part 8 proposal and we believed the only
way to safeguard any valid offer from the Council:
• Vary the development, as elected members are entitled to do under Section 179, to reinstate
a defined, protected minimum of artist studio and community workspace within the Cloister.
• Commit, alongside the above, to advance the redevelopment of the former Presbyterian
Church (De Valera Library) building—already vacant and in public ownership—as a second site
to house artist studios and community workspace displaced from the Cloister, on the terms set
out in the accompanying proposal (“The Cloister & the Presbyterian Church: A Two-Site
Proposal”).
However recent correspondence from them indicates that they will not do this. That means the
proposal is likely to pass. If it does, it will mean the Council secured €7 million in funding on the
strength of a community-led vision, that included the arts community and is now proceeding with a
materially different scheme and refusing to reinstating what was promised. We want to be honest with you: in recent weeks we've heard suggestions ‘digs’ from the Council and
indirectly form Councillors that if this funding is ultimately lost, responsibility will be placed on us
rather than on the decisions that the Council or Councillors will take. We think that's worth naming
plainly, because it may shape how this is talked about in the weeks ahead.
The reason for these ‘digs’ is because over the last few weeks we have gathered a significant amount
of factual material from the documents on how this project's funding conditions have been handled
— much of it drawn from the Council's own records. All the documents we received were through a
Freedom of Information request. We have shared some of this information with the Council and with
the Southern Regional Assembly, the funding authority responsible for overseeing the conditions and
terms; they referred the matter back to the Council. The SRA has not responded to any of our emails
in the last weeks despite engaging with us in early June; this silence is very disappointing to be
honest.
Because of this, and the Councillors insistence that they will vote the new proposal in, we felt that we
had no choice but to take this conversation, and the material we discovered to the media. We assure
you this is not a decision we took lightly. There is no reason to believe that the media will run with
the story either however we now believe it is time to share what we have uncovered.
In doing this we acknowledge that there is a possibility that the funding that has been secured but
not yet fully drawn down may be lost, and any public claims we make need to be accurate and fair to
everyone involved, including the Council. But staying silent while a scheme this different from what
was promised is pushed through doesn't sit right with us either. Remember the funding was secured
on the backs of the arts and the community.
Teach Pobail means (House of the People) not Teach OPW. Surely if they wanted to develop the
Cloister themselves they could have done it in another manner.
We were not alone in our concerns please see the following report:
https://clarecoco.eplanning.ie/iDocsWebDPSS/ViewFiles.aspx?docid=897407&format=djvu
Finally just to give you all an example of one of the conversation that has been put to us; why would
we as artists want a dark room in an old building? See below the images of the rooms that we felt
would be appropriate as artist studios on the first floor of the Cloister building that we suggested in
our last proposal (or as we deemed to be a fair and honest compromise) to the Council, do they
appear to be dark? Wasn’t the THRIVE funding secured to revitalise an old building with modern
amenities. The other copy of our other proposal that we submitted to the Council is also included.
As of today we have forwarded a press release to all relevant media outlets and send two Freedom of
Information requests to both the SRA and OPW; we await with interest all the documents they will
release to us.
Maybe if this does go to press our Councillors may find it in them to stand with us and insert the
conditions above. We remain hopeful, as always.
The Save the Cloister Team