Council "can't get complacent" about drama festival staying in Athlone

Other towns and cities would love to host the RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival and "would throw money at it" if they were given the chance, an Athlone councillor has warned.

Cllr Aengus O'Rourke told council officials it was important the local authority doesn't become complacent about having the drama festival take place in the town each year.

He was speaking at the July monthly meeting of the Athlone Moate Municipal District, where the second and final round of grant funding allocations for festivals and events in the district this year was finalised.

The 2026 All Ireland drama festival, which concluded in May, received a grant of €10,000 from the council, but councillors noted that this was the same figure it had been given in 2025, despite an increase being requested this year.

"For those groups that are getting funding, it seems to be the same amount every year, even though costs are going up," said Cllr John Dolan.

"The RTÉ drama festival is the one that sticks out to me. That's a very, very important national festival that gains a lot of attention for the whole area, not just Athlone.

"I know €10,000 is a lot of money for it, but I also know that they looked for an increase in that," he said.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Cllr O'Rourke, who noted that the drama festival has now been taking place locally for well over 50 years and involves a series of fringe events in addition to the plays themselves.

"I know that if Wexford, Galway, or Cork had an opportunity to host the All Ireland Drama Festival they would do it, and they would throw money at it," said Cllr O'Rourke.

"I think we are very fortunate to have the RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival as bedded into Athlone as it is, but I don't think we can ever be complacent about the fact that festival is here."

He suggested the importance of the festival was such that it shouldn't be part of the regular application process for local festivals and events, but should instead have an agreed standalone budget contribution from the council each year.

"We need to try to ensure that they have what they need not just to maintain the festival but to grow it, and we also need to show that Athlone means business about keeping it here into the future," he said.

Responding, Margaret Egan of the council's community and enterprise section, said the €10,000 grant for the drama festival was "a substantial amount" in comparison to the overall budget.

"But I do accept what's being said about the drama festival, and it certainly is one of the biggest events (in the district)," she said.

The second round of the 2026 festival and event grants for the Athlone Moate district saw €28,200 being distributed to 15 events. More than two-thirds of the annual grant funding - €62,700 - had already been distributed in the first funding round earlier this year.

The €10,000 for the drama festival was the largest individual allocation in this round, followed by €6,500 for the Athlone Christmas Market and a further €2,000 for events coinciding with the switching on of Athlone's Christmas lights.

Athlone's Connaught Street Traders and and Environs Community Group was given €1,200 towards its community festival series this year, while the 'Christmas at Dún na Sí' festivities in Moate received €1,000.

A 'Home of Halloween' family festival and procession in Athlone was given €1,000. The same amount was given toward an Athlone Sub Aqua regional search and recovery exercise, while Athlone Sub Aqua also received €250 toward a snorkelling festival.

Other events that attracted grants of €1,000 apiece were the 42nd Annual Goldsmith Literary Festival, Inland Waterways Ireland's 64th Shannon Boat Rally, and the Westmeath Ploughing Association's Westmeath county ploughing match.

The Race of the South motoring event in Walderstown was given €750, while €500 each went toward the Heartlands Pride Athlone Winter Pride Festival, the Ballymore Christmas market and a Traveller Pride event organised by the Blackberry Lane Development Group.

Ms Egan said the local authority had received 31 funding applications under round two of the scheme, but many were turned down because they didn't meet the criteria for the grants.

She said the economic value of an event to an area was one of the first factors assessed when deciding upon the application.

She added that certain events such as family fun days and sporting commemorative events, didn't qualify for funding under this scheme.

Cllr Tom Farrell expressed dissatisfaction with the proportion of the grants allocated toward rural areas.

"There's €28,200 being given out here and, from my estimation, about €24,000 of that is gone in to the Athlone town base, with just €4,200 for the rest of the district. So there's a big imbalance there."

He said there may be a lack of "understanding or know-how" among some rural groups when it came to meeting the application criteria for these grants.