FINE Gael councillor Nora Stokes hit the right notes calling on the local authority to examine the possibility of securing funding for the Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) to continue its education and community engagement work.
Speaking at the April monthly meeting of Limerick City and County Council, Cllr Stokes said that funding is essential to enable the ICO to keep up their offering of programmes free-of-charge to schools and community groups.
Social Democrats councillor Shane Hickey-O’Mara, who works as a theatre director and youth arts facilitator, welcomed the motion, pointing out that access to music and arts are a lifeline for many Limerick children.
“Youth arts aren’t for profit or to produce a finished product. Their function is process, providing an outlet for children to build their confidence, empathy, and creativity, and make friends and build connections,” the City North representative explained.
“It can also be hugely therapeutic for children, particularly music, and helps them process their trauma, anxiety, grief, loss, regulate their nervous system, and provide an essential outlet for expressing their emotions. Arts isn’t very popular with politicians, so it’s really lovely to see that you brought this forward,” he told Cllr Stokes.
The proposal, however, fell on deaf ears, with the response coming from the Council executive that the Limerick Art Office does not have resources under its budget allocation to increase current supports to the ICO in 2025.
Consideration, Council members were informed, could be given to a request for increased arts program funding for 2026 as part of the annual Council budget.
Fine Gael councillor John Sheahan pointed out that the ICO does great work and the Council has always supported them. However, he felt requests like the one before the Council need to show where their full funding presently is and where any shortfall lies.
