How is Bealtaine organised?

The Bealtaine festival is part-funded by the Arts Council.

Staff

Rebecca McLaughlin is Age & Opportunity's Bealtaine Coordinator. Dominic Campbell is the freelance Artistic Director of the festival, while Seamus Cashman is freelance editor of the Bealtaine Bulletin.

Partners

As a festival, Bealtaine runs in partnership with over 400 organisations and groups who organise events each year throughout the country (see the Bealtaine festival website to find out more). These include national cultural institutions, regional arts centres, local authorities' arts offices, public libraries, older people's groups, community groups and care centres. Each year, we collaborate closely with a small number of artists, groups or organisers to facilitate challenging or unusual events, providing advice, networking and some funding support.

Funding

Bealtaine is an Age & Opportunity initiative part-funded by the Arts Council and delivered by hundreds of organisations around the country. Dublin City Council and RTÉ are also investment partners.

History

The inaugural Bealtaine festival was held in May 1996, initiated and co-ordinated by Age & Opportunity. The launch of the Bealtaine festival was the culmination of a process which started in the late 1980s, when Age & Opportunity and a number of other organisations such as the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Dublin Corporation and the Eastern Health Board organised ‘Active Age’ weeks and a short arts festival (the ‘Maytime’ festival, held in 1995).

During the same period, local groups of older people engaged in the arts were emerging; they were supported by public libraries and the Vocational Education Committees. In 1993, Ireland was a founding member of the European Arts and Older People Network, and this provided links with European groups. In 1995, a committee was formed to hold a countrywide festival; a voluntary co-ordinator was provided by Age & Opportunity, and other national cultural institutions became involved. The resulting Bealtaine festival has grown in scope and ambition, and is recognised globally as the first such festival of its kind - a national festival celebrating older people in the arts. It has, in fact, come to be regarded as a model of international best practice by other European countries and regions.

Committee

Membership of the Steering Committee includes:

• Catherine Rose, CEO, Age & Opportunity,
• Ann Leahy, Assistant CEO, Age & Opportunity,
• Mamo McDonald, Board Member, Age & Opportunity and Older Women’s Network,
• Alice Black, Regional Development Manager, Irish Film Institute,
• Anne Davoren, Director, West Cork Arts Centre,
• Fionnuala Hanrahan, County Librarian, Wexford,
• Anne McCarthy, Arts Officer, Mayo County Council,
• Helen O’Donoghue, Senior Curator, Head of Education and Community, Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA),
• Jo O’Rourke, Senior Health Promotion Officer, HSE,
• Brian Scanlon, Board Member, Age & Opportunity and member of Dublin Airport Active Retirement Association.