Response: Responses have currently been received from 4% of Dublin City Councillors.
Update: On the 21st October 2021, representatives of Music Alliance Ireland met with theLord Mayor Alison Gilliland, and Mr Richard Shakespeare, Assistant Chief Executive of Dublin City Council.
Letter:
Dear Councillor,
I am writing in my capacity as Chair of a recently formed group Music Alliance Ireland / Comhaontas Ceoil na hÉireann.
Music Alliance Ireland is a group of national music organisations and companies that have come together to enhance their support for the music sector in Ireland. Our membership consists of performance groups, concert promoters and resource organisations with a remit across the island and involvement in a variety of musical genres.
The current members are Music Network, Contemporary Music Centre, Improvised Music Company, Crash Ensemble, Diatribe Records, Kirkos Ensemble, Association of Irish Composers, Trad Ireland/Traid Éireann, and Journal of Music. We have been meeting since the pandemic began and are engaging in a number of advocacy initiatives to ensure that musicians and the structures that support them are supported now and into the future.
One of the chief aims and concerns that led to our establishment is the need for a dedicated Music Hub in Dublin City. A Music Hub is different to a music venue because it also contains facilities for the creation and development of music, for example, sound-proofed rehearsal facilities (for individuals and groups), a recording and post-production space, offices for administrative work, storage for instruments, 24hr use, plus a performance space, all managed by the music sector itself. This recent article, which contains interviews with some of our members, further explains the need for a Music Hub in Dublin.
Music Alliance Ireland, and individual members, recently made a number of submissions to Dublin City Council, suggesting that the Liberties Creative Campus would be an ideal space for a Music Hub, and in particular 8–9 Merchant’s Quay.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this possibility with you further, and would appreciate your support in our advocacy.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards,
Picture credit: Kirkos Ensemble.