Wilde festival may go elsewhere as a result of funding halt

A spin-off from the Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival, the Oscar Wilde festival is currently in the planning stages. Festival Director Sean Doran tells The Impartial Reporter that he would have been applying for the Tourism Events funding had the applications opened this month. The Happy Days Festival, celebrating the life and works of Samuel Beckett, has been held in Enniskillen for the last three years and is viewed by NITB as an important tourism event. It has received a total of £347,200 from the Tourism Events Fund over the last three financial years. It has already secured a three year funding package (from 2014-2017), therefore “the Beckett Festival is fine.” Mr. Doran has set up a ‘Happy Days’ office with a number of staff from April to August in each of the last three years. He says: “We saw the announcement in Stormont and realised that there is going to be an impact. We are disappointed but not surprised.

“We have to reflect and plan what we can do. We will continue with our preparations but we will have to make a judgement call in the next few weeks as to whether it will be viable to go ahead with the Wilde Festival.” Mr. Doran adds that the Wilde Festival has secured funding from the Arts Council but has to clarify if it will receive funding from Fermanagh District Council. “Watch this space over the next four to six weeks to see whether the Wilde Festival will be feasible,” he comments.

Asked if he would move the Wilde Festival out of Enniskillen, Mr. Doran replies: “I work in terms of place being very important and Wilde went to school in Portora. If we can’t get it together, then yes, we will have to put our efforts into having it somewhere else, but at the moment we will have to hold our nerve.” The Ulster Rally, another important tourism product which has been held in Enniskillen in 2013 and 2014, is also under threat from the funding cut. Nobody from Ulster Rally was available for comment.