The chair of Listowel Writers’ Week says a controversial report highlighted a negative culture within the organisation which threatened not just its funding, but its viability.
The report by consultant Dermot McLaughlin recommended a restructuring of the Listowel Writers’ Week’s organisational structure which has been in place since the festival was established in 1970.
After the consultant presented his recommendations in September, the festival’s voluntary committee was disbanded
The chair of Listowel Writers’ Week said Mr McLaughlin had advised that his recommendations were necessary to ensure the survival of the festival.
The internationally acclaimed author, Colm Tóibín, resigned as president of Writers’ Week in protest over the disbanding of the voluntary committee.
Chair of Listowel Writers’ Week, Catherine Moylan says before the drafting of the report, every member of the committee was provided with an opportunity to meet and engage with its author Dermot McLaughlin and that most availed of that opportunity.
She says Mr McLaughlin based his report and recommendations on the feedback from everyone he interviewed or with whom he’d engaged.
She says it was a condition of the festival's Arts Council funding for 2022 that the board would engage an independent consultant and that funding for this engagement was ring-fenced in the amount.
Ms Moylan says the report highlighted a negative culture which threatened not just its funding but its very viability and sustainability.
She says it was agreed in the interests of the committee members, the organisation, and Listowel itself that the main body of the report would remain confidential.
However, as a result of what she describes as ‘continued misinformation’ provided to the media, the organisation has suffered ‘reputational damage’, Ms Moylan stated in an email to committee members.
Catherine Moylan says the board of Listowel Writers’ Week is committed to ensuring that governance and organisational changes are being put in place to address governance issues.
These changes include appointing a curator and introducing a new volunteer system with an emphasis on inclusivity, diversity and openness.
Ms Moylan says committee members are more than welcome to contribute to the festival in terms of ‘meet and greet’ and helping out with various organisational duties.
