Fresh hopes for the survival of 115-year-old Fossetts Circus

Fresh hopes emerged last night for the survival of Fossetts Circus, which claims to be the oldest continually touring circus in the world.

The circus was unable to secure Arts Council funding - despite the support of an amendment to the Arts Bill 2002, which officially designates circuses an "art form".  A  circus spokesman said last night  two prominent businessmen and members of the Oireachtas were in talks on sourcing funding.

Fossetts Circus has toured the 32 counties annually since 1888, complete with clowns, acrobats and animals, all preforming a range of cunning stunts. While camels, llamas and Shetland ponies belonged to the circus itself, in recent years the only exotic animals were those brought in as part of "imported acts" which travelled about the country during the season which began each year in March.

Traditionally, the season ended with a four- to six-week stint, playing to packed "houses" at Booterstown and Whitehall, in Dublin. It was these long runs which subsidised costly tours, bringing the circus to small villages where numbers were few and returns small.

Twice since 1983 the Arts Council provided funds to the circus  but, according to the family spokesman, Mr Charles O'Brien, more funding was needed.

He said the circus had applied for a grant of €150,000 to allow it to meet its touring obligations for the coming year. He said the Arts Council told the circus that, regardless of its designation, traditional circus was not the kind of performance art that it subsidised. "It is terrible. We asked the Arts Council how traditional circus would be funded and it advised us that we could try to incorporate ourselves into contemporary dance or contemporary theatre," said Mr O'Brien.

However, the Arts Council's drama consultant, Ms Enid Reid-Whyte, last night rejected the circus's interpretation of the council's refusal to provide money. She insisted the circus application was for €250,000 and described the application as "large" and coming "at a time of funding deficits".

"The main reason (for the refusal) would have been funding cuts and what we mutually expressed as bad timing of the application," Ms Reid-Whyte said. She said she explored with circus personnel ways of running training courses and of seeking other non-revenue grant aid next year.