Sir, - Your excellent editorial of August 23rd, quite appropriately focuses a spotlight of praise and national pride on the overseas achievements this summer of Irish artists, as well as athletes. The triumphs of the Beckett Festival in New York, Joe Dowling's brilliant leadership of the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, the immense success of Irish comics in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival extend the momentum established earlier this year by L'Imaginaire Irlandais in France. We are indeed disproportionately successful, in relationship to our size, in exporting first class cultural achievements.
Permit me to remind you of one most important addition to this list of triumphs. The National Symphony Orchestra offered six concerts in August in Hong Kong to packed houses of what can only be described as wildly enthusiastic audiences. In bringing enormous pleasure to mostly young Chinese music lovers, the NSO, transcended language barriers with inspired performances that ranged from familiar film scores to the haunting beauty of Tchaikovsky's last symphony. The tour was an outstanding success, not only in musical terms but also in raising the profile of Ireland, through direct contact with one of its major national artistic institutions, amplified by radio to a potential audience of many millions, in a densely populated region of the world that is experiencing, rapid economic expansion and increasing interest in European culture.
It is intrinsically good that Irish artists (and athletes), at the peak of professional excellence, should have the opportunity to go beyond these shores and strut their stuff in other countries. But as we unabashedly celebrate their achievements, we must also recognise the need for adequate resources to sustain foreign tours that bring so much recognition to this country. Ireland's most distinguished creative energies need the support of Irish institutions secure in their vision of how worthwhile foreign outreach is, which have the resources, or the clout to attract partners with resources, both public and private, to ensure that Irish achievements can be seen and heard globally. To those who begrudge the relatively small amounts needed for sporting and artistic tours at this level of excellence, the argument must continually be pressed that the resulting enhancement of the image of Ireland benefits the country in many pragmatic ways, including enhancing the employability of young Irish people who travel, boosting international interest in Irish exports (cultural and non cultural), facilitating Irish artistic, business and diplomatic activities abroad and influencing patterns of tourist inflows.
Yours, etc.,
Radio Telefis Eireann, Baile Atha Cliath 4.