New Esker Arts Centre set to cost over €6 million
The bill for the new Esker Arts Centre in Tullamore is set to top €6 million, it's been confirmed, over €800,000 more than earlier estimates.
A new audit report distributed prior to the latest Offaly County Council meeting revealed that the expenditure on the project in 2021 was €1.25 million and the spend to date is €4.9 million.
“The original projected cost of €5.2 million is now expected to be in excess of €6 million,” the report indicates, adding that a new company has been formed to manage the centre.
“It is unclear how shortfalls in the capital cost are to be funded,” it adds, listing the various funding sources to date including a grant from the Department of Tourism, Arts and the Gaeltacht, a €2.5 million loan yet to be drawn down by the council, and a community contribution of €500,000, €50,000 of which came in 2021, that has brought the project to this point.
However, the audit report sounded a note of caution on the “funding model” for the centre in the future and the impact that will have on council coffers.
“...the funding model and the future running costs, together with the excess over the initial projected costs on the build, will place significant pressure on the finances of the council. This together with the difficult financial climate will have an impact on the annual budget,” it warned.
The much-anticipated opening of the new facility at High Street, Tullamore is set to take place in November, with an official opening early next year.
Sean Walsh, a native of Belmullet in county Mayo, has been appointed to the role of Artistic Director, and brings a wealth of experience to Esker Arts Centre, having previously served for 16 years as Artistic Director of Ballina Arts Centre.
Construction began on the project back in March of 2020 at a a premises purchased in 2016 by Offaly County Council with a view to developing it into an arts centre.
“The completion date was expected to be 14 months but delays were encountered due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the unexpected conditions encountered on-site,” the report said.
Testing has been carried out on the acoustics in the 228-seat auditorium at the centre and Chairperson of the new board, the former Irish Times Editor, Conor Brady described the sound as “second to none”.
The new facility also has an open-air amphitheatre, gallery space on two floors, workshops, changing facilities, rehearsal spaces, a coffee shop and a theatre bar.
One of the first local events to be staged in the new Esker Arts Centre will be the Tullamore Musical Society production of Bryan Flynn’s musical masterpiece ‘Michael Collins – A Musical Drama” which is due to open on April 29, 2023.