A Clasac case of musical differences

The Clontarf branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann has spent 15 years working on the new Clasac centre. So why has Comhaltas HQ dissolved it just before the project reaches fruition?

FOUNDED IN 1951 to preserve and promote Irish traditional music, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí­ Éireann has 400 branches in 15 countries, spanning four continents, with some 40,000 members worldwide. It has built its reputation on music teaching and competitive performance across all age ranges.

But Dublin's northside traditional music fraternity has been consumed by the decision of the Ard Comhairle of Comhaltas to dissolve its Clontarf branch (Craobh Cluain Tarbh) in a row centred on the stewardship of a new flagship traditional arts centre.

On March 14th, the Ard Comhairle took a decision to dissolve the 400-member branch, alleging irregularities in relation to a VAT refund. The Ard Comhairle also cited the local branch's alleged inability to fund a €2 million overspend on the €9 million Clasac building project and unilaterally appointed a "reconstituted branch" in Clontarf, which members of the dissolved branch have refused to recognise.

Comhaltas's Clontarf branch has been teaching traditional music in Dublin for 45 years. Its plan was to become the anchor tenant of the new Clasac centre, which, it was envisaged, would generate revenue by staging traditional music and dance productions. Clasac, located on the Alfie Byrne Road in Dublin's East Wall, includes a 250-seat auditorium, a recording studio, an archive/library, an intimate performance space and two bars.

Following what the Clontarf branch views as its illegal dissolution, it has since reconvened, under the new title of Ceoltóirí Cluain Tarbh, and continues to deliver its weekly music classes in an alternative venue. Diarmaid Mac Domhnaill, secretary of Ceoltóirí Cluain Tarbh, reports that this newly-minted branch has witnessed an increase in student numbers attending its classes, despite the combative nature of its current relationship with Comhaltas HQ in Monkstown.

Maurice Mullen, chair of the Clontarf branch, is disappointed at the treatment meted out by the Ard Comhairle. Clontarf branch members claim responsibility for generating the vision that has now been realised in Clasac, securing a total of more than €1.8 million towards the total cost of the project, with the balance sourced by Comhaltas HQ through a series of grants from the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism. Mullen claims that Clasac will suffer without the involvement of the Clontarf branch; without access to a wellspring of local musical talent, he says, the centre will lack the grassroots involvement integral to its long-term viability.

He cites Clasac's business plan, which is built on the two cornerstones of promoting grassroots involvement in traditional music and tackling social exclusion through the active promotion of the traditional arts across all communities. "When we conceived of Clasac 15 years ago, we asked ourselves 'how do we tap into the traditional arts to reach East Wall and other places, to combat social exclusion?'," says Mullen. "It's because of that vision that we haven't walked away from Clasac. The easiest thing for us all to do is to walk away. But we think it's essential that a centre like this is serious about achieving those aims."

When contacted by The Irish Times, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann did not address specific questions relating to its rationale for dissolving Clontarf, but issued a press release stating that the branch, "following a lengthy investigation, was deemed to be in serious contravention of the Bunreacht" (constitution).

Diarmaid Mac Domhnaill cites Comhaltas's dissatisfaction with Clontarf's refusal to transfer a VAT refund totalling €739,000 to Comhaltas HQ as one of two issues at the heart of this dispute. According to Mac Domhnaill, this decision was taken "notwithstanding the previous correspondence where the branch had pointed out that this [transferring the VAT refund] would be illegal and would leave the branch officers personally liable to the Revenue Commissioners for the amount of the refund. The Clontarf branch returned the VAT refund to the Revenue Commissioners once the Clontarf branch ceased to be the operator of the Clasac centre."

The second issue, relating to Comhaltas HQ's claim that Clontarf had run up unanticipated debts to the tune of €2 million, is rejected outright by representatives of the Clontarf branch.

"We knew since September 2006 that there would be a funding shortfall," says Mullen, "and Comhaltas HQ had agreed to act as trustees for a bank loan that we had successfully negotiated. When it came to the time of drawing down that loan, they refused to sign up to it as trustees."

Diarmaid Mac Domhnaill is frustrated by the recent turn in events. "Clontarf have been working on this project for 15 years," he says. "I feel that we've been led up the garden path by Comhaltas headquarters, who used us to do the work, to get the centre up and running, and then at the last minute moved in, using the VAT issue as their excuse to take control."

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann is hosting its annual congress this weekend in Monkstown. Members of the dissolved Clontarf branch will be present, advocating that they be afforded a right of appeal by Comhaltas. In a letter to all members of the Ard Comhairle, they have requested that an independent arbitrator/mediator, acceptable to both sides, be brought in to expedite a resolution to the current conflict.