U - Comhaltas Archive

An Taoiseach addressing the attendanceat the CU\SAC ceremonyJim McAllister dances a step for AnTaoiseach, watched by Senator CyprianBrady and Maurice MullenBualadh bos and well done: An TaoiseachBertie Ahern and Senator Labhras 6MurchU applaud Craobh Chluain Tarbhon their cultural work down through theyearsClontarf Comhaltas for leadingthe CLASAC development, theTaoiseach said;'More than ever toady our youngpeople should have access to ourheritage and I look forward toCLASAC making this a reality inDublin. I also want to thankClontarf Comhaltas for the greatwork it has been doing for over40 years in helping Dubliners tolearn and enjoy our uniquemusic, song and dance'.He also quipped that being soclose to home, he looked forwardto dropping in on manyoccasions for a session.CLASAC will also produce highquality shows geared towardsoverseas and domestic patrons.Clontarf Comhaltas has a proudrecord of excellence and todaythere are over 200 youngstudents attending classes in alltraditional music instruments.CU\SAC will open the traditionsto a wide audience throughinnovative educationprogrammes, out reach toschools, and support for localartists and communityparticipation.Senator Labhra.s 6 Murchu,Ardstiurth6ir of Comhaltas, alsocongratulated Clontarf branch onthe launch of CLASAC. He saidCLASAC is one of 8 regionalresource centres being developedby Comhaltas throughoutIreland, with generous assistancefrom the Government, to deliveron its Development Programmeof making our CulturalTraditions visible and accessiblein our daily lives.Senator 6 Murchu said 'CLASACis an example of how Comhaltasbranches throughout Ireland andabroad are making an enormouscontribution to their localcommunities. We are pleasedthat it is possible for Comhaltasto include this exciting newcentre for funding under ourDevelopment Programme'.Maurice Mullen, Chairman ofClontarf Comhaltas thanked theTaoiseach for the fundingsupport and he also thankedDublin City Council and inparticular the then City ManagerFrank Feely for making the siteavailable. Maurice said 'Turningthe sod is the culmination of over12 years hard work, but it is onlythe start of great thingshappening to enable Dubliners toreclaim their heritage'.The history of the CLASACdevelopment goes back to 1995when a committee wasestablished to examine thepossibility of purchasing abuilding as a Teach Ceoilsomewhere in the Clontarf area,an idea put forward by TomCorbett, our current Presidentand a Chairman of many yearsstanding. This committeeconsisted of Branch ChairpersonMaire Mhic Aogain, AidanPunch, Marie Connaughton,Derbhil Galldubh, MauriceMullen and Jim McAllister. Anumber of sites were offeredaround North Dublin, andeventually through the goodoffices of Frank Feely, the thenCity Manager, the site on theAlfie Byrne Road was secured.Despite receiving initial planningpermission in 1997, the projecthas been delayed due to the PortTunnel works. This in turn hasled to a number of site moves onthe Alfie Byrne Road and anumber of failed planningapplications. This culminated inus moving back to our originalsite in 2003 and receivingcomplete and total planningpermission in November 2004.10