A question mark hangs over one of Ireland’s oldest literary festivals after its voluntary committee was dismissed amid allegations of a “toxic” culture and the novelist Colm Tóibín stepped down as president.
The board of Listowel Writers’ Week, which is held in the County Kerry town each summer, triggered the row after announcing it would replace dozens of volunteers with a professional literary curator.
In a statement on the festival website the board said the curator would steer key events next May and June “to strengthen the quality of our artistic programming, to broaden and deepen the reach of our festival, and to make sure that our programming reflects the rich diversity and challenging complexity of the world we live in”.
The decision was based on a recommendation by a consultant’s report that was funded by the state-run Arts Council to comply with governance and funding applications. Sections of the report leaked to Irish media described the culture of the festival as “toxic”.
The board has offered alternative roles to volunteers, who have helped run the festival since its launch in 1971. However, veteran volunteers are reportedly angry and distraught that their committee has been disbanded and that parts of the report, which they have not seen, were leaked.
Tóibín announced at the weekend he would step down as the festival’s president, saying the event had genuine roots in Listowel thanks to a literary community that read deeply and widely. “I see this as best practice, as a model for any other literary festival.”
Ned O’Sullivan, a senator from Listowel, told Ireland’s upper legislative chamber last week that issues of governance and control were stifling the event’s creative spirit. The community was angry and bewildered, he said.
Jimmy Deenihan, a board member and former arts minister, said the report would be sent to committee members on Monday. “This has to be resolved. The festival is too important,” he told the Irish Times.
In an email to the Guardian, the board chair, Catherine Moylan, said governance, artistic policy and programming had become “a matter of concern” requiring attention.
“Dealing with these has created discomfort for some people, and that is not unusual. Our position is that we are fully committed to good governance to protect the festival’s interests, to safeguard the public, private, and other funding that we receive annually, and to ensure that staff and volunteers work in a safe environment,” she said.
