During his time as arts minister, I’ve been told that the emphasis of the department was changed from supporting small companies and community arts to putting much more money into big ticket items and a national arts policy. There was also, it is said, a great emphasis on supporting writers who work in Irish.
Many small companies and local studios had to close for lack of a few thousand pounds per year, while bigger arts organisations hoovered up grants.
Now, you could regard this a good thing, and be glad to be rid of these small, fairly amateur groups,and see the arts being professionalized like this; but lots of people don’t, and it is said that grassroots art and theatre in this country never really recovered from this policy.
He also reportedly shoved his friends and supporters into positions of power in the arts, regardless of their abilities, often with disastrous results.
I’ve just seen this. It’s brilliant. Dùirt bean liom go ndùirt bean lèì windmilling at its finest.
So apart from setting up Tg4 which supported small independent TV companies for 20 years, setting up the film board which has since supported hundreds of small film makers and implementing a national arts policy, what have the Romans ever done for us?!?!?
I’m fairly sure Sharkey has expressed some right wing anti-immigration views in the past, but I can’t be arsed googling it to confirm.
I see Duffy and Freeman took their county council nomination roadshow to Carlow today. The live tweeting from journalists of some of the shite they spouted in their speeches was very amusing.
The references to Mr Trump came in the context of Mr Sharkey’s pitch to be a president who will put Irish people ahead of all other nationalities.
The Donegal man also claimed that it is important to keep Ireland “predominately white”.
“I’ve spent my entire life being told what racism is and isn’t,” he said.
During a questions and answers session, Fianna Fáil councillor Arthur McDonald asked Mr Sharkey whether Ireland was ready for “a coloured president”.
“We have an atheist President, a gay Taoiseach and we have brought in abortion. Is it time for a coloured president?” he asked.
Mr Sharkey said he didn’t believe his skin colour mattered, as he’s Irish.
Kevin Sharkey is a black man running on a white-power ticket who says you should vote for him because he’s black but race doesn’t matter. He’s a genius, I’m in awe of him. I can’t believe no-one’s ever thought of this before.
He’s like a Federer or Borg, firing back four shots all at once.
3k per night.
Also, back when he was running for TD the hypocrite was banging on about how first class on the train was iniquitous and should be banned.
Well guess which little animal farm pig was in first class on the train the following week?
