Maintaining an Irish treasure

Laura Gilsenan talks about her role as chief executive of Feis Ceoil.

What have Novelist James Joyce, Violinist Cora Venus Lunny and Tenor Count John McCormack all got in common? The answer might surprise more than a few people; they were all winners of Ireland's premier music competition the Feis Ceoil.

Now sponsored by ESB, the Feis Ceoil celebrates its 112th birthday this year and, with a roll of past winners that includes the aforementioned trio along with world class performers such as John O'Connor, Bernadette Greevy, Eithne Robinson, Hugh Tinney, Emma Murphy, Geraldine O'Grady, Anne Murray, Mary Hegarty, Cara O'Sullivan and Orla Boylan, it is now firmly established as a central part of the national musical calendar.

Despite its much cherished status, the 112th birthday very nearly didn't happen. "The ESB sponsorship literally saved us," says Feis Ceoil Chief Executive Laura Gilsenan. "We had another sponsor for the previous 22 years and they were forced to pull out due to economic circumstances. Feis Ceoil survives on its membership fees, entry fees and sponsorship – we get no government funding or other support. If ESB hadn't come along 2008 might well have been the last Feis."

Laura is the first chief executive in the organisation's history and her appointment reflects the changing demands placed on it by the 21st century. "We recently changed structure from an association to a company," she explains. "Up until last year we had an executive which has now become a board of directors and, in line with that new structure, a Chief Executive was appointed for the first time. I was appointed last March in the run up to the annual competition and so I was really thrown in at the deep end."

Her move into Feis Ceoil was very much a natural progression given her background in music, which included several years involvement in the Music in Great Houses festival and the Veronica Dunne competition. She is also a qualified music teacher and has extensive administrative experience from her time as human resources manager with one of Ireland's leading indigenous technology firms.

While the part of the organisation that is visible to the public is the annual ESB Feis Ceoil competition which takes place in the RDS and a few other venues over a fortnight each year there is a lot more to it than just that.

The first thing to take into account is the scale of the competition itself. "We will have over 180 competitions this year across 18 different categories," Laura points out. "The competitions take place in the main Concert Hall in the RDS as well as three other rooms in the complex. We also use St Mary's Church for the piano competitions and St Bartholomew's Church for the organ competitions."

The organisation of each year's feis begins almost as soon as the last one is finished. "Immediately after the feis we start setting the music for the next year," Laura explains. "Many of the competitions have set pieces to be played or sung to facilitate fair judging and these have to be chosen. After that we have to arrange for the adjudicators for the next year. Adjudication is very important to us. The feis is the highest standard music competition in the country and it is important it be judged to that standard. This year we have a number of adjudicators coming from the UK and we have Deirdre O'Donoghue travelling from New York as well."

The next job entails putting together the syllabus for the various competitions, publishing it and seeking entries. This year some 50% of the 3,000 entrants have applied online through the newly revamped Feis Ceoil website (www. feisceoil.ie) while the remainder have applied in the traditional way on paper.

"All of the paper applications have to be entered on a database while each and every application has to be verified to ensure that it is correct," says Laura. "For example, we have to check every date of birth to ensure that the entrants are eligible for the age category applied for. That process takes us up to Christmas when we pretty much fall into a heap and draw breath before we start into the hectic run-in from January until the end of the competition."

She describes this as like "putting together a 3-D jigsaw". "We have to schedule all 180 competitions, decide which halls and venues they will be in while trying to facilitate the 3,000 or so participants who are travelling from all over the country. For example, we would try not to schedule someone who is travelling from Donegal for nine in the morning. We also have to be aware of the fact that many of the participants will enter more than one competition so we have to try to avoid clashes as well."

And then there are the major prizes and bursaries to organise. "This year we have the new ESB Feis Ceoil Choir of the Year competition and that is going to be fantastic," she comments. "Choirs are great fun for all the participants. The ESB has put up a €3,000 award for the winning choir this year and that really is great. ESB's support has been invaluable. Chief Executive, Padraig McManus, has stressed that the company's involvement runs deeper than financial help. It is cultural solidarity.

Looking to the future, Laura is grateful for the support of the volunteers in the organisation. "The volunteers are absolutely brilliant. Some of them are septuagenarians and they give enormous time and energy to Feis Ceoil. We couldn't manage without them. We now have great momentum going again with the ESB sponsorship on board and we are looking to build on that and I am looking forward to many more feiseanna to come."

EM