Galway poet Rita Ann Higgins has said her city has left it “too late” to appoint a new artistic director for its controversial European capital of culture 2020 project, and should set up a team of artists to provide a creative lead instead. Ms Higgins, who is a member of Aosdána, has also called on the Galway 2020 board to “take the project by the scruff of the neck and come out fighting”. “I do hope it is rescued, but already there is a sense of “Galway 2020 fatigue” setting in,”she said. Ms Madigan confirmed the first tranche for Galway 2020 at a Budget 2019 briefing last week, but also said she hoped a new artistic director would be appointed in the near future. Galway 2020 said it was not in a position to comment on Ms Higgins’s poem.

Source: The Irish Times October 17, 2018 19:30 UTC