The Inner City Festival of Community Arts brings colour and life to Dublin streets.
Launched by the Lord Mayor of Dublin William Cummiskey, the first Inner City Festival of Community Arts is held at the Diamond, where Gloucester Place intersects with Seán McDermott Street.
The festival is designed to highlight the need for a careful development of this area.
To facilitate the event, the area is sealed off to traffic. The stage at the Diamond hosts street theatre and musicians. Theatre is provided by the travelling players Footsbarn Jesters Theatre from Cornwall, as well as Grapevine Arts Centre in Dublin.
Musicians appearing include Christy Moore and Jimmy Faulkner. The evening entertainment is a concert featuring local bands, The Blades and The Atrix.
The festival is organised by The North City Community Council. They describe it as
A reminder that for a city to live, it must survive as a living city.
The main funder for the festival is Dublin Corporation who provided a grant of £3,500.
Also scheduled for the six-day festival are plays, puppet shows, an open-air cinema in Sherrif Street, a workshop for local writers chaired by Neil Jordan, the release of Don Baker's single 'Inner City' on the Mulligan label, plus exhibitions and competitions.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 10 September 1979. The reporter is Conor Fennell.
