The company set up to oversee Galway's 2020 European Capital of Culture has said it would continue to work with Druid Theatre and other arts organisations to deliver a full programme of events.
It comes after one of the flagships productions for Galway 2020 – Druid’s ‘Middle Island’ – was withdrawn from the programme due to budget cuts, delays and communication issues.
'Middle Island' was billed as a "large scale, ambitious work" in the Galway application for the European designation, but the theatre company now says it is not in a position to deliver the production.
Druid says it has outlined its concerns to the chairperson of the Galway 2020 company and is in discussions to identify an alternative project that it could stage in two years' time.
'Middle Island' formed part of the so-called 'Weigh Anchor' element of the Galway bid. This involves a number of high-budget projects, overseen by local cultural organisations.
It was envisaged that the Druid production would be staged at Ros an Mhíl pier before audiences travelled with actors by boat to Inis Meáin.
The company also planned to stage the work - based on the Colm Tóibín novella 'Testament' - in Corsica as part of a Galway 2020 outreach initiative.
A four-year timeframe, outlined in 2016, detailed the creative, technical and artistic development of the production.
It is understood that a lack of clarity in relation to the overall 2020 project has thrown that plan off course.
In a statement, Druid founder and artistic director Garry Hynes said the company, along with other Galway producers, wanted to make 2020 a success, which would build on the strong cultural foundations in the city.
Last month, Ms Hynes expressed concern at the progress so far, saying it was extremely difficult for people to prepare in light of the ongoing problems at Galway 2020.
The withdrawal of 'Middle Island' is the latest blow to the Capital of Culture preparations.
Galway 2020 has yet to appoint a creative director to take over from Chris Baldwin, who resigned from the post in April.
The company parted ways with its CEO Hannah Kiely last month and yesterday announced that a Galway City Council official, Patricia Philbin, would take over in that role. Ms Philbin was involved in the bid process in 2016.
Many of those working in the city's artistic sector have expressed frustration at the level of planning and communication, as the clock ticks towards 2020.
A number of cultural producers are due to meet local authority officials to discuss their concerns later this week.
The Chief Executive of the Galway International Arts Festival has resigned from the Board of Galway 2020 this evening.
John Crumlish said he had always intended to remain as a member of the board until negotiations began between the Arts Festival and the 2020 company, about the flagship project it is due to oversee.
GIAF is listed as the main partner in a major project to mark the Capital of Culture designation: Mirrored Pavilions.
It will entail the manufacture of three giant sculptures for Galway, Conemara and Santander in Spain.
The works have been designed by Irish artist John Gerrard.
In a statement Mr Crumlish said discussions about the project were due to begin shortly and as a result he had stepped down from the board of Galway 2020.
In a statement this evening, Galway 2020 said the total operating budget has been revised downwards from €46m to €39m with a chunk of that total made up from "in kind" support.
In effect, this means that sponsorship, volunteer activity and any commercial agreements will have a value allocated to them and this will be factored into the overall budget calculation.
Efforts to appoint a new Creative Director are continuing and have taken "longer than hoped".
Controversies surrounding the 2020 project are thought to have impacted on this process, with a number of interested parties expressing concern in this regard.
