Dr. Tara Byrne:

On whether audiences are loyal, Ms O'Donoghue and I both say it is a resounding "Yes". However, we want to become a year-round development agency such that we will not just be associated with the festival that takes place in May. We are seeking support in that regard. Some people tell us that our festival matters but ask why we only have it in May. We would retain it as the flowering of everything that happens throughout the year, but we want to have ongoing activity. We started it in a small way though our residency schemes in nursing homes, which are expensive but have longitudinal benefits. I mentioned cultural companions, a kind of cultural buddy network for older people. It is a key audience development initiative of ours which we are expanding. It was originally offered in approximately five counties, but we did not have enough funding for it to continue. It is now very successful in Dublin, but we are trying to roll it out again elsewhere. It is developing in counties Wexford and Clare. However, it is needed nationwide because it addresses social isolation, as well as issues of common interest.