Rivals rocked by MJ Crowe and revisionism in RTÉ documentary

Galway City Councillors nearly choked on their supper during the RTÉ One Prime Time television programme about the debacle that is the arthouse cinema, which aired recently.

It’s not the waste of money that shook them, although the millions and millions shovelled into the jinxed project is quite shocking. Nor were they shocked by the years of delays in building the arthouse cinema.

All those facts were already known to readers of the Galway City Tribune.

What they were surprised by was their colleague, Michael John Crowe, was portrayed in the programme as a ‘lone’ voice on the Council, who opposed the arthouse cinema from day-dot.

Collette Connolly, who supported the initiative initially but who subsequently became one of its fiercest critics – especially when one lane of traffic was closed at the Docks to facilitate the building works, which had stalled – must have choked on her lentil soup.

The blood-pressure must have risen too for Pádraig Conneely, another elected representative who has spent a good chunk of the past decade lambasting the organisers of the white elephant.

Mike Crowe was depicted as a voice of common sense on this issue. A sort of longstanding bulwark against the folly of investing in the project; a man who wasn’t listened to by others intent on throwing good money after bad so as not to upset the arts community.

In fairness to the Fianna Fáil representative, he wasn’t shy in opposing the project. And Michael John certainly stuck the boot in – for many years he stood up to and asked the awkward questions of Council officials and the project drivers, Solas.

But was there a certain degree of revisionism in the Prime Time programme, portraying MJ as the lone-ranger railing against this project? Amnesia perhaps?

Minutes of the special Council meeting of Monday, March 23, 2009 would suggest so.

Pádraig Conneely, then mayor, chaired the meeting, and took item 2 (a) on the agenda first, which was the disposal of City Council owned lands to Solas. This vote effectively paved the way for the Council to gift the site to Solas on a 99-year lease.

The minutes do not note any dissenting voices. Indeed, the minutes state that the motion was proposed by Catherine Connolly and seconded by her sister Collette and was “agreed”.

As well as Councillors Conneely and the Connolly sisters, also marked present were Níall Ó Brolcháin, Danny Callanan, Billy Cameron, John Connolly, Tom Costello, Mary Leahy, Donal Lyons, John Mulholland, Terry O’Flaherty, and Brian Walsh.

And do you know who else was there? That’s right, one Michael John Crowe!

The minutes stated that “a debate followed in which councillors welcomed the proposal and praised all involved in bringing the project to this level”. There is no mention of dissent.

Perhaps MJ did oppose giving Solas the site. But if so, why didn’t the minutes record this opposition, and why did the minutes not record that he either voted against or abstained on the vote?

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.