Stephen Wilson Jr. gig among Sligo Live shows affected by industrial dispute

Stephen Wilson Jr.'s Sligo Live performance has been relocated to the TF Royal Theatre in Castlebar. This is due to an industrial dispute that has many public sector workers striking, including employees of the original venue, Knocknarea Arena.

Kyla Cobbler's show, which was planned for October 18, has been postponed, with the new date to be announced. Meanwhile, Dara Ó Briain and Rosanne Cash are slated to perform at the venue next week, with potential rescheduling dependent on developments with the strike.

Due to nationwide industrial action, public sector workers, including those at colleges, will be carrying out a work-to-rule strike. This is the consequence of a dispute between trade unions and the government over a new pay agreement.

As Knocknarea Arena is part of the ATU Sligo campus, venue staff crucial to meeting legal and safety requirements will not be available outside their working hours, nor will they perform duties not explicitly listed in their employment contracts.

Ryan McKinney, national secretary of trade union Fórsa, said; “Fórsa members have voted overwhelmingly to act because Government has failed to engage seriously on a pay offer that addresses the pressures faced by public service workers.

"They did not take the decision to engage in industrial action lightly. [...] The responsibility now rests with Government to come forward with a credible proposal capable of resolving this dispute and avoiding disruption across public services”.

Despite its distance from Sligo Town, the Royal Theatre was chosen for Stephen Wilson Jr.'s performance because its capacity is enough to accommodate the over 1,500 ticketholders. This allows the performance date, October 17, to remain unchanged.

“The core philosophy driving Sligo Live is to actively bring audiences into our town, championing top-tier music, comedy and hospitality locally", said Padraig McKeon, Chair of the Sligo Live Board. "Relocating a major show away from town was an incredibly difficult choice that we did not arrive at lightly.

"However, delaying this decision would have imposed unacceptable planning risks on our ticket holders and created greater uncertainty. Our primary duty is to safeguard the experience of our audiences, while defending the wider momentum of the festival”.

Knocknarea Arena is the only Sligo Live venue affected by the strike.

"All our Hawk’s Well Theatre and other venue shows will go ahead as planned and promise to be a massive success with over 36 other music events scheduled across the 16-day festival", said Sligo Live producer Willie Kelly.

This year marks the 21st Sligo Live Festival, the longest-running and most successful indie festival in Connaught.