It is understood that Sarah Bragg-Bolger, the managing director of Dublin Youth Theatre, had accepted the newly created role leading the beleaguered An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG) earlier this month. Just last week, a spokesperson for CLRG confirmed that “a new Managing Director has been appointed,” as part of a suite of reforms brought in in the wake of the alleged cheating scandal that had engulfed the organisation.
But now it has emerged that Ms Bragg-Bolger has pulled out of the role. In a statement on Friday night, CLRG said: “We can confirm that the chosen candidate has communicated they are no longer in a position to take up the role. Please note CLRG is continuing the search for a Managing Director.”
Last week, the Irish Independent reported that CLRG was facing insolvency this year after it spent upwards of €1 million on the alleged cheating scandal. The vast majority of disciplinary hearings ordered after 44 people were accused of so-called feis fixing have now been abandoned, after CLRG said it was no longer in a position to continue with them.
CLRG’s accounts for last year warn that it incurred a deficit of €1,008,910 in 2022 and €704,269 last year. “If the company were to continue in a similar manner, then within the next 12 months it would exhaust its cash reserves and become insolvent,” its audited accounts said. There are also widespread concerns about whether or not CLRG can afford to hold the World Championships in Dublin next year.
Its financial survival depends on a number of new measures, including hiking the fees that parents and older dancers will have to pay for competitions.
It was confirmed to teachers this week that CLRG has secured an outside financier, but their support will depend on teachers agreeing to the increase in fees. CLRG is also proposing holding most of its meetings over Zoom in future, in order to save cash.
The new managing director role was a brand new position at CLRG, which was created in the wake of the alleged feis fixing scandal. CLRG had vowed to undertake a “modernisation and transformation process, guided by the recommendations of an independent strategic review that took place last year.” As well as appointing a new managing director, CLRG had vowed to develop “a new, robust disciplinary code of practice.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media has declined to say if Minister Catherine Martin has any concerns about CLRG in light of concerns about its financial position.
“The Department is aware of recent reports concerning the accounts filed by CLRG with the Companies Office. It would be inappropriate to speculate or comment on such financial matters which are exclusively the responsibility of the Commission,” it said in a statement.