Some of the country’s finest musical talents performed at the event in 2022.
An ‘Irish diversity musical’ organised by Other Voices and held at the US ambassador’s residence in 2022 has been targeted by Trump’s administration as a ‘waste of US taxpayers money’.
As reported by Mark Tighe in the Irish Independent, the showcase of traditional music has been targeted by the new US government amongst a series of “insane priorities” which they claim the American overseas aid agency USAid had funded around the world.
Last week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the organisation for ‘wasting US taxpayers money’ on cultural events held with the aim of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) – adding that the Trump administration and Elon Musk would not tolerate any more of it.
Speaking outside the White House, Donald Trump’s press secretary held up a sheet of paper giving details of the astonishing ways in which taxpayers’ money had been doled out during Biden’s tenure as president.
Reading from the sheet, Leavitt went through it line by line.
She said: “$1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbia’s workplaces, $70,000 for a production of a DEI musical in Ireland, $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia, $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru.”
Hammering home the point, the 27-year-old – who has already become a headline-grabbing element of Trump’s administration – said: “I don’t know about you, but as an American taxpayer I don’t want my dollars going toward this crap.
“And I know the American people don’t either, and that’s exactly what Elon Musk has been tasked by President Trump to do – to get the fraud, waste and abuse out of the federal government.”
As explained by Mark Tighe, it was in fact the US State Department, not USAid, which issued a grant of $70,884 to Irish company Ceiliúradh CLG in September 2022 to “deliver a live musical event to promote the US and Irish shared values of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.”
The Kerry-based company is run by Irish musician and producer Philip King, who runs the Other Voices music series that involves musicians performing from Kerry locations in TV shows broadcast on RTÉ.
On September 15, 2022, Other Voices held a concert in the US ambassador’s residence – Deerfield in Phoenix Park – titled ‘Dignity: Towards a More Equitable Future’.
The event was MCed by Ola Majekodunmi, a Nigerian-Irish presenter, and its speakers included American-Irish dancer Morgan Bullock and Ursula Mapley, chief operating officer of Bank of America Europe.
The show also included performances from Grammy-winning folk duo Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi.
Irish fiddle player Martin Hayes, singer-songwriters Mick Flannery and Róisín O, and Faye O’Rourke, lead singer with the band Soda Blonde, performed along with American singer-songwriter Jeffrey Martin.
Credits on videos of the performances listed Rethink Ireland, the state-supported body that gives grants to social initiatives, as co-lead on the event along with the US Embassy.
The organisation have responded to Leavitt’s criticism, saying that its principles do not change depending on who is in the White House.
During her speech at the event back in 2022, Rethink Ireland’s CEO, Deirdre Mortell called for a “radical equality agenda” in Ireland.
Rethink Ireland has since reiterated its commitment to those principles.
Mortell also clarified that the costs of its panel discussion event was entirely covered by a $32,000 grant it received from the US embassy.
She said Rethink Ireland organised and curated the talk event, but was not involved in the Other Voices music event that started immediately afterwards.
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