“The treasure of humankind”, was how renowned Galway composer and conductor Eímear Noone described the arts as she officially launched this year’s Galway International Arts Festival at the city’s Galmont Hotel on Monday night.

Ms Noone, who is from Kilconnell and lives in LA, said she was “so, so excited to be in Gaillimh” to launch and to take part in the Festival.

“Since 1978, this Festival has brought the world stage to Galway. And seeing world-class theatre, world-class music, and world-class art on our streets, in our familiar spaces, in our familiar theatres, sure it’s not too much of a stretch of the imagination to think that if the world stage is an Taibhdhearc, maybe there might be a little room for a Galway girl on it,” she said.

She praised Festival Executive Director, John Crumlish and its Artistic Director Paul Fahy for giving that opportunity to today’s young Galwegians.

And she praised this country’s taxpayers who had enabled her to study music at Trinity College, something that had been pivotal on her journey to the international stage.

“When I’m talking about the people to whom I owe things, the number one is the Irish taxpayer,” she stated. “The people of Ireland gave me an education in the arts that took me all over the world and I don’t just mean to places – places are places – but to collaborate with artists from completely different backgrounds to mine.”

Caption: Pegasus from Planete Vapeur will be on the city streets this Friday and Saturday at 9.30pm, and also at 6pm on Saturday.

Get the full coverage of the Galway International Arts Festival in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.