“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.”

These collaborations have “enhanced who I am as an artist, who I am as a musician, how I think, how I feel and how I relate to people from other cultures, and how I understand the human experience. Thank you, to the Irish taxpayer,” she repeated.

Ms Noone stressed the importance of the arts, saying that as a music student who spent her all disposable income on instruments and music classes, she could still find treasure, by walking into a gallery or into a library.

That’s where “the riches of the world are. . .and they are there for everybody.

“This is treasure, this is the treasure of humankind,” she said, comparing the festival’s Artistic Director Paul Fahy to “a collector of treasure. He goes around the world collecting beautiful things and bringing them to us in Galway”.

Her passion is “to share the treasure that is art”, she stated. “I’m allergic to elitism in the arts. It’s there to be shared, to get excited about. Paul and John have given me the opportunity to bring that to Galway, one of the great treasures I have found along my journey,” she said, referring to her Big Top concert with Stewart Copeland of the Police which took place on Wednesday night.

She finished by urging guests at the launch to “go open the treasure chest, indulge and experience the stunning gems that have been collected for you from all over the world”.

In his address, Mayor Peter Keane described the Festival as a “celebration of the vibrant cultural heartbeat of Galway”, as he praised how it “contributes to our cultural riches and enhances our international reputation as a cultural hub”.

There were financial benefits too, he said, with visitor numbers to last year’s event as being in excess of 400,000 people.

And the “Festival’s influence extends beyond our borders with tours to the UK, the US and Australia”, he said, calling GIAF “an ambassador, showcasing the unique artistic spirit of Galway to audiences worldwide”.

He praised the festival staff, the 100 contractors it hires around festival time and its volunteers, and he thanked its many sponsors.

Paul Fahy and John Crumlish also thanked the backroom staff and volunteers, with John pointing out that both men had started out as volunteers with the event many years ago.

Galway International Arts Festival runs until Sunday, July 28.

Pictured: Artistic Director of Galway International Arts Festival Paul Fahy with composer and conductor Eímear Noone who opened this year’s two-week event. Photo: Andrew Downes.