We’re back with another Lock-In podcast. Our guest is Maria Moynihan-Lee of Milestone Inventive, an event management company based in Galway city.
Click on the player below to play the audio (you can download it here: 13:21; 8MB; MP3), or scroll down for the video.
Maria has been fortunate that her two biggest events, The Oyster Festival and Galway Christmas Market, occur towards the end of the year. While the company continues to prepare in the hope that these events will be unaffected, all staff are now working from their homes.
The quarantine measures have led to the cancellation of large public events which were planned for Galway’s tenure as European Capital of Culture 2020. However, Maria explains, the core ‘bid book’ of 27 arts projects which formed the basis of the city’s application for the City of Culture is going ahead, with some adjustment.
Meanwhile, the events industry is contributing to an initiative organised by Elaine O’Connor of Magnum Events. Unable to conduct their normal business, many events companies are donating expertise and resources in support of the health services. It’s an obvious payback, Maria says.
“Whenever we are producing an event, especially if it’s a licensed event on that scale, we need to work really closely with what you’d call the ‘blue light’ services, HSE emergency, the Gardaí and our local authorities. We need them in the good times. If they need us in the bad times, and we can do anything, then we are there for that”.
Blacknight has sponsored the website for that initiative: The Event Industry Association of Ireland.
Backdrop images for today’s show are from a collection of images released by DC Comics for use as Zoom virtual backgrounds. We discovered them on a site run by Michele, called irishfree.com. He’s also got a project to promote Irish online food producers at buyirishfood.ie.
Also mentioned today:
That’s it for this week. We’re taking a break on the podcast until Friday next 17 April, and we’ll resume a twice-weekly schedule after that.
