‘Another hammer blow to rural Ireland’

A Cavan councillor has called for an exemption from IMRO music licensing charges for small community festivals, warning the levy could cripple the planning of future local events and force others off the calendar altogether.

Sinn Féin's Damien Brady asked Cavan County Council to write to the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to remove the charge for small music events held as part of festivals in towns, villages and parishes.

His belief is that community festivals should “not be treated in the same way” as major commercial events such as Electric Picnic and other large commercially driven concerts.

“Every year in our towns and villages, committees come together to organise festivals and events that bring families and neighbours together,” said Cllr Brady said, noting many events also attract people who have emigrated and return home for the celebrations, while providing vital fundraising income for GAA clubs and community groups.

“These festivals are often very worthy fundraisers and raise much-needed money for events throughout the year, including St Patrick’s Day parades, Halloween parties, Christmas lights and Santa,” he told fellow elected members, highlighting how such events also provide a boost to local businesses, including pubs, shops, restaurants and taxi operators.

Cllr Brady warned, however, that IMRO’s LP Tariff 2026 Edition could put small events under serious financial pressure. He said the tariff requires a live music licence, with charges 6% of takings where no licence is held, or 3% where one is in place.

“These small events are not run in the same way as Electric Picnic or other huge concerts,” he said. “They are community events, often organised by volunteers and operating on very small margins.”

He warned that enforcement could result in events being cancelled altogether.

“If IMRO enforces this, some of these events simply won’t go ahead, and our towns, villages, parishes and GAA clubs will lose much-needed revenue,” he stated.

Describing the tariff as “another hammer blow to rural Ireland”, Cllr Brady called for small music events held alongside community festivals to be exempt from paying the fee. “Committees put enormous effort into these events and take great pride in bringing their communities together. We should be supporting them, not putting their future at risk,” he said.

Cllr Brady's comments received backing from Independent Ireland's Shane P O'Reilly, speaking just the day after another “successful” Mullagh Fair Day - an event he estimates had helped put at least €3 million back into the local community down through the years. This, he said, was vital funding in supporting the parish as it sought put forward match funding for various applications.

The tariff therefore, he said, “flies in the face” of communities helping to promote local artists, many of whom gain valuable exposure and employment on festival circuits.

Independent Brendan Fay also backed the motion, complaining to the meeting that IMRO operate with a “very expensive suite of lawyers based out of offices located on Dublin's southside”.

“They're a horrible organisation,” he remarked. “This is nothing but a tax on communities.”

* This article has been published with support from the Local Democracy Scheme