It says it was required to do so under EU law. But genocide is just wrong, says artist Steven Doody.
The exhibition “Systems” was due to start today at the Central Bank of Ireland on North Wall Quay.
It was on the line-up for the Five Lamps Art Festival, the annual neighbourhood showcase of talks, exhibitions and performances.
But the artists in the Interrupted Collective have cancelled the show, after an article in The Ditch noting that the bank had approved a prospectus for the sale of Israeli sovereign bonds which help to fund, among other things, its military.
Artists in Ireland have been responding to the call from Palestinian civil society for a cultural boycott of Israel, said the eight artists in the Interrupted Collective, in a statement issued 14 September.
That includes agreeing not “to accept any funding from any institution linked to the government of Israel, until such time as Israel complies with international law and universal principles of human rights”, says the statement.
“Genocide is wrong,” says artist Steven Doody, one of the collective, by phone on Friday.
The artists had good working relationships with staff in the Central Bank who were professional and are in no way to blame for the issue, he said. But the artists are backing the cultural boycott of Israel, because of its war on the people of Gaza.
“It’s a crisis of heart as well as of conscience,” says Róisín Lonergan, creative director of the Five Lamps Arts Festival, of which the Central Bank is an important funder.
The festival’s board is currently examining the issue, she says. “It’s difficult for us because we have had such a supportive relationship with the Central Bank,” says Longergan. “On the other hand, we don’t want to be supporting anyone that is doing harm to other human beings.”
The issue is complicated by the details of the role of the Central Bank.
“The Central Bank of Ireland is not directly involved in the buying or selling of Israeli bonds,” says Davide Romelli, an associate professor in economics at Trinity College Dublin.
Nor does the Central Bank provide a platform to facilitate the sale of bonds, he says. Rather, it is the regulator. It can’t legally refuse a country’s prospectus for its sovereign bonds based on ethical issues, says Romelli.
A spokesperson for the Central Bank made the same point, saying that: “Under EU regulation, The Central Bank of Ireland must approve any security prospectus that meet the standards of completeness, comprehensibility and consistency.”
By contrast, financial sanctions by the European Union against Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine mean that it is prohibited to trade Russian sovereign bonds.
The Interrupted Collective is made up of eight artists, among them Doody and Annmarie Kilshaw.
The group made the unanimous decision to cancel their exhibition in the Central Bank’s exhibition space after reading The Ditch article, says Kilshaw.
The article notes that the Israeli government is promoting the bonds as a way to help it fund its war. “As soon as we saw the article the decision was made,” says Kilshaw.
“Your conscience couldn’t let you,” she says. “It’s shocking in this day and age that it is allowed to happen. It’s heartbreaking to watch.”
The article also notes that under a 2017 EU Regulation, the Central Bank can only refuse to approve a prospectus if it doesn’t meet the “standards of completeness, comprehensibility and consistency”.
Romelli, the associate professor in economics at Trinity College Dublin, says the Central Bank doesn’t really have any other option but to approve the prospectus.
“Based on the Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (Prospectus Regulation) it can’t reject applications unless their prospectus does not meet the ‘standards of completeness, comprehensibility and consistency’,” he says.
It is different from a commercial bank, which decides which countries or companies it wants to invest in, he says.
The Central Bank of Ireland doesn’t invest directly in Israel government bonds, said Minister for Finance Fianna Fáil TD Michael McGrath in April.
The remit of the Central Bank is to maintain price stability, says Romelli.
He isn’t aware of any historic circumstances in which a central bank rejected a country’s sovereign bonds based on ethical issues or politics, he says.
In July 2024, the interest rate on 10-year Israeli government bonds reached 5.2 percent, the highest rate since 2010. The decrease in value of Israeli bonds also reflects the fact that fewer people are willing to invest in them, he says.
The Central Bank has used its exhibition space over the last couple of years to great effect, says Doody. “It’s not their fault.”
But still, the artists are obliged to support the cultural boycott of Israel, he says, and to highlight a system that facilitates the funding of the war. “As artists, we felt we had to pull out of it.”
His own contribution to the “Systems” exhibition is looking at the Soviet empire, he says.
Kilshaw says the artists hope to find another space to run the exhibition. “We’re ready to go,” she says. It was disappointing to have to cancel it. “We were really excited.”
Lonergan says the Five Lamps Arts Festival is a local arts festival with a global perspective.
“We weren’t aware of the situation until the artists brought it to our attention,” she says. “It makes us realise we are part of the bigger picture.”
They are not replacing the exhibition, she says.
The Central Bank not only provides a “vital” exhibition space for the festival, but also funds exhibitions, which supports artists, she says.
Like “Empower Her”, an exhibition celebrating Irish women that is currently running in Tallaght Hospital, says Lonergan. They have more upcoming exhibitions planned too, she says.
The Five Lamps Arts Festival also works with artists from all backgrounds, says Lonergan, and they are working with a Palestinian artist at the moment.
They are not taking the decision lightly of how to proceed, says Lonergan. “We’re just in a quandary,” she says. “Everything we do matters.”
“Having private, for-profit care goes against all you are trying to achieve for children in care,” says Terry Dignan, a spokesperson for charities that run children’s homes.
This week the roadway was again covered in shattered glass fallen from the Boat House office block there.
“You stand on the pier and it’s different every day. The sky is changing, the water, the clouds. It’s the most wonderful facility. The whole prom is.”
Changes would bring more routes into the green spaces, as well as natural play areas, added amenities and upgraded pitches.
