Behind the Scenes Archives

Behind the Scenes

Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

CURTIN CALL AT THE ABBEY

December 13, 2018

WHILE THE Abbey Theatre’s imported Christmas show, Come From Away, has attracted lots of pre-opening night publicity, one of the board members has... Read more »

JOSEPHA MADIGAN’S BIASED BURSARIES

November 29, 2018

NOT SURPRISINGLY, there was little (ie no) outcry after Josepha Madigan unveiled the government’s latest gender-based culture wheeze, which takes the form of... Read more »

THE ABBEY’S NEW NUMBER CRUNCHER

November 29, 2018

CULTURE MINISTER Josepha Madigan has been busy making appointments to the boards of some national cultural institutions. One of these is accountant Peter... Read more »

SELINA CARTMELL VS GRAHAM McLAREN

November 29, 2018

IT’S THE time of year when our two biggest institutions announce winter and spring programmes – ones that will leave audiences and, more... Read more »

AFTER FILMBASE IN TEMPLE BAR

November 15, 2018

THE APPLICATIONS are in from arts organisations seeking to move their headquarters to the cultural hub that is Dublin’s Temple Bar. The prize... Read more »

REPLACING JOHN MCAULIFFE

November 15, 2018

AFTER FIVE years, John McAuliffe has finished his term as a member (and deputy chair) of the Arts Council. This is the start... Read more »

SOAKING UP THOSE FILM FUNDS

November 15, 2018

ANNIE DOONA’S Screen Ireland posted its third-quarter funding allocations last week. As with every round, there is the usual, dominant set of recipients,... Read more »

NATIONAL THEATRE’S US IMPORT

November 1, 2018

FANS OF Irish theatre got a treat this week when RTÉ broadcast a show devoted to life inside the Abbey Theatre, where the... Read more »

BOOK AWARDS BEANO

November 1, 2018

THERE WAS an exuberant gushing plug for the annual Irish Book Awards in the Sindo last weekend when the shortlist for the 2018... Read more »

SIÚN NÍ RAGHALLAIGH’S GOOD NEWS

November 1, 2018

FANS OF Goldhawk will not have been surprised by the inclusion in Pascal Donohoe’s Finance Bill of 10 pages of refinements to the... Read more »

MEL GIBSON’S TAXING ISSUE

October 18, 2018

THE MOVIE suits don’t generally wash their dirty linen in public, which is why Mel Gibson’s spat with Voltage Pictures – producers of... Read more »

SLOWLY DOES IT AT IMMA

October 18, 2018

THERE IS still no sign of white smoke at Kilmainham, where they are waiting for a new director to replace the long-departed Sarah... Read more »

JOSEPHA MADIGAN’S CREATIVE SPENDING

October 18, 2018

THE TENSIONS between the Arts Council and the Department of Culture over the emergence of Creative Ireland (CI) are well known. The new... Read more »

NEW FACES AT THE CHESTER BEATTY

October 4, 2018

THERE HAS been some recent (and overdue) activity on the board of the Chester Beatty Library, where some new faces are joining Dermot... Read more »

AUDITIONING FOR THE GATE

October 4, 2018

THERE HAS been lots of good news for the Gate Theatre lately, putting quite a nice gloss on Selina Cartmell’s tenure on Parnell... Read more »

HELEN BOYLE’S FUNDING BOOST

October 4, 2018

AS MICK Hannigan and Una Feely prepare to fire up their IndieCork film and music festival, it seems that relations between their erstwhile... Read more »

PATRICK SUTTON’S CORE PROBLEM

September 20, 2018

THERE WAS some good news for Smock Alley theatre in Temple Bar this year when the Arts Council upped its grant, but the... Read more »

CATHERINE CONNOLLY’S QUESTIONS

September 20, 2018

The worrying news emerging from Galway 2020, where they have lost their creative director (Chris Baldwin – described in the Irish Times as... Read more »

SCRIPT REWRITE AT THE ITFAs

September 20, 2018

THE LUVVIES of the film and TV business are girding their loins for the hardest part of their job – aggressive self-promotion for... Read more »

JOSEPHA MADIGAN’S NEXT APPOINTMENT

September 6, 2018

THIS WEEK is the closing date for potential candidates to apply for a seat on the board of the Abbey Theatre. However, actors... Read more »

IMMA’S NEW FACES

September 6, 2018

IT IS not just the Abbey that has been busy with its board; IMMA has appointed two new directors. However, of more interest... Read more »

GREEN SCREEN

September 6, 2018

IRISH FILMS are hard to avoid at the moment, with seven titles out or being released over the next few weeks. Fingers will... Read more »

NEW FACES ON MERRION SQUARE

August 23, 2018

MINISTER FOR Culture Josepha Madigan has got around to making some overdue appointments to the Arts Council. It won’t be long before she... Read more »

MARY O’KENNEDY’S NEW GIG

August 23, 2018

THE LATEST addition to the Arts Council’s payroll is fundraising consultant Mary O’Kennedy. She has landed a contract to try and whip assorted... Read more »

MICHAEL STARRETT’S SUCCESSOR

August 9, 2018

WITH HERITAGE Council chief executive Michael Starrett retiring after a whopping 22 years in situ, the search is on for a new candidate... Read more »

EUGENE DOWNES’S FESTIVAL RATING

August 9, 2018

WITH THE Kilkenny Arts Festival (KAF) kicking off this week, it is interesting to note that the Arts Council (slightly) reduced its grant... Read more »

SCREEN IRELAND’S HAPPY AUDIENCE

August 9, 2018

ANNIE DOONA’S Screen Ireland (previously the Irish Film Board) recently released its second-quarter funding decisions, with just over €5.5m of public lolly divvied... Read more »

MONICA SPENCER’S LATEST ADDITIONS

July 26, 2018

AFTER a short break in spending, the Arts Council has been adding to its sprawling collection with the purchase of 11 new artworks... Read more »

RUTH McGOWAN’S FLEXIBILITY

July 26, 2018

WHILE THE Dublin Theatre Festival has had difficulties offstage with the Arts Council, which cut this year’s funding by €25,000 to €825,000, Ruth... Read more »

MORE MOOLAH FOR ‘REBELLION’ MARK II

July 26, 2018

THE TAXPAYERS’ latest handouts to Irish TV and film producers, for the April-June period, is the usual exercise in opacity because the Revenue... Read more »

ELEANOR McEVOY’S SAD SONG

July 12, 2018

LAST WEEK singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy put on her hat as chair of the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) – which represents songwriters, composers... Read more »

JOSEPHA MADIGAN STARTS TO BUILD

July 12, 2018

IT’S FAIR to say there are few surprises in the expensive film industry review commissioned by Heather Humphreys in November 2016 from London... Read more »

A SMASHING PLAN!

July 12, 2018

IN MARCH this year, the wheels came off Filmbase when Tom Murray was appointed liquidator but the story is far from over. For... Read more »

WILLIE WHITE’S WOES

June 28, 2018

THE OFF-STAGE drama for the Dublin Theatre Festival has seen an Arts Council cut in funding for 2018. It looks like the writing... Read more »

HARRY’S NEW GAME

June 28, 2018

HARRY CROSBIE (OBE) has been keeping busy with plans for his own gaff and the Vicar Street venue. He has also been fighting... Read more »

ANNIE DOONA’S BALANCING ACT

June 28, 2018

LIONEL SHRIVER’S outburst in The Spectator rubbishing publisher Penguin’s diversity policies (ie taking into account the gender, sexuality, etc of those to be... Read more »