Behind the Scenes Archives

Behind the Scenes

AFTER JAMES HICKEY AT SCREEN IRELAND

January 24, 2019
ON A rare joint appearance on radio with Screen Ireland (SI) chair Annie Doona, the agency’s outgoing chief executive, James Hickey, told RTÉ that... Read more »

ANN MULROONEY’S SUCCESSOR

January 24, 2019

THE HUNT is under way for a new chief executive/artistic director for the VISUAL contemporary arts centre in Carlow, which continues to struggle... Read more »

PASS THE FERRERO ROCHER

January 10, 2019

THE APPOINTMENT this week of an Irish five-a-side squad of “cultural ambassadors” marks the latest wheeze in the much-hyped objective of “doubling Ireland’s... Read more »

Susan Bergin Marlowe Mullingar Film Studio RTÉ Self-Employment

JOSEPHA MADIGAN’S PRESSIE

January 10, 2019

’TWAS BUT a week before Christmas and all were asleep when Josepha Madigan bestowed gifts to the tune of U200m to Annie Doona’s... Read more »

EUGENE DOWNES’S NEXT JOB?

January 10, 2019

GOLDHAWK was interested to see an advert for the new role of cultural director at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)... Read more »

BUSY TIMES AT ANNAGH-MAKERRIG

December 13, 2018

EARLIER THIS year, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan spent a week at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre (TGC) artists’ retreat... Read more »

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 »

SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN

December 13, 2018

THE PERIOD from mid-November through to mid-January is traditionally a nervy time for idle freelance workers in the film and TV business. There’s... 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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »