Article Category: Behind the Scenes

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 financially.... 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 footprint... Read more »

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 Screen... 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) in... 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 to... 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 decided... 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 little... 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 the... 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 Lowry,... 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 importantly,... 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 director... 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 operations... 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 the... 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 Glennie.... 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 body... 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 Square... 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 Desmond... 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 employer... 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 overall... 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 the... 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 and... 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 be... 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 is... 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 cash-strapped... 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 out... 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 to... 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 from... Read more »