Article Category: Behind the Scenes

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 is... 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 and... 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 example,... 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 consultants... 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 was... 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 published)... Read more »

SARAH GLENNIE’S SUCCESSOR?

June 13, 2018
THE BOARD of IMMA, chaired by David Harvey, will be relieved to have finally advertised the post of gallery director. It has only taken... Read more »

PENELOPE KENNY’S CONTACTS

June 13, 2018
AMONG THOSE IMMA board members keeping a close eye on the director recruitment process is Penelope Kenny, appointed in 2015 along with Dermod Dwyer... Read more »

IRISH MOVIES MISS THEIR TARGET

June 13, 2018
ON MAY 25 Oscar-nominated The Breadwinner (see Reviews) was released in Ireland and the UK. Produced by Cartoon Saloon in Kilkenny and directed by... Read more »

ANNIE DOONA’S ANNUAL REPORT

May 31, 2018
THE LATEST annual report of the Irish Film Board (IFB) appeared without fanfare on its website last month. Since Annie Doona was confirmed in... Read more »

A SMALL WORLD AT IMMA

May 31, 2018
THE THIRD year of purchases by the Hennessy Art Fund for IMMA Collection has added four more pieces by mid-level artists to the artworks... Read more »

CREDIT WHERE (TAX) CREDIT IS DUE

May 17, 2018
WHILE THE Joint Oireachtas culture committee prepares its report on the film industry following recent hearings, Goldhawk asked the Revenue for some facts. The... Read more »

SELINA CARTMELL’S CONDITIONS

May 17, 2018
WITH THE Gate Theatre landing an extra €100,000 in funding from the Arts Council it looks like 2018 is shaping up to be a... Read more »

JOSEPHA MADIGAN’S AMERICAN DREAM

May 17, 2018
THE MANNER in which the Irish government funds the long delayed $62m Irish Arts Centre project in New York continues to raise questions. And... Read more »

BACK ON THE GRAVY TRAIN

May 3, 2018
FOLLOWING HOT on the heels of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland’s hand-out to the TV production sector comes the release by Annie Doona’s Irish... Read more »

SHEILA PRATSCHKE’S WONDERFUL LIFE

May 3, 2018
LAST MONTH Arts Council chair Sheila Pratschke gave a lengthy interview to The Irish Times but what was most interesting was what was not... Read more »