The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts".

About

It was established in 1951 by the

government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...

, to encourage interest in Irish art (including visual art, music, performance, and literature) and to channel funding from the state to Irish artists and arts organisations. This includes encouragement of traditional Irish arts, support for contemporary Irish arts, and finance for international arts events in Ireland. The council was modelled on the

Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...

, founded in 1946, and works closely with the

Arts Council of Northern Ireland The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Irish language, Irish: ''Comhairle Ealaíon Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots language, Ulster-Scots: ''Airts Cooncil o Norlin Airlan'') is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland. It ...

, formed by the British government in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in 1962 to fulfil a similar role. The Arts Council is an agency of the Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport. It is the main distributor of funding to artists and arts organisations in Ireland and also serves to advise the government on the arts. It also funds the artists' organization

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association or academy of artists, each of whom must have produced a distinguished body of work of genuine originality. It was created in 1981 by the country's Arts Council on the initiati ...

. They support architecture, dance, drama, film, literature, music, opera, community arts, street arts and spectacle, visual arts and other multidisciplinary projects. In 2011, the Council launched Culture Fox, an app and "online guide to Irish cultural events". The project was phased out in 2018. In 2023, for the 3rd year in a row, the Arts Council received €130 million in funding from the Irish government. Maureen Kennelly was appointed as director in 2020.

International policy

The Arts Council of Ireland is the official Cultural Contact Point between the

EU Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of members of the Commission ( directorial system, informally known as "commissioners") corresponding t ...

's Cultural Programme and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The Arts Council of Ireland is a founding member of th
International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies
''Visual Artists Ireland'', the all-Ireland non-governmental organisation representing Irish artists nationally and internationally, is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.

Members

The arts council consists of 12 members and a chair, each appointed for a five-year term by the

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media The Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport () is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the h ...

. *Maura McGrath - Chair *Fearghus O'Conchuir - Deputy Chair *

Paddy Glackin Paddy Glackin (born 5 August 1954) is an Irish fiddler and founding member of the Bothy Band. He is considered one of Ireland's leading traditional fiddle players. Biography Paddy Glackin was born on 5 August 1954 in Clontarf, Dublin. His fath ...

*Loughlin Deegan *Martina Moloney *Helen Shaw *Pádraig Ó Duinnín *Donall Curtin *Sinead Moriarty *Mark O’Kelly * Melatu Uche Okorie *

Jillian van Turnhout Jillian van Turnhout (; born 29 March 1968) is an Irish children's rights advocate and served as an independent member of Seanad Éireann from 2011 to 2016. Politics Van Turnhout was nominated by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny to the 24th Seanad in M ...

*Teresa Buczkowska

Chair of the Arts Council

The Chair of the council is appointed for a five-year term by the

. * Monsignor

Pádraig de Brún Pádraig Monsignor de Brún (13 October 1889 – 5 June 1960), also called Patrick Joseph Monsignor Browne, was an Irish Roman Catholic priest, linguist, Classicist, and Celticist. With regard to his contribution to Modern literature in Iris ...

(1959–1960) * Father Donal O’Sullivan SJ (1960–1973) *

Máire de Paor Máire de Paor (6 May 1925 – 6 December 1994), née MacDermott, was an Irish historian and archaeologist who also worked as a researcher and presenter for the national broadcaster RTÉ. Early life and education Máire de Paor was born Máir ...

(1974–1978) * Dr. Ciarán Benson (1993–1998) * Dr. Brian Farrell (1998–2000) * Patrick Murphy (2000–2003) * Olive Braiden (2003–2009) * Pat Moylan (2009–2014) * Sheila Pratschke (2014–2019) * Prof. Kevin Rafter (2019–2024) * Maura McGrath (2024– )

References

External links