The following is the text of the letter of resignation from Ms Terry Prone to the Minister for Arts and Culture, Ms de Valera, dated November 27th 2001. The letter has been edited by The Irish Times on legal advice.
Dear Minister,
I must regretfully tender my resignation from the Board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
An invitation was issued last night to Dr Brian Kennedy to assume the role of Director of IMMA.
This invitation was based, in my view, on a fundamentally flawed interview process and an equally questionable procedure at last night's Board meeting. The fundamental flaws in the interview process include the fact that:
1. Documentation was circulated to members of the interview panel in advance of one interview about the candidate involved. No matching documentation was circulated in relation to other candidates.
2. The panel wrongly perceived themselves to be under time constraint in making the decision.
3. One of the members of the interview panel, overnight, reversed his position on the candidature of one of those interviewed, without new evidence and despite the fact that the panel had by then issued its recommendation to the Board.
4. The recommendation from the panel to the Board was, in itself, improper, suggesting that the search for a Director be widened while, in effect, asking one candidate to "stay on the back burner".
Yesterday's Board procedure, in turn, was questionable because of the following factors:
No Secretary present.
[Word removed on legal advice] . . . the recommendation from the interview panel: it was presented to the Board as having selected one candidate, whereas, factually, it did the reverse.
No evidence adduced to justify personal promotion by the Chair of one candidate instead, the repeated 'justification' was "I feel he has the vision."
Presentation of a multi-clausal option to be voted on by the Board which was so unclear as to require re-wording by two members of the Board before the vote was complete.
The re-worded proposition was a) put after some members voted and b) not recorded.
In tendering my resignation, I wish to make it clear to you: not only do I have no bias against Dr Kennedy, the candidate promoted by the Chair, but I know and like the man.
However, I believe that if he takes up the Directorship based on the improper and inequitable procedures outlined, an unbridgeable fault line will run beneath his administration from the beginning. This would do no justice to the man - and even less to the institution.
Yours sincerely
Terry Prone