Actor Alan Stanford was among five new members appointed to the Arts Council yesterday by Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue.
Art collector Maurice Foley was appointed deputy chairman and the other new members are musician Aibhlín McCrann, Galway Arts Festival manager John Crumlish and artist Jaki Irvine. Philip King has also been reappointed by the Minister for another five year term.
The Minister thanked outgoing members of the council, Una Ó Murchú, Patrick Sutton, Emer O'Kelly and Willie Doherty, and also paid tribute to the late Jerome Hynes, deputy chairman of the council and chief executive of Wexford Festival Opera, who died suddenly last year.
Arts Council chairwoman Olive Braiden said she was looking forward to working with the new members "in the challenging times ahead". The new members, who are appointed for five years, join the existing Arts Council members who were appointed in August 2003: Noelle Campbell Sharp, Theo Dorgan, Rosaleen Linehan, Orlaith McBride, John McGahern and Mary Nunan.
An actor for over 30 years, Alan Stanford is best known for his work as actor and director with the Gate Theatre. He's a founding director of Second Age Theatre Company and played George in Glenroe on RTÉ for 11 years.
Aibhlín McCrann is a solo harpist and ensemble musician in both classical and traditional music. She is on the board of the Irish Traditional Music Archive, and was director of the World Harp Congress (Dublin 2005). She is also a business communications consultant.
Maurice Foley has, with his wife Máire, collected art for over 30 years, and their collection is shared through donations and loans. He's been on the board of IMMA and was involved in setting up the Dublin International Piano Competition.
Galway Arts Festival manager John Crumlish is from Carndonagh, Co. Donegal and has been involved in both the festival and Macnas.
Jaki Irvine has represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale, was short-listed for the IMMA Glen Dimplex Artist's Award in 1996 and the Nissan Public Art Award in 1999. She was elected to Aosdana this month.