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ARTSCAPE:‘I AM AN Irish citizen, a creature of this place,” said Sebastian Barry. “I live locally in Ireland, because there is no other way to live in Ireland . . . We have had numbers of great artists in Ireland, and I also think there has been a greatness in Irish governance towards artists.” He was speaking at this week’s Joint Oireachtas Committee, where an overwhelming array of artistic talent articulated the importance of culture in a recession. A starry delegation from the Arts Council and Theatre Forum eloquently and strongly put the case for continued State support.

In drawing from his own life, and declaring his love of Ireland, Barry said: “It’s not just the calf who returns to where it got its milk, it’s also that as a person who has been writing in Ireland for 31 years, and as the father of three children, there have been structures quietly and very brilliantly put in place in Ireland that come up to meet you as the various parts of your career unfold. In 1982 I got an Arts Council grant, which was like being cheered wildly from the sidelines.” The Abbey staging Boss Grady’s Boysin 1988 meant that “for a while my wife Eily did not need to conceal herself under the bed when the rent lady came around”.