Family, colleagues and friends remember the man who was founder of the Project Arts Centre, trainer and play director at the Abbey Theatre, producer at RTÉ, director of the Arts Council, general secretary of the Labour Party, adviser to minister for arts Michael D Higgins and director of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD).
His brother Art summed him up as “both a visionary and a pragmatist, a doer and a dreamer”, while his wife, Muireann, said he gave all his energy and commitment to whatever he was engaged with. “By nature idealistic and totally committed to public service, he found the outlet for his vision for Ireland in various institutions,” Seán Ó Mordha wrote.
His sister Máirín outlined their family background and told how on holidays in Skerries he became entranced by a travelling theatre troupe from England and attended all their performances. At school, he had leading roles in musicals and got deeply involved in Dramsoc while attending UCD.
Contributions cover his time as director of Dramsoc; his establishment and running of the Project Arts Centre (it provided an alternative venue to the established exhibition and theatre centres and worked in the interests of all artists, especially those struggling for recognition); his stint at the Abbey as training co-ordinator and play director under Lelia Doolan (“Colm was easy to work with; a fastidious, punctual being, stimulating, enquiring, always creative, seeking agreement and solutions”); his work as producer in RTÉ (“no matter how polarised the positions, Colm had the ability to move on without the slightest trace of rancour ... not a characteristic all that common in RTÉ”), his eight years as full-time director (the first) of the Arts Council (where he played an important part in the establishment of Aosdána and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre); his two, somewhat frustrating, years as general secretary of Labour; his period as adviser to minister for the arts Michael D Higgins, and his time as director of the NCAD (“Deep engagement with the wider public, rather than a restricted role with an artistic elite, was a core principle of his leadership”).
This is not a balanced critical assessment of his various roles and inputs but a warm, comprehensive appreciation of his many talents, personal and professional.
