An Cúigiú Tuarascáil Bhliantúil is Fiche, maille le Cuntais don bhliain dar chríoch 31ú Nollaig 1976. Tíolacadh don Rialtas agus leagadh faoi bhráid gach Tí den Oireachtas de bhuo Altanna 6 [3] agus 7 [1] den Acht Ealaíon 1951.

Twenty-fifth Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st December 1976. Presented to the Government and laid before each House of the Oireachtas pursuant to Sections 6 [3] and 7[1] of the Arts Act, 1951

Cover: Front Robert Ballagh "Sheridan Le Fanu" (1814-1873) commissioned, for the Council's offices in Merrion Square, where the writer lived.

Members Patrick J. Rock, Chairman Kathleen Barrington John Behan Brian Boydell Tom Caldwell Máire de Paor Andrew Devane Eilís Dillon Séamus Heaney Dr J.B. Keamey Patsy Lawlor Hugh Maguire Sean Ó Tuama Brian Quinn Richard Stokes Dr T.J. Walsh James White

Staff Director Colm Ó Briain Administration Officer David McConnell Literature and Film Officer David Collins Music Officer Dinah Molloy Visual Arts Officer Paula McCarthy Secretarial Assistants Veronica Barker Kathryn Cahille Patricia Molloy

70 Merrion Square, 2.

An Chomhaırle Ealaíon

An Chomhairle Ealaíon was set up by the Arts Acts 1951 and 1973 and consists of a chairman and not more than sixteen other members appointed by the Taoiseach. The present Council was appointed on 31st December 1973 and its term of office expires in 1978.

The principal role of the Council is to stimulate public interest in the arts; to promote the knowledge, appreciation and practice of the arts; and to assist in improving the standards of the arts.

The Council also acts as an adviser on artistic matters to the Government and Government Departments and is one of the four bodies which have a statutory duty to make representations to local authorities in connection with applications for planning permission in areas of special amenity throughout the country.

The Council receives an annual grant-in-aid from the Oireachtas.

In the Arts Acts, the expression 'the arts' means painting, sculpture, architecture, music, drama, cinema, literature, design in industry, and the fine arts and applied arts generally.

Chairman's Introduction

Achievement has been the key note of the Arts Council's activities during IS'76. There have been particular achievements in the fields of film, exhibitions, bursaries and publications, but the most significant achievement has been survival. In the face of severe inflation many arts organisations have been placed in jeopardy. Ticket prices are now notoriously sensitive to any increase; a fall-off in attendance being the nett result rather than an increase in revenue.

In all arts organisations, overall costs have been rising, but earned revenue has remained almost static. Because of this the State subvention is required to increase at a rate substantially higher than the inflation rate. To get an increase in state funds in line with inflation was a major achievement in 1976 when many other organisations had to settle for less. But the fact remains that substantially higher grants are required if the arts in are to survive and grow in any credible form. The growing gap between income and expenditure is a great threat to the arts in Ireland and survival has been bought at a heavy price — reduction in activities, a real danger of decline in standards and, most dangerous of all, an increased reliance on borrowed funds.

A matter of great concern is the total accumulated deficit being borne by arts activities for which the state has a responsibility. This deficit exceeded £¼ million at the end of 1976. Almost all of this amount is financed by borrowing. This precarious situation means in fact that the arts in Ireland are living beyond their means, and for one reason only — the resources available through the Arts Council are seriously inadequate for the work in hand.

No fund exists through which capital expenditure in the arts can be financed The Arts Council is therefore impotent in the provision of buildings and equipment or their replacement following inevitable deterioration. This is highlighted by the fact that the funds which were paid through the Arts Council towards the renovation of the Olympia Theatre were provided, not by the Arts Council, but by Dublin County Council.

The arts now require an urgent commitment from the Government, that over the next three years sufficient funds will be made available to eliminate the high level of present borrowing and to secure proper development in the future. We have submitted the relevant proposals to the Taoiseach to whom we report.

In September the Council held a two day meeting at Avondale, Co. Wicklow, which was devoted to examining Council policy both in the short-term and in the long-term. Priorities were established for 1977, in the context of outline developments which might be pursued through into 1980. As a direct consequence of these discussions, the Council has initiated several projects in addition to the work directly involved in the allocation of grants. Although, as this Report indicates, the number of grants being made by the Council is increasing, so too is the number of refusals and at a faster rate. The heavy programme on which the Council is now engaged is far too great for the Council's Email staff of five executives. It has to be admitted that Government policy in relation to the creation of new posts in the public sector has severely hampered the development of the Council. If the Council is to discharge its legal responsibility fully and properly, it must have the specialist staff to carry out the work. With a mere 6% of expenditure in 1976 being spent on Administration, the Council cannot be accused of channelling scarce resources into a wasteful bureaucracy.

The publication of this report, so late in the year, reflects the heavy work load of the Council. There have been many other priorities clamouring for our attention and demanding that our energies be devoted to them. One of the ways in which this has been made possible has been the deferral of this Report. Now that it is available, my colleagues and I on the Council believe that it presents an important record of what has been achieved, in spite of many difficulties.

Thanks for these achievements are due to many people; my colleagues on the Council who give, on a voluntary basis, so generously of their time and efforts; the Director and the staff of the Council who of the Council, who have stretched themselves far beyond reasonable limits; the Taoiseach, Mr Liam Cosgrave, T.D. whose support of our efforts during 1976 was particularly valuable given the difficult economic circumstances; the Secretary of the Department of the Taoiseach, Mr Dan O'Sullivan and Mr Richard Stokes, Principal Officer, Department of the Taoiseach and a Member of the Council, whose guidance and advice is very much appreciated.

Patrick J. Rock October 1977.

Report

Provision for the individual writer, artist, and musician was identified as a major priority for the Council in 1976. Following on the Bursaries for Creative Writers, introduced in 1975, a programme of scholarships and awards in music and the visual arts was initiated during the year. The only major previous award in the visual arts, with which the Council has been associated, is the Macaulay Fellowship in painting and sculpture. It was therefore decided to establish a scheme of awards which would enable artists to undertake special projects, develop specialist skills, acquire materials and equipment, improve studio facilities and also carry out research.

The Council had previously made funds available to the Music Association of Ireland to provide a number of small scholarships. As a result of the significantly larger amount being allocated, the Council was able to expand the scheme which the Music Association of Ireland had established. This included the provision, for the first time, of two three-year scholarships. It was felt that the establishment of a Film Script Award was probably the best method of giving assistance to film production in the short term. The Council was very pleased that its proposal that RTE should join with it in the creation of this award was accepted, thus making a fairly significant amount of money available to the film maker. In addition, the National Finn Studios of Ireland agreed to participate in the award by providing facilities for the production of the award winning film script. The collaboration of RTE, the National Film Studios and the Council in this matter is regarded as one of the most important measures ever taken in this country for encouraging the independent film-maker.

Even though the creation of these awards marks a significant advance for the Council, it is recognised that there is still little or no direct provision for individuals engaged in the theatre or in dance. Special provision also needs to be made to encourage musical composition. The correction of these omissions is a priority for the future.

During the year the Council gave considerable attention to the question of the arts in the education system. It was agreed that much needs to be done in this area and the early appointment of an Education Officer on the Council's staff was decided upon. However, this development has been delayed due to the difficulties (outlined by the Chairman in his Introduction) in relation to the recruitment of staff.

Immediately following the Council's discussion of educational priorities, a controversy occurred over the status of music as a subject in the Leaving Certificate. Proposals which discriminated against music as a subject for university matriculation were having a serious effect on the number of students opting for music. Fortunately, the Council was in a position to make strong representations to the Department of Education and to the universities and was very pleased that the question was resolved to the satisfaction of all concerned.

Previous reports from the Council have given an indication of some bias in favour of arts activities in Dublin as opposed to the rest of the country. The Council has undertaken to correct this imbalance and to encourage regional development of the arts as a matter of urgency. Additional funds were provided to build up existing activities in Cork, Galway, Wexford, Kerry and Kilkenny. The most significant development was the setting up of the Mid-West Arts Association by the Regional Development Organisation for Limerick, dare and North Tipperary, which will act as a guideline for similar developments in other parts of the country.

The touring programmes of the Irish Theatre Company, the Irish Ballet Company and Irish National Opera provide audiences away from Dublin with an opportunity of appreciating the arts. The extent of these tours can be seen in diagrams later in this Report. In addition, the Council is pressing ahead with its own programme of touring exhibitions around the country.

Grants to the theatre in 1976 represented 66% of the total funds available to the Council. Different art forms have different needs and the amount of a grant cannot be determined by allocation on a percentage principle. Theatre, justifiably, commands a large portion of the funds available. It is an art form with which many people in this country identify. At the same time, the Council is striving to maintain a balance between theatre and those art forms which, up to now, have not been so well supported.

The report by J.M. Richards, Provision for the Arts, published early in 1976 by the Council and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, was discussed in some detail in last year's Report and it has been of valuable assistance to the Council in developing its policies. Many of the recommendations made in the report have been acted upon and although the outcome has not always conformed with the views expressed in the report, nevertheless, it was the report which motivated the course of action taken.

The report recommended that "the Arts Council should become more active in the architectural field" and that it had a role in "inculcating that sense of visual pride without which deterioration of all aspects of the townscape sets in and good new developments receive insufficient support." The Council subsequently appointed Shane de Blacam as its architectural advisor and, as a prescribed body under the Planning Acts, is active in pursuing that role identified by the Richards Report. The Council has been anxious to explain to all Planning Authorities that it considers its statutory role to be a constructive one of advice rather than objection. It is hoped that the Council's expertise will be of value to planning officers who are often faced with very difficult decisions.

Close working contacts with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland have been well established and these were continued during the year under review. In addition, a regular series of meetings of both Councils with the Scottish Arts Council and the Welsh Arts Council is now taking place. The meetings are proving most useful in resolving common problems and promoting co-operation. The arrangement is known affectionately in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and Dublin as the "Celtic Quartet".

Willy Clancy Summer School.

Literature

New developments in Irish publishing in 1976 give cause for optimism. Opportunities for fiction, in particular, have greatly improved with the creation of two specialist presses, Poolbeg Press and the Irish Writers' Co-operative. Poolbeg, under the editorship of David Marcus, has concentrated on the publication of short stories. Two collections with the Poolbeg imprint appeared in 1976, by Bryan McMahon and Maeve Kelly. The formation of the Irish Writers' Co-operative, also specialising in the publication of Irish fiction, is further evidence of the desire on the part of writers and publishers to offer new alternatives to London publishing houses. A first novel by Des Hogan was published by the Co-op and this was followed with a first collection by Neil Jordan, one of the year's four bursary winners. Sales of all Poolbeg and Co-operative titles to date have been very encouraging.

A wide range of poetry titles was also suported. Among these were Teresa's Bar by , also a bursary winner, and Night on Hibernia by , the winner of the Memorial Award for Poetry, 1975. Both were published by the Gallery Press. Dolmen Press continues to receive support for its publishing programme, which included a first collection. The Noise of the Fields by Hugh Maxton, which was a Poetry Book Society Choice.

The publishing of drama remains largely undeveloped and this gives cause for continuing anxiety. However, 1976 witnessed an expansion in this area which augurs well for the future. Plays by Tom Murphy and James McKenna received Council assistance, but other unassisted projects should be mentioned. There was a special issue of the Northern Ireland magazine. Threshold, consisting of three plays by , produced with the help of a subsidy from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Perhaps the most significant long term event in drama publishing was the publication by the Society of Irish Playwrights, in association with the Proscenium Press, of plays by Hugh Leonard, Conor Farrington and Des Forristal. These plays are intended as the first in a series representing the work of living Irish playwrights.

Bursaries were awarded to Neil Jordan, Paul Durcan, Tom Kilroy and Scan Ó Ríordáin. Neil Jordan travelled to Spain to research a novel while Paul Durcan used his bursary to research and prepare a new collection of poems. Tom Kilroy, who is working on a new novel, was engaged by the Arts Council to act as writer-in-residence at a Writers Workshop in University College, Galway. Twelve participants were selected from more than sixty applicants and the reaction was so encouraging that it is intended to maintain it as an annual feature of the Council's activities.

The death of Seán Ó Ríordáin casts a shadow over our 1976 Bursaries, and the Council pays tribute on behalf of all who knew and valued him as a man and a poet, regretting that such a writer could not have been substantially assisted until so late in his career.

The Award for Poetry was awarded to The Snow Party by Derek Manon. The occasion was marked with special readings by in Dublin and Cork. Throughout the year other readings were organised by groups receiving Council assistance and these included the Dublin Arts Festival's series of lunchtime readings, and also those held in association with the Kilkenny Arts Week, which this year included Eugene Gullevic, Sorley McLean and Judith Heraberg.

Listowel Writers' Week continues to flourish and in 1976 featured a publishers' bookfair and workshop, as well as poetry and fiction workshops and a host of scheduled and impromptu events which give Writers' Week its unique attractiveness.

Grapevine Arts Centre in North Great George's Street, Dublin, must also be congratulated on its literary activities during 1976, including a weekly literature workshop and a dramatisation of the poetry of Sylvia Plath, which was later broadcast on RTE Radio.

Presses £

Dolmen Press 2,000 Gallery Press 1,430 John Ennis (Night on Hibernia) Tom Murphy (On the Outside/On the Inside) John Jordan (Blood and Stations) Paul Duncan (Teresa's Bar)

Goldsmith Press 650 Poetry Calendars 1976,1977 James McKenna (The Scatterin')

Irish Writers Co-op 700 Des Hogan (The Icon Maker) Neil Jordan (Night in Tunisia)

New Writer's Press 200 (The Poems of Sweeney Peregrine)

Poolbeg Press 1,300 Bryan McMahon (The End of the World) Maeve Kelly (A Life of Her Own) Tom Murphy (The Sanctuary Lamp)

Profile Press 100 Conleth O'Connor (Trinities)

Sugarloaf Press 150 (The Big Laugh) Magazines Books Ireland 750 Broadsheet 50 Cyphers 300 Irish University Review 1,000 Kincora Poetry 75

Bursaries in Creative Writing Paul Durcan 1,000 Neil Jordan 2,500 Tom Kilroy 2,000 Seán Ó Riordáin 2,500

Miscellaneous Archbishop Marsh's Library 100 Mayo Archeological and Historical Society 50 North Cork Writers' Festival 50 Yeats Society, Sligo 300 £17,205

Council activities Poetry readings (Derek Mahon) 325 Writers' Workshop (University College, Galway) 1,800

£19,330

A Scene from "The Devils" by John Whiting at the .

Drama

As noted in our 1975 Annual Report, the Arts Council has assumed responsibility for certain grants hitherto administered by the Department of Finance. These include provision for the Abbey and Gate Theatres, the Irish Theatre Company and the Dublin Theatre Festival. These grants account for an over- whelming proportion of the total finance available to the Arts Council. This does not mean however, that the level of subsidy available to these activities is adequate to their needs. The new Abbey Theatre building, first opened in 1966, now requires considerable expenditure on the renewal of furniture and equipment. The Irish Theatre Company has not yet the resources to permit the operation of a full, year-round programme and the carries a substantial deficit as a result of insufficient funds being available to cover running costs during the periods when the theatre was made available to other managements. It is only within the context of the small overall provision for the arts that aid to the theatre seems large.

Since coming to its new premises ten years ago and with the acquisition of modern, well-equipped stages, the Abbey Theatre has attempted a more flexible and adventurous approach than was previously possible. The Abbey and Peacock managed to provide a varied and entertaining programme during 1976 which included a large complement of new Irish plays. Tom Kilroy's Tea Sex and Shakespeare was premiered at the Abbey, as was Hugh Leonard's Time Was, while Irish plays presented at the Peacock included The Whipping by Scan Walsh, Friends by Kevin O'Connor, End of Term by Maeve Binchy, Sanctified Distances by Des Hogan, All You Need is Love by John Lynch and a mime Jack Be Nimble by Tom Mclntyre.

The revival of classic Irish plays has always been a feature of Abbey policy, and the Golden Jubilee Production of O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars travelled to the United States in November as part of the bicentennial programme, where it played to large and enthusiastic audiences in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington D.C. A commemorative booklet, entitled The Abbey 1966- 76 was also produced, which describes the work of the theatre over the past decade. It is interesting to note that seventy-eight productions of new Irish plays have been mounted since July 1966, including ten new plays in Irish.

The Gate Theatre continued to provide interesting fare during 1976. The Edwards-MacLiammóir productions were Ring Around the Moon by Jean Anouilh, Shaw's The Doctor's Dilemma, Des Forristal's The Seventh Sin, and MacLiammóir's own comedy Home for Christmas. Visiting productions featured Shaw again, this time played by Donal Donnelly in his one-man show My Astonishing Self. Also visiting the Gate were Athol Fugard's Hello and Goodbye, Hugh Leonard's highly successful Liam Liar, Eugene O'Neill's Moon for the Misbegotten, and Eamonn Kelly's one-man show In My Father's Time.

As a result of underfinancing, the Gate Theatre found itself in a precarious position and a proposal that visiting management» should pay an economic rent seemed the only solution to its difficulties. This proposal caused great concern to members of the Irish Freelance Theatre Managements Association, since it was always envisaged that a State grant-in-aid to the Gate should be conditional upon other managements sharing in the benefits of the subsidy. Happily it has been agreed that for the present the continued availability of the theatre to visiting companies should be related to box-office earnings. This rental arrangement is based on the revenue which the parent company, Edwards-MacLiammóir Productions, contributes to the overheads of the theatre.

The Irish Theatre Company, which commenced operation in February 1975, played for 42 weeks during 1976, and presented six productions, opening with Hugh Leonard's Irishmen, which was followed by Jean Anouilh's Thieves Carnival and a programme of three one-act Irish comedies: Shaw's A Village Wooing. O'Casey's Bedtime Story and Shaw's Hyacinth Halvey. A feature of their summer season was a presentation of children's theatre on the beaches at Clifden and Galway. Later in 1976 the Irish Theatre Company toured Hugh Leonard's Da and a new play by Tom Murphy, The J.Arthur Magennis Show.

The Dublin Theatre Festival ran from 27th September to 9th October. Its varied programme included the Devil's Own People, by Patrick Galvin at the Gaiety Theatre; Operation Shield Rock by Jonas Arnason at the Peacock; The Speakers by the Joint Stock Company, late night at the Abbey; and a sequence entitled Tales of the Emigrants by the Children's T Company, whose street theatre performances were supplemented by Pentabus, a Children's Theatre Group from the English West Midlands. Also featured were Peter O'Toole in Dead Eye Dicks at the Gaiety, and Nora Lever's production of Eugene O'Neill's More Stately Mansions. The Festival was formally opened by Patrick J. Rock, Chairman of the Arts Council, who paid tribute to the many achievements of the Festival Director, Brendan Smith, not only in creating the Festival, but also for his tenacity in securing funds for the restoration of the Olympia Theatre, following the collapse of the proscenium arch in November 1974.

Project Arts Centre's Festival offering was David Rudkin's Cries from Casement as his bones are brought to Dublin, and Jim Sheridan's Mobile Homes, a provocative play that centres on the residents of a mobile home site and their struggle for tenant rights. Controversy was the keynote of Project's theatre programme during 1976, beginning with a production by Moving Being, the Welsh touring group which played at Project during the Dublin Arts Festival in March, and which was withdrawn from the Everyman Season in Cork, following a complaint to the Gardaí about a nude sequence. At the end of the year Project hosted the Gay Sweatshop Production of Mister X and Any Woman Can, a controversial production which was a major factor in the decision by Dublin Corporation to refuse an amenity grant of £6,000 to the Project. The subsequent debate between the opponents and advocates of censorship in the theatre has been compared to the controversy that surrounded the first productions in Dublin of The Rose-Tattoo in the late fifties and The Playboy of the Western World in 1907. Among the new-Irish plays premiered at the Project were Peter Sheridan's No Entry, Des Hogan's The Squat, John Lynch's Poor 01' Joe, Pascal Finan's The Swine and the Potwalloper, Brian Phelan's Article Five and Lee Gallaher's The Velvet Abbatoir.

Assistance was also given to other theatre companies, with grants ranging from one to five thousand pounds, sums by no means adequate to their needs. The survival of all theatre groups, indeed of any organised art form, is placed under severe threat by inflation. This places an added burden on all companies, particularly insofar as salaries and production costs are concerned.

One of the companies supported in 1976 was Gemini Productions, which has for many years endeavoured to provide audiences throughout the country with a wide variety of drama, including new Irish plays. The emergency assistance the company received from the Council will it is hoped, enable it to continue for the tune being, but the possibility of collapse remains real. A grant was also given to Druid Theatre, a new company based in Galway, which managed to survive in its first year of operation mainly through the enthusiasm and dedication of its young director, Garry Hynes.

Everyman Playhouse appointed Donn McMullin, formerly of the Irish Ballet Company, as its general manager, as a first stage on the road to providing a permanent theatre company in Cork. Everyman also received financial support from Cork Corporation and this welcome assistance places theatre in Cork on a firmer foundation than ever before.

Dublin continues to provide interesting fare for theatregoers, interspersing its own productions with those of visiting companies.

Theatre for children and young people is developing through two Dublin based companies. The Children's T Company and TEAM. The T Company provided a year-round programme of drama, made possible with additional assistance from Dublin Corporation and the Catholic Youth Council. Their most adventurous production to date, a Christmas musical entitled One Bad Apple, was well received by suburban and city centre audiences in Dublin. Although the budget of both groups is very restricted, they have managed to tour schools and festivals outside Dublin.

Siamsa Tíre, the National Folk Theatre, visited the United States in 1976. Brid Dukes, the recipient of the Council's first bursary for. an apprentice theatre producer, has assisted Siamsa's younger members in developing their singing, dancing and acting in the company's idiom.

The Drama Study Circle-received a small grant to enable it to continue a course in drama leading to a recognised diploma in drama in education. However, the Council is still concerned at the lack of adequate training opportunities for theatre in Ireland.

It has been found that the wording of Section 12 of the Arts Act, 1973, has created some difficulties for Local Authorities. The restoration of the Olympia Theatre is a case in point, and a Dublin County Council grant for this purpose is being made available through the Arts Council.

£ Abbey and Peacock Theatre 400,000 Irish Theatre Company 114,000 Gate Theatre 100,000 Dublin Theatre Festival 35,000 Olympia Theatre Restoration Fund 16,071* Focus Theatre, Dublin 4,000 Everyman Playhouse, Cork 3,000 Gemini Productions 2,000 Druid Theatre, Galway 1,500 TEAM Educational Theatre 1,000 Children's T. Company 1,000 Nora Lever Productions 800 Siamsa Tire 700 Dublin Oriental Festival () 350 Drama Study Circle 300 Teatro Populo Cileano - Irish Tour 150 Galway Theatre Workshop 150 Bay Circle 112 Victor Theatre, Glasthule 100 One-act play in Irish Prize 75 £680.308

*This grant was made by Dublin County Council and paid through the Arts Council under Section 12 of the Arts Act, 1973.

Film

The time scale between the beginning and completion of a film is difficult to cover within the constraints of an Annual Report. Four films which received financial assistance in 1975 have been completed. Bob Quinn's Clock, a documentary on the Sculpture Workshop in Kilkenny in 1975, received its premiere in , as did Agnes Bernelle's Black Champagne. The Dún Laoghaire School of Art completed Arthur, a satire on the contemporary art scene in Ireland, and Cathal Black's Wheels, based on John McGahern's short story was premiered at the John Player Theatre, Dublin.

Although the Council's film fund increased in 1976 the overall level of available finance is still inadequate. It was decided to allocate £6,000 to finance a film chosen on the basis of a submitted script and budget. The National Film Studios of Ireland agreed to assist the winning entry with production and technical facilities and RTE have supplemented the award with a sum of £5,000. The first award was made in 1977, and will be discussed in next year's Annual Report.

Two very different productions were assisted in 1976. Louis Marcus' documentary series The Heritage of Ireland, narrated by Douglas Gageby and Joe Comerford's Down the Comer which centres on the adolescence of a group of young boys in Ballyfermot, Dublin, and which is adapted from a story of the same title by Noel McFarlane. The book Down the Corner, was published by the Ballyfermot Community Arts Workshop, who are also producing the film. Both films are scheduled for completion in 1977.

In January the Council held a European Film Fortnight in the International Cinema, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin, and the success of this venture led later in the year to the creation of the Irish Film Theatre, a subsidiary of the Arts Council, to fill the demand for a year round programme of films that would not normally receive commercial release. This development represents, in effect, the creation of a national film theatre, and it is hoped that a large public will appreciate and support what is an ambitious undertaking. It is anticipated that the Irish Film Theatre will not only provide a location for the showing of a complete spectrum of world cinema, but will also give special attention to Irish made films.

The twelve-member Board of the Irish Film Theatre was appointed in December, under the chairmanship of Tom Owens. The Theatre's Administrator is Dr Ronnie Saunders, formerly Honorary Secretary of the Irish Film Society, and Paula Buckley, previously on the staff of the French Cultural Services, was appointed Secretary. Although strictly speaking outside the scope of this Report, it is right to note here that in January 1977, the Irish Film Theatre leased the 240 seat cinema in St Stephen's Green House, Earlsfort Terrace, from the Irish Sugar Company Ltd. and the programme opened on 8th March. The Council is grateful to the Irish Sugar Company for its sympathetic approach during the negotiations and wishes to thank in particular Maurice Sheehy, Chief Executive, and Brendan Doyle, Assistant Chief Executive.

Another development took place in November, 1976 when Project Arts Centre, Dublin, opened an eighty-seat cinema within their building in East Essex Street. Their cinema club presented a programme of films including a short season of Irish independent films by Paul Cusack, Thaddeus O'Sullivan, Joe Comerford and Ben Gibney.

The Council continued to assist various amateur and educational activities, specifically those held under the auspices of The National Film Institute, Cork Film International, Carlow Amateur Movie-makers and the Dublin Cine Club.

£ Ballyfermot Community Arts Workshop 3,500 Carlow Amateur Moviemakers 200 Cathal Black (Wheels) 610 Cork Film International 400 Dublin One Club 100 Louis Marcus (The Heritage of Ireland) 5,000 National Film Institute 600 £10,410 European Film Fortnight 4514 Less Box-office income 3905 609 £11,019

Some films shown during the European Film Fortnight

Production still from "Down the Corner" directed by Joe Comerford.

The Consort of St Sepulchre

Music

During the year, the growth of musical activity in Ireland increased substantially. The fact that music has for many years been a subject on the schools' curriculum has contributed to this expansion. The status of music in secondary schools was threatened by a revision in the Leaving Certificate Music Papers which resulted in the withdrawal by some universities of full matriculation credit for the new examination course. However, following representations by the Council and other interested parties these difficulties were resolved and the status of music in schools was restored to its former position.

Perhaps the most significant event on the contemporary music scene was the biennial Festival of Twentieth Century Music. This was the sixth in the series and ran from 6th to 10th January.

There were eleven concerts in all, including two by the Radio Telefís Éireann Symphony Orchestra and one which featured new work by seven Irish composers. The highlight of the festival was the first performance in Ireland of Olivier Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony with the composer in attendance.

It is a noteworthy feature of the current scene that often a modest financial contribution from the Council can ensure successful concerts. What promoters usually require is a guarantee against loss that enables them to book performers well in advance, and generally manage events in such a way that a significant proportion of the total expenditure is recoverable from the box-office.

A large number of out-of-Dublin concerts and recitals was supported in 1976. Under the Music Association of Ireland concerts scheme, twenty-four concerts took place in sixteen counties. Many performances of Choral Music received assistance including Mozart's Coronation Mass, (Mullingar Choral Society), Mendelssohn's Elijah, (Tallaght Choral Society) and Haydn's Seasons, (St James's Gate Musical Society), hi St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, three schools' choirs combined to perform Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fhudde and the Culwick Choral Society was supported in its rendering of Begin the Song by John Blow and Benjamin Britten's St Nicholas. In Killarney, the Bach Festival continues to attract enthusiastic audiences and other major centres of regional musical activity include Galway and Limerick whose music associations promoted a large number of concerts during 1976. Music has always been the dominant feature of the Kilkenny Arts Week and the programme this year was tile most ambitious yet, and included performances by the RTESO, the New Irish Chamber Orchestra and the Wexford Festival Choir. Musica Reservata presented a selection of Medieval and Baroque music and songs, and a performance by the Testore String Quartet featured John Kinsella's String Quartet composed in 1968. Among the notable visitors to the Festival to 1976 were the Deutsche Barock Solisten, the American pianist Marioara Triton, and the soprano Elizabeth Harwood.

Although most of the concert promotions sap' ported were of classical and choral music, medieval and baroque music also received assistance by way of grants to three ensembles, Pro Musica, Douglas Gunn Ensemble, and the Consort of St Sepulchre.

There are two areas of music making where the Council has up to now not been able to play a significant role-traditional music and jazz. However in 1976 assistance was given to the Willie Clancy Summer School, which was held in Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare, and featured an instrument repair workshop, traditional music classes and lectures, as well as concerts. Project Arts Centre's music programme included traditional music and jazz concerts.

The Council still finds great difficulty in assisting capital development projects due to lack of funds. In the field of music a very large investment will be necessary if there are to be proper facilities for our orchestras, musicians and their audiences. The investment that is required ranges from the purchase of musical instruments to the creation of a much needed concert hall in Dublin. In 1976 two very worthy capital projects were assisted: contributions were made towards the cost of a grand piano for Cork Orchestral Society and an upright piano for Portlaoise

Music Club. In each case the bulk of the funds required was raised locally. The Council also encouraged the creation of an instrument repair course in Cork Regional Technical College. The course tutor is William Patterson, who received his craft training in Cremona, Italy, and who has since gained wide recognition for his work. A small grant was given for the purchase of equipment and materials for the course.

In 1976 the Council's allocation for music scholarships was substantially increased. In 1975 awards totalling £2,700 were administered by the Music Association of Ireland with funds provided by the Council. This year the Council was able to assume responsibility for the administration of this scholar- ship scheme and increased the amount available to £10,000. This permitted the introduction of two continuous three year scholarships, each of £3,000, which were awarded to Aubrey Murphy and Frank Schaefer. Aubrey Murphy's scholarship will enable him to continue his violin studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey, while Frank Schaefer received his scholarship for 'cello studies. Awards of £1,000 were made to the composer Raymond Deane and to the flautist Val Keogh, both of whom used their scholarships to further their studies in Germany. Assistance with fees was given to six others, including a sister and brother, Mary and Kevin Brady, and to two student oboists.

Scholarships Kevin Brady (Violin) 250 Mary Brady ('Cello) 500 Raymond Deane (Composition) 1,000 Patricia Harrison (Oboe) 500 Valentine Keogh (Flute) 1,000 Mary McSweeney (Singing) 350 Geraldine Malone (Oboe) 200 Aubrey Murphy (Violin) (for 3 years) 3,000 Niall O'Loughlin ('Cello) 200 Frank Schaefer ('Cello) (for 3 years) 3,000

Choral Societies £ Carlow Choral Union 138 Culwick Choral Society 462 Limerick Choral Union 300 Mullingar Choral Society 450 St James's Gate Musical Society 600 Tallaght Choral Society 309

Orchestras, Instrumental Ensembles Consort of St Sepulchre 200 Douglas Gunn Ensemble 200 Pro Musica, Cork 250

Concerts Carlow Music Club 500 Clonakilty Music Society 160 Cork Orchestral Society, Recitals 1,200 Galway Music Association 378 Kilkenny Arts Society 25 Limerick Music Association 2,000 Mount Temple Comprehensive School 584 Music Association of Ireland, Recitals 763 Portlaoise Music Club, Recitals 366 St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin 100 St Teresa's Church, Clarendon Street 269 Waterford Music Club 503

Festivals Arklow Music Festival 200 Peis Ceoil, Dublin 1,160 Feis Maitiú 50 Killarney Bach Festival 500 May in Monkstown 200 Mid-Summer Arts Week, Westport 414 Music Association of Ireland, Festival of 20th Century Music 1,548 Sligo Feis Cecil 200

Educational Ballinteer Community School 50 Ceol Chumann na nÓg 1,574 Cork Municipal School of Music 27 Cork Youth Orchestra 100 Dublin Chamber Music Group 60 Music Teachers' Association, Cork 150 Royal Irish Academy of Music 2,500 * Wily Clancy Summer School 300

Scholarships (amount paid during year) 4,661

Instrument Purchase Cork Orchestral Society: Piano 1,000 Portlaoise Music Club: Piano 500

Publications Counterpoint 500 Folk Music Society of Ireland 300 £25,751

*The grant to the Royal Irish Academy of Music was made by Dublin Corporation to augment the Coulson Scholarship Fund and was paid through the Arts Council under Section 12 of the Arts Act 1973.

Opera

The Council's Opera Advisory Committee was established after preliminary and useful discussions throughout the year, and the first full meeting of the committee took place in January 1977. Its terms of reference include the co-ordination of opera activities generally and a concern with future opera policy.

Five Italian operas were presented by the Dublin Grand Opera Society in its Spring Season, and the cast included not only eight Irish singers but also an Irish producer, Paddy Ryan who produced Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amoré. The other Spring Season operas were Giordano's Andrea Chenier, Puccini's La Bohème, and two of Verdi's operas, Aida and Otello. The Society's Winter Season consisted of The Bartered Bride by Smetana, and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, and the season ended with Faust by Gounod. Following their performances in Dublin, a selection from the Spring Season played at . The death of Benjamin Britten in December 1976 added a certain poignancy to the choice of The Turn of The Screw for Wexford Festival Opera, which included a much-acclaimed performance by young Jimmy Maguire from Wexford as Miles. The two other operas at Wexford were Nicolai's The Merry Wives of Windsor and Verdi's Giavanna d'Arco. An innovation was the presentation for the first time in Ireland of an Opera 'Prom', consisting of a full concert performance, in costume, of The Merry Wives of Windsor, which was televised by RTE. The programme of recitals held in association with the festival featured a series of chamber music concerts by the Testore String Quartet, with John O'Conor, Brian O'Rourke and Anne Woodworth. The festival was extremely fortunate to have a recital of Irish, English and American songs by the internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade.

Irish National Opera performed two operas in 1976, Cimarosa's The Secret Marriage and Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. The Company was founded to give Irish singers the opportunity of undertaking major operatic roles, to bring opera to provincial centres and to foster an interest in opera among the younger generation.

£ Dublin Grand Opera Society 26,000 Irish National Opera 6,100 Wexford Festival Opera 11,000 £43,200

"The Turn of the Screw ", Wexford Festival Opera

Irish Ballet Company "Yerma"

Dance

In 1976 the Council became responsible for giving grant-aid to the Irish Ballet Company. Although the Company is of very recent origin, its roots go back to 1947 when Joan Denise Moriarty founded the Cork Ballet Company, an amateur group. In 1959, also in Cork, the Irish Theatre Ballet was founded, with twelve professional dancers, a ballet master and a manager, with Miss Moriarty as Director. Meanwhile, the Cork Ballet Company continued its amateur role.

From 1959 to 1964 Irish Theatre Ballet toured Ireland but owing to a lack of adequate funding the Company had eventually to be disbanded. However, in 1974 a new fully-professional company, the Irish Ballet Company was established again under the directorship of Miss Moriarty, with a state grant in that year of £40,000, which had risen to £93,000 by 19.76. In 1976 the Company brought their ballet to thirty-eight venues, and scored a notable success with the first performance of Yerma, choreographed by Domy Reiter-Soffer to George Crum's music setting of Lorca's work danced superbly by Kathleen Smith (Yerma) supported by Richard Collins, Denis Speight and Anne Donovan.

Another dance company which received assistance this year was the Dublin Ballet Club, whose production unit, the Dublin Dance Theatre performed in the John Player Theatre in February, and also undertook a short tour of Wcklow, Arklow and Mullingar.

£ Cork Ballet Company 1,000 Dublin Ballet Club 321 Irish Ballet Company 93,000

£94,321

Irish Ballet Company Ballets Performed (*denotes first performance) Title Music Choreography They Come, They Come* Moeran Joan Denise Moriarty Don Quixote (Pas de Deux) Minkus Petipa The Prisoners Bartok Peter Darrell Grand Pas Gitane Saint Saens/Marenco Peter Darrell Devil to Pay Ó Riada Joan Denise Moriarty Billy the Music Ó Riada Joan Denise Moriarty Contrast in Time Handel/Jazz Toni Beck Le Corsair* (Pas de Deux) Drigo Jules Perrot Yerma* George Crum Domy Reiter-Soffer Caprice* Tchaikovsky Henrik Neubauer Apsaras Massenet Peter Darrell Women Pierre Boulez Domy Reiter-Soffer Pas de Quatre Pugni Anton Dolin West Cork Ballad Ó Riada Joan Denise Moriarty

Visual Arts

As in previous years, the Council's activity in the area of the visual arts fell into two main categories: the promotion of its own exhibitions and giving assistance to other organisations.

Early in the year the Colin Middleton Retrospective Exhibition was organised in conjunction with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. This was the second of a series of major retrospectives organised by the two Councils. It opened in Belfast and then transferred to Dublin to the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art. The paintings and drawings on show included some of Middleton's earliest works, dating from 1940 onward. A monograph of his life and work was published to coincide with the exhibition, and it included an extended essay on the artist by his life-long friend and contemporary, the poet and art-critic, .

The tragic death of Gerda Frömel in 1975 in a drowning accident occasioned a special memorial exhibition in her honour, again in the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art. This was organised in conjunction with the Goethe Institut, and again took the form of a retrospective, presenting a wide range of her sculpture and drawings as well as reproductions of her work in stained glass.

The Council hosted two major shows from abroad, providing a representative selection of recent work by Finnish and Welsh artists. The first of these, Facets Finland, opened in Dublin in the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art and subsequently transferred to Belfast. The exhibition, which was organised in association with the Government of Finland and the Finnish Association of Modern Artists, consisted of painting and sculpture, including sculpture in wood based on the ancient Scandinavian techniques of wood architecture. The Bank of Ireland Exhibition Hall, Baggot Street, was the venue for an exhibition of the work of 56 Group Wales who paid a return visit to Ireland to mark the twentieth year of their foundation. Twelve artists were represented and the exhibition travelled to Cork in October and to Belfast in December.

Two of the best collections of modern art in Ireland were on public display in 1976. Kilkenny Castle was the location for the Bank of Ireland collection, which consists of more than 120 works ranging from large tapestries, paintings and sculpture, to smaller etchings and drawings. It shows the remarkable change in Irish art which has taken place since the sixties. This development is chronicled also in the Gordon Lambert collection, one of the finest private collections of modern art in Europe, which was on display during the Wexford Festival.

The Council continued to assist the four main annual exhibitions, the of the Arts, the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, An t-Oireachtas and Independent Artists, all of which gave a representative cross-section of current achievement in the visual arts.

Fifteen exhibitions were mounted at Project Arts Centre, and these included four group shows; The Male Nude (Graphic Studio), Interaction (An exhibition of work by art students in Ireland), Independent Artists and a Project Group Show, Aspects of Realism in Art. Other exhibition centres supported by the Council are the Tubular Gallery, Cork, which specialises in the presentation of young southern artists and Grapevine Arts Centre, Dublin, which holds life-drawing classes, as well as exhibitions.

Travelling exhibitions, with explanatory material, are one of the best ways of developing an appreciation of the visual arts in rural areas. Listowel Graphics, compiled in 1975, continued to tour in 1976. The exhibition was succeeded by Listowel Graphics Again which commenced in May 1976 at Listowel Writers' Week and continued into 1977. A second travelling exhibition, Realism Now, has been prepared to supplement Listowel Graphics Again, and will tour in 1977.

In 1976 the Graphic Studio held a retrospective exhibition of work produced in the Studio since it was founded in 1961. This impressive exhibition by more than forty artists demonstrated that the Studio has certainly added an important dimension to the cultural life of Dublin. It offers not only a much needed place to work, but also an opportunity to learn about and experiment with the techniques of etching, lithography, woodcut and wood engraving.

The Council continued to support the Graphica Studio, Galway, where Niall Finn, the recipient of the Council's Graphic Apprentice Fellowship, worked during 1976.

The year saw two major innovations in the Council's work for the visual arts. The first of these was the introduction of a comprehensive scheme of direct grants to visual artists to enable them to engage in or complete specific projects. The total amount offered in 1976 was £6,500. Special projects grants were awarded to the painter Brian Bourke to show his recent work to communities in the West of Ireland, where this work was conceived, and to the sculptor Brian King, to direct a summer school for painters, sculptors and film-makers in Dublin and Sligo. Michael Kane received assistance to travel to Czechoslovakia, where some of his work was being exhibited, and to Italy. The sculptor Ann Davey-Orr visited Italy also on a travel grant, to study mosaic techniques in Ravenna, while Nigel Rolfe and Michael O'Sullivan participated in the Edinburgh Arts Tour through Europe. A specialised equipment grant was awarded to Evin Nolan to fit out a sculpture workshop, and John Devlin, Martin Gale, and Vincent Browne received studio assistance grants. Joseph Harrison, Sean MacSweeney, Mary Farl Powers, Charles Tyrell and John Byrne were given assistance towards the purchase of art materials, while research grants for post graduate studies in the visual arts were awarded to Madeline O'Farrelly and Declan Campbell. The Macaulay Fellowship (£2,500) was awarded to Bernadette Madden, the batik artist. Her work has been exhibited not only in Ireland but also in Stuttgart, Copenhagen, Hamburg, London and Amsterdam.

The other innovation was the issue of an Exhibition Quarterly which was published in the final quarter of 1976. This Quarterly represents a first step towards the provision of an information service in the Visual Arts and the first issue listed 105 exhibitions taking place in 34 venues throughout the Republic, it is intended that this calendar will be issued in January, April, July and October each year, thereby providing a comprehensive and continuing guide to exhibitions in Ireland.

The Council has a brief for Architecture and Design, and certain projects in these areas were assisted. The Crafts Council of Ireland held their first exhibition which provided an opportunity to assess the present state of handcraft in Ireland. A grant was given to An Taisce towards the creation of a national photographic archive which, under the direction of Nicholas Sheaff, has begun to assemble a visual record of Irish Architecture. The case for the establishment of such an archive was made in a report Ireland's Architectural Heritage compiled by Edward McParland and Nicholas Robinson.

Bursaries £ Brian Bourke 800 Vincent Browne 500 John Byrne 300 Declan Campbell 200 Ann Davey-Orr 200 John Devlin 500 Mary Farl Powers 300 Martin Gale 500 Joseph Harrisson 300 Michael Kane 300 Brian King 600 Seán MacSweeney 300 Evin Nolan 1,000 Madeline O'Farrelly 200 Michael O'Sullivan 100 Nigel Rolfe 100 Charles Tyrell 300 Council Exhibitions £ Colin Middleton Retrospective 3,729 Facets Finland 2,489 56 Group Wales 2,532 Gerda Frömel Memorial Retrospective 1,950 Listowel Graphics/Tour 1,156 Listowel Graphics Again/Tour 1,505 Miscellaneous 1,064 £14,425 Independent Exhibitions £ An t-Oireachtas 1,500 Austrian Photographic Exhibition 92 Crafts Council of Ireland 1,950 Independent Artists 1,000 Irish Exhibition of living Art 1,100 Irish Society for Design and Craftwork 500 ROSC (opens in 1977) 5,000 Royal Hibernian Academy 858

Bursaries (amount paid during year) 4,876

Other grants An Taisce/National Trust Archive 1,000 Cork Arts Society 500 Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork 66 Dictionary of Irish Artists 100 Award/Maurice MacGonigal 100 Dublin Camera Club 100 Eigse Dhrobhaois 150 Gifford and Craven 264 Graphic Studio, Dublin 1,650 Graphica Studio, Galway 1,500 Introspect/Review 800 Living City Group 50 Michael McDonald Scott/Lectures 126 Tubular Gallery, Cork 350 £23,632

Gerda Frömel - “Crucifix”

Other Activities

Ciste Cholmcille is a trust fund established by the Council in 1966 to honour creative artists of distinction. There are now four recipients of annual grants from the fund and the Council is always glad to receive confidential information concerning other possible beneficiaries. As the fund is financed solely by public subscription the Council welcomes every contribution to it.

The Council is gradually becoming involved with the support of community arts activities. During the year the Peoples' College, Dublin, was given a grant to help finance art classes for shift workers. Assistance was also given to art groups in rural areas, and to cultural activities undertaken by the Irish Country-women's Association. The Council is anxious to support the development of community centres which act as a focus of local arts and which serve as venues for visiting groups. In 1976 capital grants were made to community centres in Cashel and Abbey-feale.

A grant was given to the fortnightly magazine In Dublin, which has now established itself as an invaluable guide to arts activities in the Dublin area.

The Council has a statutory duty to assess applications for planning permission in areas of special amenity throughout the country. The Council engaged Shane de Blacam, Architect, as its advisor in this regard, so that the large number of applications could be properly monitored.

Arts Centres £ Funge Art Centre, Gorey 1,850 Grapevine Arts Centre, Dublin 700 Project Arts Centre, Dublin 16,000 Wexford Arts Centre 5,000 £23,550 Arts Festivals

Dublin Arts Festival 1,500 Dún Laoghaire Arts Week 500 Kilkenny Arts Week 1,201 Listowel Writers' Week 2,130 £5,331

Community Arts

Barrow Valley Art Group 30 Cashel Community Hall 1,000 Cavan Arts Society 100 Comharchumann Chorea Dhuibhne/Art Workshop 30 Cúirt Ailigh 250 Daonscoil Dhú Thalla 30 Irish Countrywomen's Association: Arts Week 211 Concerts 172 Course for Teachers 324 Lectures to Schoolchildren 21 Peoples' College 200 South Tipperary Art Group 30 West limerick Folk School 1,000

£3,398

Miscellaneous In Dublin £400

Charles Harper- "Prisoners" (purchased from the Irish Exhibition of Living Art 1976)

Bank of Ireland Collection of Modem Art leaves for Kilkenny Arts Week 1976.

An Chomhaırle Ealaíon

ACCOUNTS for the year ended 31st December 1976

Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General

I have examined the following Account and Balance Sheet which, as required by the Arts Act 1951, are in the form approved by the Minister for Finance. I have obtained all the information and explanations which I considered necessary for the purpose of my audit.

(a) In my opinion:- Proper books of account have been kept by an Chomhairle and the following Account and Balance Sheet are in agreement with them; (b) The Account and Balance Sheet, together with notes 1 to 11 give, respectively, a true and fair view of the transaction of An Chomhairle for the year ended 31st December 1976, and of the state of its affairs on that date.

Seán Mac Gearailt, Comptroller and Auditor General

3rd August 1977

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT Year ended 31st December 1976 £ 1975 Notes £ £ Income 200,000 Oireachtas Grant-in-aid (1) 990,000 600 Grants from Local Authorities (2) 18,571 7,400 Grant from Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation 2,000 1,524 Sundry Income 8,000 Transfer from Capital Reserve: Excess of Sales over Purchases (1,494) of Works of Art at cost (3) 5,431 1,024,002 208,030 Expenditure The Arts: 135,908 Grants and Guarantees (4) 926,456 Grants towards purchase of 4,533 works of art (5) 9,019 6,146 Council Exhibitions 14,425 9,823 Study of the Arts 2,938 1,054 Other Council Activities (6) 4,798 157,464 957,636 39,047 Administration (7) 61,837 1,019,473 196,511 11,519 Excess of Income Over Expenditure for the Year 4,529 (44,041) Deficit Brought Forward (32.522) (32,522) Deficit at 31st December 1976 £(27,993) Notes 1 to 11 form part of these accounts.

Patrick J. Rock Chairman

Colm Ó Briain Director

22nd July 1977

BALANCE SHEET AT 31st DECEMBER 1976 31/12/75 £ Notes £ 36,738 Fixed Assets (8) 31,307 43,312 Trust Funds (9) 44,426 5,000 Interest-Free Loan (10) 5,000 1,383 Debtors 2,897 700 Grants paid in advance 722 1,109 Cash at bank and in hand 4,984 3,192 8,603 Current Liabilities 9,010 Creditors 10,889 Grants and Guarantees 31,704 outstanding 30,707 40,714 41,596 (37,522) Net Current Assets (32,993) £47,528 £47,740 Represented by 36,738 Capital Reserve (3) 31,307 43,312 Trust Funds 44,426 32,522 Income and Expenditure Account: Deficit (9) (27,993) £47,528 £47,740 Notes 1 to 11 form part of these accounts.

Patrick J. Rock Chairman

Colm Ó Briain Director

22nd July 1977

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

Note 1: Accounting Policies (i) Oireachtas Grant Income shown as Oireachtas Grant-in-Aid is the actual cash received from the Vote for An Chomhairle Ealaíon.

(ii) Expenditure on office furniture, fittings and equipment is written off in the year of purchase.

Note 2: Giants from Local Authorities under Section 12 of the Arts Act, 1973 £ Dublin County Council 16,071 Dublin Corporation 2,500 £18,571 Note 3: Capital Reserve Works of Art on hand at 31st December 1975 36,738 Income and Expenditure Account (5,431) Balance at 31st December '76 £31,307

Note 4: Grants and Guarantees 1975 1976 £ £ Literature 16,579 17,205 Drama 13,514 680,308* Film 2,900 10,410 Opera and Dance 40,665 137,521* Music 21,671 25,751 Visual Arts 21,033 23,632 Arts Centres 17,550 23,550 Arts Festivals 5,447 5,331 Community Arts — 3,398 Miscellaneous 1,519 400 Less: 140,878 927,506 Provision for grants and guarantees in previous year no longer required 4,970 1,050 £135,908 £926,456

Note 5: Grants towards the purchase of works of art These grants represent the Council's contribution to the cost of works of art acquired by approved bodies under the Council's Joint Purchase Scheme. 'The works of art may not be resold without the prior agreement of the Council and, in the event of such agreement, they shall not be resold for less than their original price, and half the sum realised shall be refunded to the Council.

Note 6: Other Council Activities £ Short Course for Writers 1,800 Poetry Readings 325 European Film Fortnight 4,514 Less: Box Office Income 3,905 609 Exhibition Quarterly 496 Miscellaneous 1,568 £4,798

*With effect from 1st January 1976, after consultation with the Council, the Minister for Finance made the Council responsible for grant payments to the National Theatre Society Ltd. (Abbey Theatre), Edwards-MacLiammóir Dublin Gate Theatre Productions Ltd. (Gate Theatre), Irish Theatre Company Ltd., Dublin Theatre Festival Ltd. and Irish Ballet Company Ltd. In previous years these grants were paid by the Department of Finance out of the Vote for Miscellaneous Expenses.

Note 7: Administration Expenses 1975 1976 Salaries, Superannuation and Social Welfare Insurance 23,038 38,044 Travelling, Subsistence and Entertainment 4,271 5,248 Consultants'Fees and Expenses 2,321 3,730 Office Furniture, Fittings and Equipment 2,193 4,281 Rent, Rates, Light, Heat, Insurances, Cleaning, Repairs and other House Expenses 2,069 3,368 Printing and Stationery 2,467 3,387 Postage, Telephone and Sundry Expenses 2,688 3,779 £39,047 £61,837 Note 8: Fixed Assets Works of art on hand at 31st December 1975 (at cost) 36,738 Additions (at cost) 5,467 Disposals (at cost) (10,898) Balance at 31st December 1976 £31,307

Note 9: Trust Funds Assets at 31st December 1976 President Douglas Hyde Award £830.90 6% Exchequer Stock, 1980-85 840 Cash at Bank 6 846 W.,J. B. Macautay Foundation £26.400 9% Conversion Stock, 1980-82 20,546 Cash at Bank 1,974 22,520 New York Irish Institute Fund £1,728.74 6% Exchequer Stock, 1980-85 1,770 Cash at Bank 1,770 Denis Devlin Foundation £2,600.00 9% Conversion Stock, 1980-82 2,032 Cash at Bank 131 2,163 Ciste Cholmcille £1,200.00 7% National Loan, 1987-92 1,030 £8,147.65 8½% Conversion Stock, 1986-88 8,099 £2,050.00 9¾% National Loan, 1984-89 2,004 £1,020.00 9¾% National Development Loan, 1992-97 1,005 £2,000.00 11% National Loan, 1993-98 1,840 13,978 Cash at Bank 3,149 17,127 Note: Securities are shown at cost and are held in trust by An Chomhairle Ealaíon. £44,426

John Olohan, Tom Hickey and Emmet Bergin in "Thieves' Carnival".

Note 9/Continued Movement of Trust Funds Brought Income Expenditure Carried forward forward President Douglas Hyde Award 882 53 89 846 W.J.B. Macaulay Foundation 22,013 2,507 2,000 22,520 New York Irish Institute Fund 1,926 103 259 1,770 Denis Devlin Foundation 2,485 278 600 2,163 Ciste Cholmcille 16,006 1.821* 700 17,127 £43,312 £4,762 £3,648 £44,426 *Note: Income to Ciste Cholmcille includes subscriptions received amounting to £335.

Note 10: Interest-Free Loan In 1975 the Council approved an interest-free loan of £5,000 to provide working capital for The Dolmen Press Ltd. The loan, which is secured, is repayable over three years, commencing in 1977.

Note 11: Future Commitments At 31st December 1976 the Council had approved grants and guarantees against loss on various activities due to take place after that date. The amount involved, £873,743, is not reflected in these accounts.

Gerda Frömel- "Antelope"

Picture Credits

Fergus Bourke, 4,10,11 [upper], 12, 33

Mike Bunn, 34

Childrens T Company, 15

Consort of St Sepulchre, 20

Deegan Fhoto/Wenzel Shurman, 31, 40, 42

Arthur Gilligan, 19

Irish Ballet Company, 26, 28

Irish Independent, 22.

Irish Theatre Company, 16, 41

Irish Times Ltd, 8

Reterse-Davison, Front Cover

Wexford Festival Opera, 25