Culture Ireland is the Irish State Agency

Irish Government

The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...

 established to promote and advance Irish Arts

Irish art

The early history of Irish art is generally considered to begin with early carvings found at sites such as Newgrange and is traced through Bronze Age artefacts, particularly ornamental gold objects, and the religious carvings and illuminated manuscripts of the medieval period...

 internationally. It was set up in 2005 and is funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs. Its budget for 2010 was €4.083m. The specific activities of Culture Ireland include:

• Funding Irish artists or arts organisations to support Irish cultural activities of excellence
• Funding and facilitating Irish participation at strategic international arts events
• Managing of special ('emblematic') cultural and artistic events
• Advising to the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism (currently, Tom Iles) on international arts and cultural affairs

Membership

The board of Culture Ireland is appointed by the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport and will serve until 2014. The board has twelve members and a chair who serve on a voluntary basis. The current members are:

• Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin (Chair), Professor of Music, University of Limerick
  University of Limerick
  The University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...
  
  
• John O’Shea, Director of the Gathering Traditional Festival
• Mary McCarthy, Deputy Director of Cork 2005
  European Capital of Culture
  The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
  
  
• Mark Mulqueen, Director of Irish Film Institute
  Irish Film Institute
  The Irish Film Institute is both a film theatre and a national body that supports Irish Film heritage. It maintains an archive of Irish films and provides education in film culture. It shows independent and foreign language films overlooked by commercial multiplexes at its cinema in the Temple Bar...
  
  
• Doireann Ní Bhriain
  Doireann Ní Bhriain
  Doireann Ní Bhriain is an Irish independent radio producer. She began her career as a radio and television journalist, and started out reading children's stories on television...
  
  , Arts Consultant & Broadcaster
• Patrick Sutton, Director of the Gaiety School of Acting
  The Gaiety School of Acting
  The Gaiety School of Acting is an Irish drama school. It is located on Essex Street West in Temple Bar, Dublin 8.The school was founded in 1986 by actor and director Joe Dowling, who currently serves as the chairman of the school, in response to the lack of full time actor training in Ireland at...
  
  
• Eve Molony, Businesswoman
• Peter Sirr, Editor of Poetry Ireland Review
  Poetry Ireland Review
  Poetry Ireland Review is a journal of Irish poetry published quarterly by Poetry Ireland, the national Irish poetry organization.Poetry Ireland Review publishes the work of both emerging and established Irish and international poets. In line with keeping the journal fresh, vibrant and progressive...
  
  
• Dearbhla Collins, Voice Coach & Pianist
• Davey Arthur, Musician
• Mary Cloake, Director of the Arts Council of Ireland
  Arts Council of Ireland
  The Arts Council of Ireland was founded in 1951 by the Government of Ireland to encourage interest in Irish art and channel to funding from the state to Irish artists and arts organisations...
  
  
• Niall Ó Donnchú, Assistant Secretary Dept. of Arts Sport & Tourism
  Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism (Ireland)
  The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is the senior minister at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in the Government of Ireland.The current minister is Jimmy Deenihan, TD. He is assisted by:...
  
  
• Philomena Murnaghan, Counsellor Dept. of Foreign Affairs
  Department of Foreign Affairs (Ireland)
  The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for promoting the interests of Ireland in the European Union and the wider world...