Credit unions, the National Concert Hall, one of the German retail discounters, a savings bank, An Post, and Penneys are the among the companies and brands that score best in delivering satisfaction to Irish customers, a major survey has found.

The National Concert Hall (NCH) is aiming to freshen its image via a rebranding exercise.

ARTS Minister Heather Humphreys is reputationally dead-on-arrival. Her demise is less about dastardly deeds than the damning belief she was led by the nose. That impression was confirmed by her near incoherence when questioned by the media and her refusal to answer questions since. There is nothing so debilitating for a minister as a fool’s pardon.

A 14-YEAR-OLD girl from Cork has won the prestigious National Concert Hall Young Musicians’ Award, which came with a €8,000 cheque.

BAD news is never welcome but, in the case of the Government’s Four-Year National Recovery Plan, Irish arts workers seem relieved things are not far worse.

A TALENTED young composer watched with pride last night as one of her national award-wining works received its Irish premiere in Dublin.

The chairman of the National Concert Hall (NCH), David Byrne, said yesterday that he expects significant progress to be made on the redevelopment of the NCH this year.

President Mary McAleese was one of the last people to visit top concert promoter Jim Aiken before his death.

The Irish arts and cultural sector was today awarded extra funding of €16.4m for 2006.

Former European Health Commissioner David Byrne has been announced as the new Chairman of the Board of the National Concert Hall.

The planned €100m redevelopment of the National Concert Hall has moved a step closer today following the Government's approval for the purchase of a site adjacent to the existing facility.

The new Abbey Theatre will be built in Dublin’s docklands as part of a revamp of several of the country’s leading cultural institutions, the Government confirmed today.

One of the leading figures in the Irish arts world, Jerome Hynes, has died after he collapsed last night at Wexford Theatre.

THE management and the board of the National Concert Hall in Dublin need a wake-up call.

THE National Concert Hall (NCH) plans to develop three performance halls on its current site at an estimated cost of €140 million, to be completed by 2010 or 2012.

CHILDREN are swapping the bodhrán for the bassoon and the tin whistle for the tuba as educators seek to bring classical music to the islands.