MacConghail to succeed Barnes as Abbey director

THE adviser to the Minister for Arts Fiach MacConghail is to be the new director of the national theatre.

He will take over the troubled Abbey Theatre from Ben Barnes whose controversial tenure ends in December.

A highly-criticised cost- cutting plan, which involved proposed redundancies, an unpopular programme last year and a spiralling deficit, led to calls for Ben Barnes to resign from the Abbey last September.

In light of these controversies, Fiach MacConghail takes over from Mr Barnes on January 1 next year.

He leaves Minister John O'Donoghue's office in April to take up his five- year contract and will act as director designate of the Abbey until Mr Barnes steps aside.

Mr MacConghail, 40, has had a successful career as an arts producer, and was artistic director of the Project Arts Centre, in Dublin, from 1992 to 1999. He also served as Ireland's cultural director at Expo 2000, in Hanover, Germany.

Mr MacConghail was also commissioner of the cultural programme for Ireland's EU presidency in 2004. An Irish-speaker and Dublin native, he is widely regarded as being well-connected politically.

His father, Muiris MacConghail is a former controller of programmes at RTÉ and one-time head of Radio na Gaeltachta. His grandfather was the famous Irish painter Maurice MacConghail.

"Taking over the Abbey at any time is a challenge," Mr MacConghail told the Irish Examiner. "It's a challenging and daunting time for the national theatre."

He says he wants the Abbey "to be the most creative organisation in Ireland." While retaining its core value as a theatre that encourages new writing, he says he will "open the doors to all forms of theatre."

While speculation continues to rage about the location of the new home for the national theatre to which the Government has committed, Mr MacConghail says he does not expect the new building to be in place for five or six years.

"I have quite a lot of experience in building projects," says Mr MacConghail.

Mr MacConghail will be the first 'director' of the national theatre for some time. In recent years, the theatre has split the artistic and financial roles into the separate offices of artistic director and managing director. Mr MacConghail will be responsible for the artistic programme as well as the financial health of the Abbey.

One of his first challenges will be to put right the deficit he inherited from Mr Barnes estimated to be €2.5 million at the end of 2004. He will also enter the Abbey at a time of reform in the structure and governance of the National Theatre Society Ltd.

The Government recently granted the theatre €2m in additional funding, ring- fenced to redress problems with the internal workings and structures of the Abbey.

Mr Barnes is expected to pursue a directing career in Canada.