€700,000 grants awarded for Irish arts internationally

Culture Ireland, established to promote Irish arts abroad, has awarded grants of more than €400,000 to support international activities.

The grants awarded include:

€150,000 for Ireland Literature Exchange towards the cost of translation of Irish Literature;

€30,000 for Ireland's participation at the Venice Visual Biennale;

€40,306 Galway Arts Festival towards the cost of performing Trad at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2005;

€24,000 for CoisCeim Dance Theatre to bring its production of Chamber Made to Edinburgh Fringe Festival;

€32,000 for Corn Exchange to bring Dublin by Lamplight to Edinburgh and London;

€13,485 for Pan Pan Theatre Company towards the production of Playboy of the Western World in China.

According to the chairman of Culture Ireland, Professor Micheál O'Suilleabháin: "Culture Ireland has begun the process of making a significant difference to the representation of Irish arts in other cultures and I am especially pleased that this impact is being made at both professional and community levels."