Disappointingly few rumours have trickled out about the composition of the next Arts Council, due to be appointed by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Sile De Valera, in the next few weeks. Some names do crop up - for Chairperson, Maire Geoghegan Quinn has been mentioned, as well as Senior Counsel, Paddy McEntee; and as council members: PDs Jeananne Crowley and Mairin Quill, as well as Martin Drury of The Ark, Patrick Sutton, Gaiety School of Acting, and Siobhan Bourke, who has just announced her departure from Rough Magic after 14 tough, rewarding years.

Bourke resigns from her position as executive producer at the end of the month, satisfied with what she has achieved, she says, but "anxious to move on". Three years ago she set up Rough Magic Film Productions and wants to concentrate on developing scripts and learning about film production. Her last project for Rough Magic is to find a publisher for a collection of first plays staged by the company. "I'm very proud of the company's commitment to new writing and I want to get those plays - by Declan Hughes, Pom Boyd, Arthur Riordan, Gina Moxley and Paula Meehan - into the public domain."