The artistic director of the Abbey Theatre has easily defeated a motion of no confidence at an extraordinary general meeting of the National Theatre Society last night.
Mr Ben Barnes received the unanimous backing of the society's board, the managing director and most of the shareholders.
Only three shareholders voted in favour of the motion.
The motion was called in the wake of the announcement of a restructuring plan that involves the loss of 30 of the Abbey's 91 contract and permanent staff over the next 15 months.
Audited accounts for 2003 have revealed an end-of-year deficit of €1.53 million at the theatre.
A combination of ongoing deficit and a shortfall of approximately €750,000 in the expected income of the centenary fund-raising committee is expected to raise this deficit to €2.51 million by the end of the year.