The novelist John Banville has resigned from Aosdβna, saying he is doing this to make way for a younger writer or artist in greater need of financial aid.
He said yesterday he thought the £8,000 cnuas or annual grant which artists can claim was the most important part of being in Aosdβna, rather than being told: "We would like to see you in the club.".
He continued: "There are lots of hungry young people out there who need the cnuas", adding that for a few years during the 1980s, when he had resigned from his sub-editing post at the Irish Press, the cnuas had kept him off the breadline. "I was very grateful for it. It's a wonderful, marvellous thing," said Banville, who is now a successful novelist internationally.
His novel The Book of Evidence was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He is a former literary editor of The Irish Times and is now Associate Literary Editor and Chief Literary Critic with the newspaper.
He feels that prestige is not a sufficient qualification for membership of Aosdβna. "It was time for me to vacate the seat," he said. "There are so many trying to get into the organisation. I would want to say that others should resign as well."
He thought other members, who did not need the cnuas and were not actively involved, should make way for younger, more needy members.
Aosdβna was set up by the then Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, in 1981, to honour and support 150 creative artists. New members are only elected when existing members die.
Banville's resignation was announced at Monday's Aosdβna meeting, at which 10 new members were elected.