De Valera praises the Gate Theatre

The Arts Minister, Ms de Valera, congratulated Dublin's Gate Theatre, as a "beacon of excellence". The Arts Council created controversy earlier this year when it described the theatre as "neither adventurous nor groundbreaking".

Ms de Valera, who was speaking at the Harold Pinter Festival in New York on Wednesday night - where the Gate is presenting four plays - said she wanted to "particularly honour the Gate". She was speaking following a performance of the Gate's production of The Homecoming, at the Lincoln Centre.

Describing the work of the artistic director of the Gate, Mr Michael Colgan, as "dynamic", she said he and his staff "managed so often to find the magical formula for success".

In its ongoing dispute with the Gate over the grant the theatre should be awarded, the Arts Council in May described the theatre's programme as a "mix of literary adaptations, classic and new text-based theatre". It was "solid and traditional" but there was "only one new piece of contemporary writing".