He is at the heart of the arts world these days. And now, with a controversial Arts Bill on the table, he starts a new job: advising the Arts Minister. So just who is the man who will be shaping future arts policy- and who are his people? asks Ian Kilroy
There's an ancient Buddhist saying: "It's best to dig in one place". It's a simple saying, characteristic of old-fashioned wisdom. A modern-day equivalent might be "you can't be in two places at one time". Both maxims contain universal truths accepted by most of us. Most of us, that is, except Fiach Mac Conghail, who in recent years appears to have gained the power of bi-location.
Recently appointed arts policy consultant to the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism, Mac Conghail has so many hats that he could open a hat shop. Theatre producer (currently of Ariel at the Abbey); film producer (at least three films under his belt); programme manager for the launch of the Collège des Irlandais, Ireland's cultural centre in Paris; the man behind Ireland's cultural programme at EXPO 2000 in Hanover - Mac Conghail seems to be at the heart of every major movement in the arts world these days. This is a man with so many strings to his bow that his bow is a veritable harp - a harp he plays, as anyone who knows him will tell you, with great political astuteness.
At only 38, Mac Conghail is taking up his two-day-a-week job with John O'Donoghue's department at a crucial time in the history of the arts in Ireland. A new Arts Bill, currently going through the Oireachtas, will replace the arts acts of 1951 and 1973 and will define the future shape of arts policy in this country. The fact that sections of the Bill threaten the historic "arms length" relationship of the Arts Council with the Government has worried many in the arts world. With the Bill at an advanced stage, many feel that Mac Conghail's influence will be vital in framing better legislation in these last few months when amendments can be made to the Bill. Mac Conghail is, quite simply, the most important and influential figure in the arts world right now. He will influence how arts policy is framed - possibly for decades to come.
So, who is this shaggy-haired, broad-faced thirty-something? Where, indeed, did he come from? Who, as they used to say, are his people? The surname brings to mind what one of his former colleagues describes as "a very prominent family in Irish public life". For years, Fiach was better known as a chip off the old block. His father, Muiris Mac Conghail, with whom he bears a striking resemblance, had his fingers in the many pies of his own day. Former controller of programmes at RTÉ, one time head of Radio na Gaeltachta, first chairman of the Irish Film Board, friend of taoiseach and minister . . . seems like the torch has been passed to a new generation.
But the Mac Conghail public profile goes back even further - to painter Maurice Mac Gonigal, Fiach's grandfather. Then there was Frank Mac Gonigal and his cousin Harry Clarke: men that made their name for their stained-glass work. Some families pass family businesses from father to son; in the Mac Conghails the bloodline is distinctly artistic.
When Fiach came along in 1964, as the eldest of five, he bore the hopes of his father on his shoulders. Brought up in Rathgar, he attended Coláiste Eoin, in Booterstown, and grew up not only in a Gaelic-speaking school but also in a Gaelic-speaking household. That love of the language is something that has stuck with him; he even married a Gaelic-speaking woman, Irish actress Bríd Ní Neachtáin.
His ascent to his current lofty heights in the arts world began about 15 years ago, when he worked with Joe Dowling at the Gaiety School of Acting. After graduating from Trinity College in sociology and, appropriately enough, politics, in 1988, Mac Conghail had a brief sojourn serving burgers in a Copenhagen Burger King (where all great careers begin) before returning to Ireland to finish college and set up the short-lived On the Bank theatre company. These are the years that Mac Conghail enjoyed some important friendships, working, mainly in theatre, with the likes of Noel Pearson and Michael Colgan. An RTÉ producer's course later and he was still looking for his niche. That niche would prove to be as artistic director of the-then Project Arts Centre, a post he took up in 1992 and held with great success until 1999.
One former colleague who worked with Mac Conghail in those Project days describes him as a strong team player. "He has a very strong vision and a way of taking people with him." Mac Conghail is noted for his ability to motivate and to lead, and he "always puts artists at the centre," his former colleague adds, before going on to describe his family and their connections as part of Mac Conghail's integrity: "he comes from good blood stock. The arts are something he's grown up with. It's organic and he has integrity . . . he hasn't adopted some kind of mantle".
Another former associate of Mac Conghail's says that he is a consummate professional. "I'm delighted that someone with Fiach's level of knowledge and passion is advising the minister," she says. "He knows his stuff and he can make things happen."
Mac Conghail's appointment as O'Donoghue's adviser is widely seen as a good thing, something that can only advance the cause of the arts at Cabinet level, in this time of slashed budgets. However, dig deep enough and you will unearth if not outright enemies, at least Mac Conghail sceptics. "You don't get where he is without leaving people behind," says one. "He's very driven and ambitious for himself, with quite an adversarial style . . . I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up in politics," adds that sceptical voice - whose parting shot is: "you couldn't say that he was a self-made man", referring to his family connections.
But such criticisms seem to be the fall-out from old battles. The consensus on Mac Conghail is that he worked his way up, and even his enemies say that he is a good choice for the arts policy consultant job. The question is: how much influence can he have on what is already well on the road to being legislation?
The good news is that O'Donoghue has left the door open. Writing recently in The Irish Times, the Minister said that he "remains open to the possibility of amending it [the Bill] as it progresses through the Oireachtas".
As for Mac Conghail, he's on the record before his appointment as arts adviser as being greatly concerned by the proposed legislation. "It's a Bill which suggests radical changes for the influence of the Arts Council on the Government," he said. "The arts sector has been very quiet on this, I don't think the bill has been widely read. I would like to see the council talk to him [the Minister] about the nature of this Bill."
For most in the arts community, there could be no better man to represent artists' interests at this time. As one former colleague says: "He will work the system well. He'll carry with him his integrity and make compromises when he has to." Sounds like the very essence of politics.
Who is he?
Fiach Mac Conghail, film producer, theatre producer, gaeilgeóir and Cú Chulainn-like defender of all things arty.
Why is he in the news? He was recently appointed arts policy consultant to the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism and is behind everything big happening in the arts right now: from Ariel at the Abbey to the reopening of the Collège des Irlandais in Paris.
Most appealing characteristic? His name sounds as powerful as an ancient Celtic warrior's.
Least appealing characteristic? His foppish, slightly Wildean look.
Most likely to say: A aire, beidh orainn athruithe a dhéanamh ar an mBille seo sula mbrostaítear e tríd an Oireachtas é. (Minister, we need to make a few changes to this Bill before it is rushed through the Oireachtas.)
Least likely to say: All this arty-farty business is a waste of taxpayers' money and is the sole preserve of deviants and chancers who don't know what an honest day's work is.