THE Arts Council has appointed Ms Patricia Quinn as its new director. She replaces Mr Adrian Munnelly, who left the council to join Carr Communications last July.
Ms Quinn (37) is from Dublin, where she was educated at Mount Temple School. She graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, with an honours BA in history in 1982. Two years later she joined the Arts Council as music and opera officer. In 1990, she became opera and development officer - a position which included press relations.
In May 1992 she moved to her current job as cultural director of Temple Bar Properties, where she has overseen the rapid refurbishment of existing cultural institutions, such as Temple Bar Galleries, and the dramatic development of entirely new ones such as the Ark children's centre and the ArtHouse multimedia centre.
She is regarded as a very able administrator, with a wide range of cultural interests.
Ms Quinn, who was appointed on Saturday, said yesterday that she did not feel it was appropriate to make any public statement on her priorities at this stage.
She comes to the job at a challenging moment, when the council's relationship with Mr Michael D. Higgins's Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht is still at a formative stage. The high expectations aroused by The Arts Plan 1995-97, drawn up by the council and the Department, have been deflated by its dilution into a rather nebulous five year programme. However, council funding, while still regarded as seriously inadequate at £18.4 million, is nearly double what it was in 1991, which should increase room for manoeuvre.
Mr David McConnell, the council's finance officer who has been acting director since Mr Munnelly's resignation, said yesterday: "I'm delighted with the appointment. Patricia Quinn made a very significant contribution to the work of the council."