Ian Wilson, composer

Celtic Tiger Ireland is an intangible thing. It is something everybody talks about yet it isn't so easy to feel the direct impact of it in the classical music world. I held the position as composer-in-residence at Leitrim County Council for the first six months of this year which was funded half by the county council and half by the Arts Council. This is a significant development.

Also, the Vogler Quartet's three-year residence in Sligo makes you feel things are moving in a positive direction. But, in terms of getting finance for new commissions, things aren't so easy. There are a lot of composers and not enough money. Where I would really like to see the Celtic Tiger kicking in is in the area of business support for the arts. Many festivals which request commissions don't feel they can approach businesses for sponsorship. The Arts Council commissioning budget is under pressure and there are real opportunities for corporate sponsorship. The ESB is the only obvious sponsor I see around here. However, if you look at the contemporary music scene in general, things are a lot more vibrant now than they were 10 years ago.

The cultural life of a country reflects the spiritual wellbeing of its people and my experience of Britain is that it currently has a cabinet of Philistines in terms of its view of the arts. Things aren't so bad here in contrast.

Grace Weir, sculptor

Not at all. But then life is a dog.

Maud Cotter, visual artist

Ireland has always been my base source of inspiration as my primary contact with the world. As I developed, my range of references grew and my context broadened. Particularly, 15 years ago, I felt deficient in terms of the scale of engagement Ireland would offer me. I moved to London. I exhibited in other European countries and in the US. I returned here two and a half years ago. I am very celebratory about being back in Ireland. However, I was a little shocked at how commercialised it has become.

If anything, I have ignored the Celtic Tiger. There is nothing in it which is very inspiring for me, although there is an energy of achievement and confidence which I appreciate. The vivid commercialism is a downer for me. Most artists have connections which go much deeper than those identity signals. In terms of sales, for me, it is necessary to be connected with other countries. My work found a market more easily in London. There are still strong strains of conservatism in the market here. A lot of recent purchases have been affected by the boom. These purchases are very investment driven. People are investing in artists who are more established. I wonder how many people are investing in younger artists with as much vigour?

The conditions of work have become strained and difficult for some artists here. Artists are being squeezed out by the fact that every property has "development potential". It is not as easy now to rent a studio and develop your practice and experiment. Space is oxygen for artists. It is difficult to develop an integral voice if you are under pressure.

Phillip Casey, novelist

Writers aren't sociologists, of course, but I've just finished the third novel in a loose trilogy, and it's interesting for me to compare the social and economic conditions of a character who's common to the first book, The Fabulists, and the new one, The Fisher Child. His name is Mungo, and needless to say, his lot has considerably improved.

Is he happier? Yes, he is, actually. But a lot of people aren't happier and I probably couldn't write The Fabulists now. It depended on friends bumping into each other and talking on the street, which used to happen me every day; but very few, of my acquaintance at least, have time to dawdle over a cup of coffee any more. Which is a great pity, and I hope it's a passing phase in a period of adjustment. The trouble is, so many are working their guts out just to keep a roof over their heads, and stress levels are literally mind-boggling. If they had more time to meet friends, they wouldn't be under so much stress, I'm sure. It's a vicious circle.

There's a lot of money about, but it seems to take a lot more just to survive. The real money is in the hands of the few, and the rest are struggling. As for sales of books, the market is probably broader, but I'd say the same few hundreds are buying literary work. I once went without food for a weekend to buy the illustrated poems of Machado - it still gives me goosebumps - and there will always be a scattering of book lovers like that. If it wasn't for the Arts Council, there wouldn't be any literary publishers in Ireland at all. None.

I'm lucky in that I have my own home and I'm a member of Aosdana. If I had neither I would be in crushing poverty, much more so than when I actually had neither, as it was easier to rent somewhere then. Now it's practically impossible.

Anne Byrne, actor with Rough Magic Theatre company, which is currently on tour with `Three Days Of Rain'

The Celtic Tiger hasn't really affected my work. I don't know whether more people are going to the theatre now. There is a lot of competition from home entertainment and being online - getting virtual entertainment. The working conditions in the theatre haven't changed with the boom economy. However, I make my money from radio and television voice-overs and there is a lot more of that work around. On a broader level, I don't believe there is a Celtic Tiger as such. There is boomtown for sure but there also aren't enough doctors and nurses and there are huge waiting lists in hospitals. A two-tier society has developed and a lot of people are being left behind.

There is a certain view that if you don't make money, you are a loser. This could lead to art not being valued because if you can't make money at it, why bother? In terms of Rough Magic, we have always been interested in how things change: as far back as the 1980s, we produced Caryl Churchill's Top Girls, which was a commentary on Thatcherite Britain.

Michael Scott, theatre director/producer

Now, you can plan to do shows and know that the public can afford to come to see them. At the SFX Theatre, people come to see alternative theatre and they are not afraid to do so. There is a large market now - made up of young people and some more settled audiences - for alternative theatre. The success of the Dublin Fringe Festival this year was testament to that.

This gives one great encouragement to plan and take risks and support new work from playwrights and theatre companies. This makes me very excited about the potential and future of Irish theatre. The Celtic Tiger has allowed this because people have the disposable income which allows them to support innovation and creativity in a way that wasn't possible before.

Claire Keegan, short-story writer

The Celtic Tiger has made little difference to my personal life or career. Writing a short story has stayed the same and people aren't more likely to buy short story collections or read more short stories because of the Celtic Tiger economy. It was interesting for me to read the excerpt from Declan Kiberd's new book, Irish Classics, in The Irish Times. He was talking about an island people and how their poverty was directly linked to the wealth of their storytelling. I hope the change in our economy doesn't impoverish our storytelling skills because the short story is like a play. Plays aren't about free people - if a character can walk off the stage without losing something, then it isn't a play. In some ways, present-day Ireland is full of free people with money, in contrast to the Ireland I grew up in. The trapped character tells a better story. But the traps of a commercial existence are less interesting to me or maybe it's because I don't write about it very well.

We can easily romanticise the past. Celtic Tiger Ireland doesn't have the damp that makes the wallpaper fall off the walls. It doesn't have the parents who are terrified of the priest and the schoolteacher. This is marvellous - an enviable state to be in. All I need to write is a pen, paper and some quiet. If there is a tangible difference for me, it's the noise level. We are louder now. I miss the quiet. I miss being able to hear the publican pouring the drink into the glass. But everything is without sounds that are live. The sounds are pre-recorded, drowning out sound.

Life in rapidly changing, boomtime Dublin is explored in Dublin Youth Theatre's new play, Timebomb, staged in collaboration with Desperate Optimists, at the Project's Space Upstairs, Dublin, until Saturday. Booking at: 1850 260027