Today we announce this year's judges for the awards, which are in their eighth year of recognising excellence in many aspects of Irish theatre. The judging process has already begun. The winners of the 2003 awards will be announced on Sunday, February 15th at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin. Highlights of the awards ceremony will be shown on RTÉ television.

The judges

Phelim Donlon

Phelim Donlon, below, was appointed general manager of the Olympia Theatre in Dublin in 1977 and became general administrator of the Irish Theatre Company in 1980. He joined the staff of the Arts Council in 1983, holding the posts of administration officer, film officer and opera

officer. From 1985 to 2000 he was its drama officer. He left the council in 2001, having been director of the Auditoria Project, a review of the planning, provision and programming of

performing arts in Ireland. He is on the board of Theatre Forum.

Dolores Lyne

Dolores Lyne is an artist and set designer. She trained under Percy Harris at Motley Theatre Design in London and has worked extensively in theatre in Ireland, receiving an Irish Times ESB Irish Theatre Award for set design for Pigtown, in 1999. Originally from Killarney, she now lives in Connemara and lectures on the MA course in theatre studies at NUI Galway. She is also on the board of Artspace Studios, in Galway.

Tony Ó Dálaigh

Tony Ó Dálaig is an arts consultant who earlier combined a career in the civil service, where he was private secretary to four ministers for education, with many artistic activities. From 1974 to 1978 he was general administrator of Irish Theatre Company, from 1986 to 1990 director of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, now IMMA, from 1990 to 1999 director of Dublin Theatre Festival and from 1999 to 2001 consultant to Draíocht arts centre. He received a special award from the Irish Times ESB Irish Theatre Awards in 2001 and was made a Chevalier des Artes et des Lettres in 2001. He was executive director of the opening ceremony of the 2003 Special Olympics World Games.