The new appointees have a wealth of experience and plenty of savvy and clout, writes Deirdre Falvey.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall at an Arts Council meeting over the next while. Will there be strong words, disagreements, clashes of ideology or approach? The mix of personalities makes one think it will be lively and fun at least.
And the calibre of the members invites the expectation that it'll be a strong council.
One of the first thing immediately noticeable about yesterday's list of appointees to the new council is that almost all of them actually work in the arts, and are accustomed, in varying ways, to operating in a world that has never been easy.
That world is challenging, stimulating, fulfilling, yes, but it's not an easy ride to make something work artistically, create something moving or entertaining, get bums on seats, make a living as a performer or artist, raise funds. And never more difficult than this year, when Government cutbacks have dealt a disproportionately massive blow to funding the arts, and caused real hardship.
So this is a group of hugely different people, with hugely different backgrounds and interests, an impressive range of experience, and some strong personalities (hence the fly on the wall). But they've all been there, are there, at the coalface and that makes it a potentially exciting and effective council.
It comes at a crucial time too, with a new Arts Act that came into effect at midnight on Wednesday, and a council facing the unknown in terms of funding for next year.
The Minister for the Arts, Mr O'Donoghue, said yesterday that he is fighting his corner with the Minister for Finance, and the incoming council chairwoman also stressed that she was aware of the pain caused by the cutbacks and hopes the Minister will find more money to fund the arts.
Today the council, and everyone working in the sector, faces a fight to secure adequate funding; a new Arts Act, the first in 30 years, which changes at least some of the goalposts; and a council which itself is going through massive change.
A strong Arts Council with actual, wide-ranging, hands-on experience sounds like exactly what the arts need at the moment.
This was one of the first tests facing the new Minister and he has made bold and imaginative choices. The new members represent a spread in terms of disciplines, experience, age, and indeed popular recognition.
Yes, there are the Kerry connections (Ms Noelle Campbell-Sharpe and Mr Philip King), but they've both earned their places fairly, and, yes, the chairwoman, Ms Olive Braiden, has Fianna Fáil connections, but she is an impressive heavy hitter who has wide experience of dealing with different Departments and agencies.
The Minister described her as formidable; she describes herself as an outsider with a strong interest in the arts. Her background is likely to make her an effective chairwoman of a motley and impressive crew of talent and interests. The fact that she's the first woman who has ever been appointed to chair the council is an irrelevancy; her ability and political nous is what got her there.
The fact that she is the only person not involved in the arts in some way is more significant and makes her in some ways the honest broker. The deputy chairman, Mr Jerome Hynes, chief executive of Wexford Opera Festival, is a solid force in the Irish arts scene and also has an excellent business sense; he is also one of the "gang of eight" (sometimes nine) top people in the arts in Ireland who initially wrote to this newspaper expressing concern about current arts funding. The group later met the Minister.
The new council includes three members of the outgoing board (each appointed for a shorter term; the new Act stipulates that membership will be rolling to ensure continuity) - Una O'Múrchú, Emer O'Kelly, and Patrick Sutton. The other members reflect a range of artistic areas and include a number of people with strong public profiles.
It's a bit of a coup to have a writer of the stature of John McGahern on the Arts Council; he and the Minister are said to get on famously and this must have been a factor. Rosaleen Linehan is the first actor on the council in decades, an acknowledgement of her contribution to straight drama as well as a long-standing comic career.
Choreographer and dancer Mary Nunan, too, represents performing arts, in an area of growing interest here. Willie Doherty has an international profile as an artist and lends weight to the visual arts (he's also the only Northerner).
Theo Dorgan straddles both literature and the politics of the arts. Orflaith McBride represents a commitment to the role of younger people in the arts, and the cultural future of the country. So there is an attempt to cover most bases, and a commitment to those working in the arts. Ms Braiden said yesterday she sees the council as an advocate for the arts in Ireland, and a conduit to the Minister. Part of the statutory role of the council is indeed an advisory one to the Minister. Stressing the advocacy role of the council is a positive move, especially in the current climate where the council is in the midst of a redefinition of itself as a development agency.
Some in the arts perceive this as the council ultimately becoming almost an arm of Government, like a cultural IDA, so the chairwoman's description of the council as an advocate, a conduit for the arts, will be welcomed.