Sir, - In his appraisal of Temple Bar (Weekend, August 5th), Frank McDonald writes that The Project Arts Centre "would have relocated to Smithfield if it hadn't been threatened with the loss of its Arts Council grant." To my knowledge as chairman of the Arts Council at that time this is totally untrue.
The then director of The Project Arts Centre, Fiach McConghail, discussed with me certain choices of location facing him and his board. These included options in both Temple Bar and in Smithfield. I recall saying that in my own personal view Smithfield needed a prestigious anchor arts project. I further said that whatever decision the Project board reached would be sympathetically considered by The Arts Council. There never was, nor would there be, any compulsion whatsoever by the council to influence that decision in one direction or the other. The Project board and its director would be free to make the best choices for the future of the Project in the knowledge that either choice would be respected by myself and my council. That is my understanding of what happened. - Yours, etc.,
Ciaran Benson, Former Chairman, The Arts Council (1993-1998), Butler Court, Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin 1.