Dr Tom Mitchell, provost of Trinity College Dublin, has been appointed to the Arts Council. The announcement followed the surprise resignation from the council yesterday of U2 manager, Mr Paul McGuinness.
Dr Mitchell's is the second new appointment to the council in as many days. On Thursday Mr Patrick Murphy was appointed chairman of the council following the resignation of Dr Brian Farrell on the same day.
Mr McGuinness, one of the longest-serving members of the Arts Council, was first appointed in 1989. His resignation is believed to have been due to pressure of work. It was tendered to the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, yesterday. A spokesman for the Minister said it had been accepted and would not comment further.
In a Department statement last night, announcing Dr Mitchell's appointment, there was no reference to Mr McGuinness. The statement on Thursday announcing Dr Farrell's resignation dealt at length with his service since June 1998 and his reasons for leaving the council. A short paragraph at the end announced the appointment of Mr Murphy as the council's new chairman.
Last night, the Minister said that she was "particularly pleased that a person of the calibre and experience of Tom Mitchell has been able to accept my invitation to join the Arts Council. He has had a distinguished academic career and we are lucky that he is willing to bring his considerable talents to the council."
Dr Mitchell is from Belcarra, near Castlebar, Co Mayo. He attended St Nathy's College, Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, and NUI Galway. He taught at Cornell University and Swarth more College in the US from 1965 to 1979 when he became professor of Latin at Trinity. In 1991 he was appointed provost.
