The Arts Council of Ireland is the Irish government agency for developing the arts. We work in partnership with artists, arts organisations, public policy makers and others to build a central place for the arts in Irish life.

Our function is to:

• stimulate public interest in the arts;
• promote knowledge, appreciation and practice of the arts;
• assist in improving standards in the arts;
• advise the Minister and other public bodies on the arts.

We do this by:

• providing financial assistance, mainly, but not exclusively, to artists and arts organisations; we also support others who develop and promote the arts;
• offering advice and information on the arts to Government and to others;
• publishing research and information as an advocate for the arts and artists;
• undertaking a range of projects to promote and develop the arts, often in partnership with others