Aosdána, an affiliation of creative artists funded by the Arts Council, elected eight new members at their general assembly on Monday.
The group was established in 1981 to credit artists who had made outstanding contributions to Irish culture and society.
Membership of the group is limited to 250 people, and members are elected by their peers.
Since its last general assembly, eight members had passed away; Philip Casey, Stephen McKenna, Val Mulkearns, Richard Murphy, Tom Murphy, Liam Ó Muirthile, Patrick Pye and Barbara Warren. A minute’s silence was observed at the annual meeting on Monday in respect of the late members.
Members elected to the affiliate are entitled to receive a stipend, or “cnuas”, of €17,180 a year, for five years, to allow them to focus on their art.
On Monday, eight members were elected to fill the vacant positions at the assembly, which was held at Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin.
The new artists elected are writers Mia Gallagher, Owen McCafferty, Mike McCormack and Sean O’Reilly, and visual artists Shane Cullen, Rita Duffy, Stephen Lawlor and Isabel Nolan.
Artists must be nominated and then elected by their peers to join.
