At a fractious and chaotic general assembly of Aosdana at Dublin Castle yesterday, members of the organisation of Irish creative artists overwhelmingly voted against a motion calling for the resignation of the writer Francis Stuart.
The motion, tabled by Maire Mhac an tSaoi, proposed that Aosdana unequivocally reprobate the sentiments expressed by Mr Stuart concerning the Holocaust in a Channel 4 documentary shown on October 11th, presented by Simon Sebag-Montefiore. The motion also called for Mr Stuart's resignation forthwith.
There is no provision in Aosdana's rules and procedures either for the expulsion of a member or the revoking of the status of saoi, which Mr Stuart enjoys within the organisation. It is understood that Mr Stuart could not be present at the assembly due to illness.
Yesterday's meeting was open to the press and members of the public. Ms Mhac an tSaoi was accompanied to the meeting by her husband, Dr Conor Cruise O'Brien, who at one stage was ruled out of order when he called for a point of information from the public benches.
In an hour-long presentation of her case - which was frequently interrupted by members - Ms Mhac an tSaoi claimed that the material she had prepared, chiefly a transcript of Mr Stuart's remarks in the documentary, had not been circulated to members by the Toscaireacht, Aosdana's administrative body.
This claim was vigorously denied by Ms Patricia Quinn, registrar of Aosdana and director of the Arts Council.
Ms Mhac an tSaoi claimed it was outrageous that Mr Stuart had been honoured with the status within the organisation of saoi (or wise one), an honoured position which was bestowed upon him by the then president, Mrs Robinson.
Asked at one point by the chairman, Mr Bob Quinn, to wrap up quickly, she said she would resign from the organisation if her motion was not carried.
In response, writer Anthony Cronin gave an impassioned defence of Mr Stuart.
Mr Stuart was also defended by poet Paul Durcan. He claimed that a woman had interviewed Mr Stuart at his home, but that, in the subsequent broadcast, Mr Sebag-Montefiore's questions were edited over the footage.
There was a guillotine placed on the meeting as members had to vacate the venue - the Dublin Castle Conference Centre - by 5.30 p.m.
Artist Louis le Brocquy said that, as a democratic organisation, Aosdana should condemn the dehumanising concept of racism.
A number of faxes were read into the record in favour of the motion - one from playwright Frank McGuinness and another from Mr Joseph H. Briscoe, of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland.
Poet Hugh Maxton proposed that the motion be withdrawn due to lack of information to support either case - a plea later supported by some members elected to Aosdana last year. However, Aosdana procedures necessitated a vote.
In the end, Ms Mhac an tSaoi, sitting in an isolated position at the table, was the only person to vote for the motion. A large majority of the attendance of about 70 people opposed it, with 14 abstentions.
Immediately after the vote, Ms Mhac an tSaoi tendered her resignation from the organisation.
In a separate vote, taken at a morning session - which was not open to the public - eight new members were deemed elected to Aosdana.
These were the Belfast poet and prose-writer, Ciaran Carson; novelists William Trevor and Deirdre Madden; the playwright, Neil Donnelly; artists Dermot Seymour, John Shinnors and Samuel Walsh; and film-maker Joe Comerford, director of High Boot Benny and Reefer and the Model.