When Taoisigh and the Arts was published in late 2022, the book was described as ‘consistently entertaining and informative’ in the Dublin Review of Books and as ‘a gripping history of the State’s treatment of artists and writers’ in the Irish Independent. A review in Books Ireland said it ‘should be in the in-tray of all Irish politicians.’ Taoisigh and the Arts looked afresh at major political figures in post-1922 Ireland through the work of writers and visual artists. It also examined the legacy of national leaders and considered the priority these politicians placed on the arts during their time in office. One figure loomed large in Taoisigh and the Arts – Charles J. Haughey, probably the most controversial political figure in late twentieth century Ireland. In this talk, Prof. Rafter will explore the contested legacy of the former Taoiseach by focusing on his engagement on the arts as well as artistic representation of his career.

Prof. Kevin Rafter is Full Professor of Political Communication at Dublin City University and a Fulbright scholar at Boston College in the first half of 2024. At DCU, he has been Head of the School of Communications and Associate Dean for Research, and he has published extensively on Irish politics including recent books Taoisigh and the Arts (2022) and Resilient Reporting: Media Coverage of Irish Elections since 1969 (2020). He served as Chair of the Arts Council of Ireland, from June 2019 to December 2023 during which time the organisation’s budget increased from €75m to €134m. Although much of his term as Chair was devoted to helping steer the arts sector through the Covid-19 crisis, other significant initiatives included establishing the first all-island dance company and green-lighting a major artist workspace development in Dublin. Prof. Rafter previously served as Chair of Culture Ireland and was a board member of the Galway International Arts Festival, Oxfam Ireland and Dublin Bus. Prior to 2008, he worked as a political journalist holding senior editorial positions with RTÉ, Ireland’s public service broadcaster, the Irish Times, the Sunday Times and the Sunday Tribune as well as being editor of Magill current affairs magazine.