A NEW board has been appointed to Cork Opera House and will include Eddie Murphy, the managing director of Henry Ford & Son.
Mr Murphy will join the 13-strong board for a three-year period.
The previous board and the Opera House CEO Mary Hickson had helped steer the theatre back into a healthier position following financial difficulties. The recent AGM heard the theatre is on course to balance its books just two years after it had to close for a season.
In 2010 there were fears for the Opera House’s future after budgetary constraints meant it had to close for the summer as part of a cost-cutting survival plan. Losses of 800,000 have been reduced to 180,070 and the 1m loan received from Cork City Council will begin to be repaid next year.
The Opera House is run as a non-profit plc with charitable status. Cork City Council is the largest shareholder. The council selects five councillors who become directors on the board while a further seven directors, with experience in the educational, business and arts sectors, are appointed for a three-year period.
City Manager  Tim Lucey  nominates a final member of the board. The five city councillors appointed to the board are; Fine Gael’s Jim Corr, Labour’s Denis O’Flynn, Fianna Fáil’s Sean Martin, Fine Gael’s Des Cahill and Sinn Féin’s Fiona Kerins.
Valerie O’Sullivan, the Director of Corporate and External Affairs in City Hall, has been re-appointed as a director by Mr Lucey. Former city councillor and Lord Mayor of Cork Damian ok Wallace, business owner Claire Nash and music lecturer Evelyn Grant have all been re-appointed for further three-year terms. They will be joined by Mr Murphy, performing artist Majella Cullagh and Ted Owens of   City of Cork VEC.
The 13th position may be filled at a later date. The board will hold its first meeting next month, where a chairperson will be elected.