THE IMPORTANCE of the arts to the economic life of the nation was the central theme of a speech delivered by Minister of State Martin Mansergh at the inaugural Oxford and Cambridge Society of Ireland dinner in Dublin on Saturday.
Mr Mansergh, who is junior Minister in the Department of Finance, said that, since the publication of the McCarthy report last summer, he had been at pains to point out one of the greatest economists of the last century, John Maynard Keynes, was also a patron of the arts.
“Not only was he the most famous economist of the 20th century, he was also the founder of the Cambridge Arts Theatre and cinema, chairman of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and the Arts Council which was then in embryonic form, and married to a renowned ballerina.” Mr Mansergh also recounted an anecdote from the second World War – when Winston Churchill received a minute from chancellor of the exchequer Kingsley Wood stating the need for severe cutbacks in the arts, he replied, “Then what are we fighting for?”
Some 100 Irish graduates of Oxford and Cambridge universities attended Saturday’s inaugural dinner which took place in the Kildare Street and University Club on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin.
The organiser of the event, Chris Ashton, said it is hoped to make it an annual event.
Among the Irish people who attended Oxford and Cambridge universities over the centuries are Charles Stuart Parnell, Oscar Wilde and Sligo-born mathematician George Stokes.
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan and Fine Gael’s spokesman on Finance Richard Bruton are among the list of such graduates.
Brian Lenihan has a first-class masters in law from Cambridge University, while Richard Bruton graduated with an M Phil in economics from Nuffield College, Oxford.
