Members of the Abbey Theatre's advisory council expressed mixed feelings over the future of the national theatre at the weekend, after they voted to end a century of tradition.
The 21-member council - the shareholding body that owns the theatre and which has controlled most of the appointments to the board since 1904 - voted itself out of existence on Saturday.
The move will pave the way for a slimmer corporate governance structure that includes a nine-member board.
The chair of the Abbey board, Eithne Healy, told reporters she was confident the reconstituted board would be broadly based and would not be "stuffed with accountants".
However, there was concern among the advisory council about what level of artistic input there would be on the new board.
Playwright Jimmy Murphy said he was worried the Minister for Arts would have too much influence on appointments to the new board.
Writer Ulick O'Connor said he was "very sad" at the development and expressed concern at the level of "State control" in the new system.
However, other members of the council were more upbeat about the new board.
Trade union leader Des Geraghty said he was optimistic about the Abbey's future and said the theatre would lift itself out of its financial crisis.
Muriel McCarthy, another member of the advisory council, said it was an "exciting" development" in the Abbey's distinguished history.
Both members agreed to seek an assurance from the Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue over artistic input into the new board.
In a statement at the weekend, the Minister said he would reflect on the "considered opinion" regarding the composition of the board.
