Loading AI tools
Highest honour for a member of Aosdána From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saoi (Irish pronunciation: [sˠiː], plural Saoithe; literally "wise one"; historically the title of the head of a bardic school) is the highest honour bestowed by Aosdána, a state-supported association of Irish creative artists. The title is awarded, for life, to an existing Aosdána member. There are at most seven living Saoithe at any time;[1] a limit increased from five in 2007–08.[2][3] At the conferring ceremony, a torc (a twist/spiral of gold, worn around the neck) is presented to the Saoi, typically by the President of Ireland.
A committee of ten members of Aosdána referred to as the Toscaireacht[4] monitor and manage the nominating process to confirm adherence to the established rules. Fifteen members of the Aosdána must nominate a candidate of merit and distinction. An election by secret ballot then occurs with all members. Approval is determined by at least 50% + 1 of the membership voting approval.
Only one nomination per vacancy may be processed through an election at a time. If multiple candidate submissions are received, they go through the election process one at a time until a successful approval is declared. Subsequent nominees are held until there is a future vacancy.
Name | Field[nb 1] | Elected | Invested | Died | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Samuel Beckett | Literature | October 1984 | 1985 (in absentia) | 1989 | [6][7] |
Seán Ó Faoláin | Literature | 1986 | 1986 | 1991 | [8] |
Patrick Collins | Visual arts | 1987 | 1987 | 1994 | [9][10] |
Mary Lavin | Literature | 1992 | 1993 | 1996 | [11][12] |
Louis le Brocquy | Visual arts | 1992 | 1993 | 2012 | [13][11] |
Tony O'Malley | Visual arts | 1993 | 1993 | 2003 | [11][14] |
Benedict Kiely | Literature | March 1996 | 1996 | 2007 | [15][16] |
Francis Stuart | Literature | October 1996 | 1996 | 2000 | [15][17] |
Seamus Heaney | Literature | 1997 | 1998 | 2013 | [18][19] |
Anthony Cronin | Literature | March 2003 | 27 June 2003 | 2016 | [20][21] |
Brian Friel | Literature | 2006 | 2006 | 2015 | [22] |
Patrick Scott | Visual arts | 28 March 2007 | 11 July 2007 | 2014 | [23][3][24] |
Camille Souter | Visual arts | 9 May 2008 | 24 November 2008 | 2023 | [2][25] |
Seóirse Bodley | Music | September 2008 | 24 November 2008 | 2023 | [26][25] |
William Trevor | Literature | 29 September 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | [27][28] |
Edna O'Brien | Literature | 2015 | 15 September 2015 | 2024 | |
Imogen Stuart | Visual arts | 2015 | 15 September 2015 | 2024 | [29] |
George Morrison | Visual arts[nb 2] | 2016 | 9 March 2017 | living | [32][31] |
Tom Murphy | Literature | 2017 | 2017 | 2018 | [33] |
Roger Doyle | Music | 2019 | 2019 | living | [34] |
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.