“The first Irish National Opera (INO) company ran from 1965 to 1984 and specialised in productions that toured with only piano accompaniment. The second Irish National Opera company was announced in 2009 when Martin Cullen was arts minister. International consultants advised on the setting up of the company and a general director was recruited. However, it was shut down by minister Jimmy Deenihan in 2011 without ever having presented a single production. The latest incarnation, with Fergus Sheil as artistic director and Diego Fasciati as executive director, is the outcome of an Arts Council-initiated process to restore a regular supply of natively-sourced productions of mainstream repertoire to large stages in Dublin and regional centres.”