Minister for Arts Catherine Martin has announced that the Markievicz Award, which supports new artistic work focused on the role of women in Ireland, will open for applications on 7 May.

Ten awards of €25,000 will be granted and artists of any discipline can apply. The deadline for applications is 6 June.

One of the awards will be assigned to an artist working through Irish because of the importance of the Irish-language movement during the Irish revolutionary period at the beginning of the twentieth century. Joint applications for the award are also welcome.

The Markievicz Award was established as part of the Decade of Centenaries Programme (2012–23) to honour Constance de Markievicz, an artist as well as the first woman in Ireland to be elected to Parliament and appointed to Cabinet.

Previous recipients include singer-songwriter Julie Feeney, composer Amanda Feery, traditional singer Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin, sean-nós dancer Edwina Guckian, opera and theatre director Aoife Spillane-Hinks, pianist and vocalist Olesya Zdorovetska, uilleann piper Louise Mulcahy, singer-songwriter Gemma Dunleavy and Dublin-based songwriter Cal Folger Day.

The award is administered by the Arts Council on behalf of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

For further information, visit: www.artscouncil.ie.