The Abbey Theatre has announced the adoption and approval of a new Code of Governance.

Since January 2025, the Board and the Executive have worked on preparing the new code for the Abbey, which is based largely on the State Code and the Charities Code, and takes from codes and frameworks of governance employed by other state-funded entities, and current best practice in corporate governance.  The organisation received external input from governance experts.

The proposed new Code was independently reviewed by Grant Thornton, which concluded that, in its professional opinion:

“The Code is consistent with the intent and structure of both the State Code and the Charities Code, and reflects current best practice in corporate and charities governance; and

“The Code provides a sound basis for demonstrating the organisation’s governance maturity and accountability to public funders and other stakeholders. Its adoption and ongoing implementation should provide assurance that the Abbey Theatre operates within a proportionate, effective and transparent governance framework.”

In Grant Thornton’s view, the adoption and compliance with the new Code by the Abbey will meet the recommendation from the Crowe review that the Abbey’s unclear governance framework required updating.

Following the above process, the Board approved and adopted the new Code at its board meeting held on 3 September 2025.  Following its approval and adoption, the new Code was immediately provided to the principal stakeholders as appropriate.

The result is a bespoke Code designed to reflect the Abbey’s unique identity as a publicly funded arts institution and a registered charity. It aims to ensure that the governance arrangements of the National Theatre of Ireland will remain robust, proportionate and tailored to its strategic and operational needs.

Commenting, Chair of the Board of the Abbey Theatre, John Cronin said: “In response to the Crowe Review in late August 2024, which found that there was an “unclear governance framework” which needed to be resolved on an “urgent basis”, the Board carried out an intensive review of its governance arrangements and in December 2024 determined that a new strong and effective code of governance was necessary for, and appropriate to, the operations of the Abbey Theatre.  Since then, the Board and the Executive have worked on preparing a new code for the Abbey, which has now been approved by the Board, and its adoption satisfies the principal finding and the principal recommendation of the Crowe Review.”

The Code of Governance can be viewed here