Some of them may be politically disconnected or apathetic, but I can almost guarantee that not a single recipient of this funding is a political ally of the current Irish administration.

Ultimately this is a fairly low cost programme, a very tiny % of revenue expenditure, & looks good to an electorate that are generally in favour of supporting Irish cultural assets. I would expect to hear unpopular aging conservative politicians bring this up a lot in the next election cycle while attempting to appeal to the younger vote.