Festival Working Group

Paul is Artistic Director & CEO with the annual, countywide Earagail Arts Festival. Now in its 38th year is hosted over 2 weeks each July presenting a diverse and inclusive programme of international music, theatre, circus, literary, visual and outdoor arts throughout the highlands and islands of Donegal, North West Ireland. With over 25 years’ experience in festival and event management, he has commissioned, curated and produced a wide range of multi-disciplinary arts events at home and abroad, including international collaborations between Irish and international artists, many of which have toured internationally to the UK, Europe, Asia and the North Americas.

Sarah is a festival director, creative producer and performer based in the West of Ireland, with experience spanning across event production, theatre, music, and the arts.

She currently leads Westival, Westport’s Music & Arts Festival, overseeing all aspects of its programming, production, and operations. She was also recently appointed Artistic Director for Galway Theatre Festival. She also worked as the creative producer for Mayo Pride, curating a vibrant festival celebrating diversity and inclusion in the region.

With a background in event and theatre production and a focus on fostering creative communities, Sarah’s work is centred on bringing bold, engaging experiences to life through festivals that showcase local and national talent.

Andy joined Carlow Arts Festival as the Executive Director in 2023. Before moving to Ireland, Andy spent six years in Australia working as the Executive Producer for Shaun Parker & Company (2021-2023) and as a Producer at Sydney Festival (2018-2021). Prior to that, Andy was the Artistic Director of Creative Youth and the International Youth Arts Festival in Kingston-Upon-Thames, London.

Grace is General Manager at First Fortnight. She has extensive festival experience in organisations including Dublin Dance Festival, Dublin Book Festival, Borris House Festival of Writing and Ideas, and Lingo Spoken Word Festival. In 2016, she was Director of the Trinity Lit Fest and currently volunteers with The Works festival.  Grace is a certified bookkeeper and a web developer. In 2019, she was named Island of Ireland winner in the Global Undergraduate Awards. She has worked with Webwise Ireland, Insafe International and European Schoolnet on issues of cyber safety and creative community engagement. Grace is passionate about the healing power of the arts and is guided by the principle that everyone deserves access to creative expression and artistic experiences.

Rose-Anne Kidney of Cork Creative Event Management Company Goldiefish Events has worked in the artistic sector since 2001, she works mainly as a freelance project manager, event coordinator, production manager and producer in the festival and events sector.

Rose-Anne has extensive expertise and a passion for producing site specific events, outdoor events in public spaces for festivals and has worked with many festivals in varying roles in the cultural sector such as: Ardú Street Art Initiative, Cork Midsummer Festival, Design Pop, Cork Jazz Festival, Cork Folk Festival, , A Taste of West Cork, Blackwater Valley Opera Festival, Ocean to City Race, Dragon of Shandon Parade, Cork On A Fork Festival, Midleton Food and Drink Festival (Feast), Cork St. Patrick’s Festival and World Book Festival.

She has Project Managed many festivals and events for local authorities including Cork City and County Council and Limerick City and County Council and works as a freelance Production and Project Manager with the MTU, Arts Office.

She has developed excellent working relationships with all of those with whom she has worked with over the years including: local authorities, stakeholders, property owners, the Garda Síochána, The HSE, the business community, artists and the creative community in Cork and beyond.

Rose-Anne is currently Producer at The Cork Midsummer Festival, Project Manager of Ardú Street Art Initiative, Director on the Board of Cork Community Art Link as well as continuing her own freelance work and projects.

Cliona Maher is a Clonmel native who has over 35 years’ experience working in the arts. She is a graduate of the Gaiety School of Acting, with an MA in Modern Drama Studies (1st Class Hons) from UCD. Over her career, she has worked as a creative producer, an arts manager, and a theatre practitioner in Ireland, the US and France.

On returning to Ireland from Lyon with her family in 2017, she took up the position of Artistic Director of South Tipperary Arts Centre, where she ran the Inktober Festival and co-founded the Finding A Voice concert series, before moving to the role of Artistic Director of Clonmel Junction Arts Festival 2019 – 2024.

She programmed six editions of the multi-disciplinary arts festivals for Clonmel Junction Arts Festival, as well as programming Designfest for TUS Clonmel Digital Campus, and co-programming In The Open – Faoin Speir with Tipperary Arts Office and South Tipp Arts Centre. She is a co-founder and board member of When Next We Meet, an independent music festival taking place in Clonmel since 2022.

She is the Creative Producer for Junction’s 2023 production of From Out The Land, an Art:2023 project. With filmmaker Trish McAdam, she co-produced the award-winning film Songs of Blood and Destiny, based on the epic poem, iGirl, written by Marina Carr, which premiered in the 2023 Galway Film Fleadh and most recently screened in Chicago for the Irish Film Festival 2024.

She will produce the 2025 edition of Finding A Voice Music Festival (6th-9th March 2025)

Carina is currently Executive Director at Dublin Dance Festival. She has a degree in Contemporary Dance from De Montford University (UK) and is a graduate of the Cultural Policy and Arts Management programme at University College Dublin. She has over 20 years’ experience producing and managing dance, theatre and outdoor arts programmes with organisations and also as an independent arts manager and producer. Previous roles include Creative Director at St Patrick’s Festival, Producer for Landmark Productions, Programmer for Festival of World Cultures Family Programme, Community Arts Development Officer at Droichead Arts Centre and Advisor to the Arts Council across street arts, circus and spectacle.
Carina is an accredited coach with Relational Dynamics 1st – a programme which specialises in coaching for the creative and cultural sector.  She co-founded, co-designed and participated in the Upsource network which piloted arts leadership development and training across 12 performing arts organisations in Ireland. Carina is a member of the task force which will apply to Creative Europe for the next phase of the Big Pulse Dance Alliance. Dublin Dance Festival is a founder member of this network of dance festivals across Europe.

Tara has been working as a cultural manager, producer & curator for over 25 years and has a wealth of experience with many cultural organisations and festivals including the English Theatre Berlin, Blue Raincoat Theatre Company, The Model, Happy Days International Beckett Festival.

She is currently Director of Cairde Sligo Arts Festival, Sligo’s major annual multi-disciplinary arts festival.

Tara also works as an arts consultant/advisor with various organisations and with individual artists. She is an occasional DJ and – together with her pal John G – has set up Toast – a pop up night of electronic music in Sligo.

Lynnette Moran is a Creative Producer & Festival Director specialising in Live Art, Theatre, Visual Art and Digital platforms; with distinct experience of producing collaborative & socially engaged arts practice & large scale national and international commissions.In 2009 Lynnette established Live Collision, Ireland’s leading annual curated festival of Live Art in Ireland.

Lynnette has been Creative Producer with ANU productions & Louise Lowe since 2013. She is one of two core producers on all productions by the company. Together ANU have created 32 seminal works: public art commissions, gallery installations, and museum interpretations. Building a global reputation for creating transformative experiences in unconventional locations and authentic historical sites. ANU in partnership with Landmark Productions and MoLI, curated and presented the unprecedented Ulysses 2.2 funded by Arts Council’s Open Call award.

In 2020, Lynnette co-founded and is Director of field:arts – a creative production support pilot funded by Arts Council Ireland. field:arts cultivates growth, sustainability and ambition across the independent contemporary arts sector in Ireland by prioritising the fundamental relationship between the Creative Producer and Artist. Lynnette currently produces the work of independent artists – Amanda Coogan, Maïa Nunes and Yusuf Mufutau.

Previously, Lynnette was founder & Lead Producer for CAPP (Collaborative Art Partnership Programme) an unprecedented four year transnational partnership across six European countries and nine partner organisations co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union focusing on collaborative & socially engaged practice and commissions across Europe between (2014 – 2018).

Lynnette began her career in London, cutting her teeth with some of the UK’s leading arts organisations including LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre) and BAC (Battersea Arts Centre) where she developed her practice as a Creative Producer. She holds a BA Hons Degree in Fine Art and an MA in Performance Art from Goldsmiths College, London.

Caitríona is an arts worker, artistic director and musician from Cork. She is currently General Manager of Improvised Music Company and was also appointed Acting Director during a period of illness for the current director. With IMC, she has gained a wide experience in the jazz and contemporary improvised music world. As Artistic Director of East Cork Early Music Festival, and a founding member of the Irish Early Music Network, she is also deeply familiar with the progress of early music across the island. She has worked with a number of other high-profile music organisations across the country, including Dublin International Chamber Music Festival and Blackwater Valley Opera Festival.

Caitríona has been involved in the founding and development of several network organisations, including the Irish Early Music Network (which was successful in sourcing funding for an equipment library), the Irish Jazz Forum (which is now part of a European touring project), and Music Alliance Ireland (which has been key in policy consultation for the Arts Council, Dublin City Council etc). She has been invited to speak representing Ireland at conferences including the European Early Music Network conference and Jazz Promotion Network conference, with a focus on the need for connection and collaboration in the arts.

Caitríona continues to work as a professional violinist and violist, performing and directing nationally and internationally with ensembles including Sestina, Resurgam, Cork Baroque Players, and Ensemble Dagda, amongst others. She loves learning and exploring new areas of the arts. As an amateur, she is currently studying bharatanatyam (classical dance from Tamil Nadu), with Bhavana Anand at Joan Denise Moriarty School of Dance, aerial acrobatics (particularly static trapeze) with Jude O’Neill at the Circus Factory, and Carnatic violin with Rohit Jayanthan.

Galway native Aislinn Ó hEocha was appointed Executive Artistic Director of Baboró International Arts Festival for Children in 2015. In this broad role she oversees all aspects of the organisation as well as curating the annual international festival in October – a multi-disciplinary festival of Irish and international theatre, dance, music and visual art in theatres, schools and galleries across Galway City and county. Baboró’s year round arts in education and artist support programmes have expanded significantly under her stewardship.

Prior to joining Baboró, Aislinn spent several years working across programming, management and marketing in regional arts centres throughout Ireland. Her passion for performing arts for children was ignited back in 2001 when she worked with Baboró’s festival team on the delivery of the festival.

Aislinn is on the Committee of Theatre for Young Audiences Ireland (TYAI), a voluntary organisation which supports artists and advocates for the performance arts for children sector in Ireland. She was Chair of TYAI from 2018 to 2023.

Conall is currently Communications & Development Manager with Cork Midsummer Festival, working with the organisation since 2015. He is also the programme co-producer for the festival’s artist residency and exchange initiative Tales of Two Cities in partnership with The Everyman. He has worked with a number of festivals in a variety of roles over a twenty-year career including Galway International Arts Festival, Quarter Block Party, Cork International Film Festival, TULCA Festival of Visual Arts, Baboró International Arts Festival for Children, and many more. Alongside his festival work, he has also worked as a freelance producer for artists and companies such as Attic Projects / Luke Murphy, BrokenCrow Theatre Company, Conflicted Theatre, and EatMyNoise.

Dee is currently General Manager at Dublin Theatre Festival and was prior to this role, General Manager at Dublin Fringe Festival, delivering four festivals from 2020. Prior to this she was General Manager at The Complex in Smithfield. She previously held Development & Fundraising roles at The National Concert Hall and Irish Architecture Foundation. She has extensive experience in producing and management in London with companies such as Lone Twin and Mall Galleries

Bee Sparks is the newly appointed Festival Director of Dublin Fringe Festival as of October 2024. Bee first worked with Dublin Fringe Festival as Programming Assistant in 2016, returning as Artistic Projects Manager in 2019, and is thrilled to now lead the festival into its next chapter.

As a programmer and producer, Bee is passionate about supporting emerging artists to create bold, interdisciplinary, and future-focused work. Her practice is rooted in radical kindness, fostering accessible and non-hierarchical environments that amplify unheard voices and value both collective and individual expression.

Before returning to Dublin Fringe, Bee was Programme and Participation Manager at Brighton Dome & Festival, having previously held roles as Programming Coordinator there and at Gilded Balloon, where she worked closely with artists at Edinburgh Fringe. With an MA and BA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, Bee has worked across cultural organizations in Ireland, the UK, and the US, always striving to expand accessibility and elevate new voices.