Waterford Gathering Programme

Tá Val ina Ceann ar Ionaid Ealaíon sa Chomhairle Ealaíon ó 2005. Le linn dó a bheith ag obair leis an gComhairle Ealaíon rinne sé bainistíocht ar scéimeanna camchuairte ó 2010 go 2020 agus rinne sé maoirsiú ar chaidreamh na Comhairle Ealaíon leis na healaíona Gaeilge, go príomha trí Ealaín na Gaeltachta.

Roimhe sin bhunaigh agus d’fheidhmigh sé an t-ionad ealaíon Áras Éanna ar Inis Oírr (Oileáin Árann). Roimhe sin chuir sé imeachtaí ealaíon chun cinn agus bhunaigh sé Féile Ealaíon Iniscealtra i gCo. an Chláir.

Bhain sé MA sna hAmharcealaíona (MAVIS) amach i 2006 ó DLIADT.

Val has been Head of Arts Centres in the Arts Council since 2005. While with the Arts Council he also managed touring schemes from 2010 to 2020 and oversaw the Arts Council’s relationship with Irish language arts, primarily through Ealaín na Gaeltachta.

He previously founded and operated the arts centre Áras Éanna on Inis Oírr in the Aran Islands. Prior to that he promoted events and founded the Iniscealtra Festival of Arts in Co. Clare.

He graduated with an MA in Visual Arts (MAVIS) in 2006 from DLIADT.

James Bingham is a producer and conductor. He is passionate about advocating for classical music and was described by the UK broadsheet, The Sunday Times as ‘unashamedly messianic’.

James works at Irish National Opera as the company’s studio and outreach producer, where he established the company’s extensive outreach programme from scratch. Key highlights from the programme include creating the world’s first virtual reality community opera, ‘Out of the Ordinary/As an gNách’ and the world premiere of ‘Horse Ape Bird’ a specially commissioned fully staged youth opera. James also runs the INO Studio, an intensive annual programme for artists in the early stages of their career.

James is the currently conductor of Wicklow Choral Society and was previously the Choral Delivery Artist for Opera North, where he worked with over 1000 people a week. He was also the Education Project Co-ordinator at Glyndebourne, managing the company’s diverse education programme. He has worked for other major UK arts organisations including the Hallé, Only Boys Aloud and Sheffield Cathedral.

Josh is Digital Producer for Global Musicals Ltd. He manages the social media accounts and digital content creation for hit West End shows including SIX, which has become the most followed West End Musical on Instagram ever.

Since he began working on SIX in 2017 the show has become an international hit; currently selling out in the West End, UK Tour, Broadway and two U.S Tours. The Original Studio Album has been streamed over 44 million times and the Tik Tok account has over 3 million likes.

Josh also created the screen design for SIX’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent, the Olivier Awards, and The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals.

He also manages the social media accounts for The Choir of Man and 42 Balloons. 

A native of Waterford, Mary has been committed to supporting artists and arts activity throughout her 30-year career.  Since graduating from Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Mary has spent many years working in a range of management roles in the arts sector.  She has worked as Production Manager on various theatre productions as well as Company Producer with Red Kettle Theatre Company.  Mary’s work has brought her to Donegal, Galway and Cork as well as her native Waterford.

With 13 years’ experience as Theatre Manager at the Theatre Royal, Mary has recently stepped into the role of Theatre Director incorporating the programming and artistic leadership of the organisation.  Mary continues to play a major role in the development of the venues journey while continuing to maximise on increased supports to artists through the venues annual programming strategy and resources.

As a venue partner with the South East Venues Network, Mary continues to deliver supports to the sector regionally.

Lisa Burger CBE is one of the most respected strategic leaders in the arts. Until spring 2022 she was Joint Chief Executive and Executive Director of the UK’s National Theatre, where the key achievements of her career included the development and launch of NT Live tobroadcast work from leading UK theatres into cinemas around the world.

During the Covid pandemic, she created NT at Home, a free on-line product which reached a worldwide audience of 10m, and has now developed into a commercial subscriber service.  In the course of the pandemic, she was instrumental in helping develop the UK government’s support package for the arts.

Lisa co-founded Renew Culture and the Theatre Green Book in 2020. With unparalleled experience of theatre, both in the UK and internationally, she has specialised in resilience, commercial strength and sustainable growth. She is a Trustee of Historic Royal Palaces and of the Royal Opera House and has previously Chaired the Lyric Hammersmith.

Lisa’s work in theatre has been recognised with a special Olivier award, a CBE and an Honorary Doctorate.

Lynn began her career in theatre in Dublin in the 1980s with Wet Paint and has performed in the Abbey, Gate and Project many times since then. In the 1990’s, she moved to Kilkenny and, along with Richard Cook, created Bickerstaffe Theatre Company and the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival. In the 2000s, she moved to Waterford and worked on large scale projects with Waterford City & County Council including the Waterford Greenway, Winterval Festival and the Waterford Treasures Museums. Lynn is now a freelance project manager in the arts and community sector.

Peter is a director, producer and librettist. He began his career at the Young Vic in London and Odeon Theatre, Paris, as assistant director to Patrice Chereau and Luc Bondy. After training with Jerwood Opera Writing Foundation he collaborated with composers including Luke Styles, Marcin Stanczyk and Trish Clowes on new music-theatre pieces for stage and radio. In 2015 he wrote and directed the opera, ‘Unborn in America’ at Vault Festival. Together with the artist Krzysztof Honowski he directed and performed in a series of experimental live-video performances including ‘Alexandria’ and ‘Kustom Kar Kommandos Karaoke’ which were presented at Tropez in Berlin, Atopos in Athens and at the Yard Theatre, London. Peter has written and staged many youth and community operas, including at Glyndebourne, Britten Pears Arts, Mahogany Opera and the Barbican. Between 2016 and 2019, he was a regular director of new work for English National Opera’s youth company. In 2016 Peter began devising performances in Kyiv with a group of Ukrainian acting graduates. In 2019 he co-founded Hooligan Art Community with the group. He has directed four shows for the company, including ‘Hooligan’ at Mystetskyi Arsenal and ‘Radiation’ at Dnipro Centre of Contemporary Culture and Kosmos Tabir, Kyiv. In 2022 Peter produced and directed ‘Bunker Cabaret’, Hooligan’s first touring show, in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The company’s performances, films and installations have been met with acclaim in Ukraine, UK, Ireland and Germany.

Sara is a Dublin based producer.

She is currently Producer with Rough Magic Theatre Company, one of Irelands leading independent theatre companies.

She is also Consulting Producer with Once Off Productions, where she supports the development of their young producers and the presentation of projects.

From 2011 to 2021 she was Associate Producer with Landmark Productions.

She has worked across a vast range of productions spanning every possible context including festivals, venues of all sizes and even theatre for one.

Paddy Dillon is the co-founder and director of the Theatre Green Book, an initiative for sustainability in theatre that has transformed the sector and become recognised as a global standard for sustainability. He is known internationally as a leader and advocate for theatre sustainability, and has promoted theatre sustainability across the world, speaking at conferences from Bogota to Bergamo.

From 2015 to 2021 Paddy was trustee of the UK’s Theatres Trust, serving as deputy chair and interim chair. He currently chairs ITEAC, the ABTT’s international theatre conference, which he has transformed into a global initiative with events across East Asia, Europe and South America.

Paddy is also an award-winning theatre architect, responsible for the regeneration of the National Theatre, in London, alongside many other projects. Paddy is author of nine books, including a children’s history of architecture. He is an experienced broadcaster and journalist.

Louise Donlon is the Executive Director of the Lime Tree Theatre | Belltable in Limerick. She has extensive experience of the Irish arts sector, having worked in theatre production and venue management over the past 25 years, at Island Theatre Company, Druid, and Dunamaise Arts Centre. She is a founder member and current chair of the NASC venue network.  A former member of the Arts Council, Louise is currently a member of the Expert Advisory Committee of Culture Ireland.

Rugadh Alan i Braemar in Albain agus tá céim Mháistreachta aige sa Fhraincis ó Ollscoil Dhún Éideann agus Máistreacht i Riarachán Gnó (MBA) ón Open University.

Tar éis dó a bheith ag obair sa Fhrainc, san Eilvéis agus san Oileán Sgiathanach, áit ar fhoghlaim sé Gaeilge na hAlban agus é ag obair i monarcha cniotála, bhog Alan go hÉirinn i 1984 go post múinteoireachta i gColáiste na hOllscoile Gaillimh.

I 1989, tar éis dó cúrsa teilifíse a dhéanamh i dTrá Lí, fuair sé post sa Spidéal le Telegael, ar dtús mar eagarthóir físe agus mar thaifeadóir fuaime. Le Telegael tugadh freagracht ansin do Alan as ceannach agus stiúradh cláracha do pháistí mar ‘Bouli’, ‘Jabas’ agus ‘An Traeinín Beag’. Bhí sé ina eagarthóir físe freisin ar an tsraith phíolótach de ‘Ros na Rún’ do RTÉ. Ceapadh Alan ansin i 1995 ar an ngrúpa ard-bhainistíochta de chuid Teilifís na Gaeilge a sheol TnaG i mí Dheireadh Fómhair 1996. Bhí sé ina bhall de bhord bunaidh agus ina chisteoir ar Acadamh Scannán agus Teilifíse na hÉireann, IFTA (1997-2000), agus bhí ról lárnach aige i athsheoladh rathúil TnaG mar TG4 i 1999.

Ceapadh é mar Stiúrthóir Teilifíse TG4 sa bhliain 2000 agus ansin i mí na Nollag 2007 d’fhill Alan ar Albain chun cabhrú le BBC ALBA, an cainéal teilifíse Gáidhlige, a bhunú agus a sheoladh go rathúil, áit a raibh sé mar Cheannasaí na gClár ar feadh beagnach naoi mbliana.

I mí Dheireadh Fómhair 2016 tháinig Alan ar ais ag obair in Éirinn le tabhairt faoi ról an phríomhfheidhmeannaigh ag TG4 agus in 2019 toghadh é ina Chathaoirleach ar Fhéile na Meán Ceilteach. Bhí TG4 ar an 6ú cainéal is mó faire in Éirinn in 2019, an rangú is airde riamh ar an lucht féachana. Faoina cheannaireacht tá branda scannánaíochta Gaeilge an-rathúil forbartha ag TG4, Cine4, as ar eascair ainmniúchán Oscar don Fhadscannán Idirnáisiúnta is Fearr do ‘An Cailín Ciúin’ in 2023. Tá dul chun cinn mór á dhéanamh ag TG4 freisin mar sholáthraí do ábhar digiteach neamhlíneach agus meán sóisialta, ag díriú go háirithe ar lucht féachana níos óige.

In ainneoin stádas bunreachtúil a bheith aici, tá infheistíocht stát na hÉireann sna meáin seirbhíse poiblí ó na 1960idí i leith beagnach go hiomlán sna meáin Bhéarla. Tá TG4 ag maíomh go gcaithfidh rialtas na hÉireann i bhfad níos mó uaillmhian a léiriú do na meáin Ghaeilge agus maoiniú TG4 a chur ar aon dul le maoiniú S4C, an cainéal teilifíse Breatnaise, agus na stáisiúin teilifíse réigiúnacha sa Spáinn.

Born in Braemar, Scotland, Alan holds a Masters degree in French from the University of Edinburgh and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Open University.

After working in France, Switzerland and the Isle of Skye, where he learned Scottish Gaelic while working in a knitting factory, Alan moved to Ireland in 1984 to a teaching position at University College Galway.

In 1989, after doing a television course in Tralee, he got a job with Telegael in An Spidéal, initially as video editor and sound recordist. With Telegael Alan was then given responsibility for the acquisition and directing of children’s programmes including ‘Bouli’, ‘Jabas’ and ‘An Traeinín Beag’. He was also the video editor for the pilot series of ‘Ros na Rún’ for RTÉ. Alan was then appointed in 1995 to the senior management group of Teilifís na Gaeilge which launched TnaG in October 1996. He was a founding board member and treasurer of the Irish Film and Television Academy, IFTA (1997-2000), and played a central role in the successful relaunch of TnaG as TG4 in 1999.

He was appointed Director of Television for TG4 in 2000 and then in December 2007 Alan returned to Scotland to help set up and successfully launch BBC ALBA, the Scots Gaelic television channel, where he was Head of Content for almost nine years.

In October 2016 Alan came back to work in Ireland to take on the role of chief executive at TG4 and in 2019 he was elected Chairman of the Celtic Media Festival. TG4 was the 6th most watched channel in Ireland in 2019, the highest audience ranking ever. Under his leadership, TG4 has developed a very successful Irish language film brand, Cine4, which led to an Oscar nomination for Best International Feature Film for ‘An Cailín Ciúin’ in 2023. TG4 is also making much progress as a provider of non-linear and social media digital content, especially focusing on younger audiences.

Despite having constitutional status, Irish state investment in public service media since the 1960s has been almost entirely in English-language media. TG4 is arguing that the Irish Government must show much more ambition for Irish language media and bring TG4’s funding in line with the funding of S4C, the Welsh television channel, and the regional television stations in Spain.

Catríona Fallon has worked in the Irish arts sector for three decades in venue management, visual arts, festivals, and more latterly in sustainability and climate action. With Theatre Forum, she is the co-founder of the Green Arts Initiative in Ireland which has been responsible for the following projects: The Greening Venues Pilot Project 2020, the Greening Arts Centres Project 2021, and the Greener Touring Project 2022.  Catríona was Project Manager of a Creative Climate Action project,  CorcaDhuibhne Inbhuanaithe – A Creative Imagining, (2021-22) on the Dingle Peninsula and is committed to supporting community engagement on climate change as the Treasurer of Kerry Sustainable Energy Co-op and Secretary of the West Kerry Dairy Farmers’ Sustainable Energy Community.

Trudie is a working-class writer whose work explores the personal and political interplay between class, gender, and the body. Trudie has performed her poetry across Ireland and the UK and has published work in Poetry Ireland, Banshee, Poetry NI, Two Metre Review and The 32: An Anthology of Irish Working-Class Voices. Her work has also been broadcast on BBC Radio London. Trudie was selected for Poetry Ireland Versify Series in 2019. In 2022 she showcased her work To Love this Body at Poetry Ireland in and was also awarded a residency at the Centre Cultural Irlandais in Paris. The writing of her first collection of poetry is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland through Arts and Disability Ireland.

Robert Griffin lectures in the Department of Technology and Psychology in IADT, specialising in user experience design, online learning and immersive technologies. Previously Robert was Programme Chair for the BSc [Hons] Applied Psychology and MSc Cyberpsychology. As a lecturer, Robert has taught and supervised students studying topics including Creative Computing, UX, ICT, Virtual Reality and Artificial intelligence. His research interests include developing virtual environments, various aspects of human-computer interaction particularly in three dimensional spaces.

Shauna Harris (she/her) is a Dublin based biracial Irish actress and multidisciplinary performance artist. Shauna has grown up attending drama and stage schools and has worked across theatre, stage and screen projects. Most recently Shauna appeared in the award-winning Hot Brown Honey Production: Hive City Legacy Dublin Chapter at Dublin Fringe Festival 2022. Shauna is passionate about social justice and artistic work that shares a message, encourages connectivity and reflection within society and advocates for intersectional representation within creative spaces. As a soon to be graduate of UCD with a BSc in Politics, International Relations and Social Justice, Shauna uses her active engagement with social equality research to inform and inspire her creative work to give a voice to those who are often marginalised in society. Shauna believes that artwork has the power to reach diverse audiences and explain important complexed social justice issues in an easily accessible and expressive way.

Is Áisitheoir Ealaíona í Rachel Holsteadt atá fostaithe ag Ealain na Gaeltachta do na Gaeltachtaí i gCúige Mumhan. Is ar mhaithe le forbait na nEalaíon Dúchasach agus Comhaimseartha a cuireadh tús le hEalaín na Gaeltachta, comhpháirtíocht idir Údarás na Gaeltachta agus An Chomhairle Ealaíon. Cuireann Ealaín na Gaeltachta seirbhísí agus scéimeanna deontais ar fáil, a thacaíonn le forbairt eagraíochtaí ealaíona agus le healaíontóirí aonair.

Is cumadóir ceoil í ó leithinis Chorca Dhuibhne i gCiarraí Thiar. Tá ceol scríofa aici do cheoil uirlíse, guth agus ceol leictreonach agus sult bainte aici as comhoibrithe le healaíontóirí i reimsí ealaíne difriúla. Níl sí ag cumadh faoi láthair.

I 2005, bronnadh céim dochtúra uirthi i gcumadóireacht ceoil ó hOllscoil na mBanríona i mBéal Feiriste, áit gur oibrigh sí faoi stiúr an tOllamh Michael Alcorn ag an School of Music and Sonic Art.  Tá céim sa gceoil aici ó Ollscoil na Tríonóide, BÁC, áit go ndearna sí staidéar ar an gcumadóireacht ceoil le Kevin O’Connell & Donnacha Dennehy. D’fhreastal sí ar an Dartington International Summer School agus ar Ennis IMRO Composition Summer School (atá anois mar an Irish Composition Summer School).  Bhí sí mar chomhairleoir ceoil leis an gComhairle Ealaíon/Arts Council ó 2008-2013 chomh maith le bheith mar bhall de mbord leis an gCeoláras Náisiúnta.

Tá ceol cumtha agus scríofa aici don Irish Baroque Orchestra, an RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet, an Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra and Sinfonia Viva.  The saothair cumtha aici le béim ar an gceoil do cheoltóirí sa gceoil thraidisiunta do Ardee Baroque agus an Kerry International Chamber Music Festival, chomh maith le saothair do ‘s le páistí agus daoine óga agus coimisiúin faighte aici ó RTÉ, BBC Radio 3, Moving on Musicagus Comhairle Contae Lú (ó Scéim Chéatadán don Ealaín.) Tá saothair leictrafhuaime leithi léirithe sa Ghearmáin, sa Spáinn, i gCeanada, sna Stáit Aontaithe, i Mheicsiceo, sa Bhreatain & in Éirinn. Ba mhór an onóir di a bheith coimisiúnaithe ag RTÉ, in éindí le Kevin O’Connell & Ian Wilson chun ceathairéad téadach gearr a chumadh don gceiliúradh 70 bliain do bhreithlá Seamus Heaney. Ba mhór an onóir di chomh maith a bheith mar chuid de na ceiliúrthaí ceolmhara áitiúla sa Daingean leis an tionscnamh Fearaibh Fionntrá, míreanna do Lá Chaitlíona and Céiliúradh an Bhlascaod agus léirithe ag Ceolfhoireann nua-cheoil an Daingin.

Rachel Holstead is Ealaín na Gaeltachta’s Áisitheoir Ealaíona for the Gaeltacht in the Munster region. Ealaín na Gaeltachta Teo., promotes the development of the contemporary and traditional Arts in the Gaeltacht and is a joint venture between Údarás na Gaeltachta and the Arts Council. Ealaín na Gaeltachta provides services and grant schemes that support the development of arts organisations and individual artists.

Rachel Holstead is a composer from Dingle peninsula in West Kerry. She has written instrumental, vocal and electronic music and enjoyed collaborations with artists in many different artforms. She is not composing at present.

In 2005, she graduated with a PhD in composition from Queen’s University Belfast, where she worked under the guidance of Professor Michael Alcorn at the School of Music and Sonic Art. She holds a music degree from Trinity College, Dublin, where she studied composition with Kevin O’ Connell and Donnacha Dennehy. She has attended the Dartington International Summer School and the Ennis IMRO Composition Summer School (now the Irish Composition Summer School). She served as the Music Adviser to the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon from 2008-2013 and has served on the board of the National Concert Hall.

She has written music for the Irish Baroque Orchestra, the RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra and Sinfonia Viva. She has composed works that feature traditional Irish musicians for Ardee Baroque and the Kerry International Chamber Music Festival, written works for and with children and young people and has been commissioned by RTÉ, BBC Radio 3, Moving on Music and Louth County Council (through the Percent for Art Scheme). Her electroacoustic works have been performed in Germany, Spain, Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the UK and Ireland. She was honoured to be commissioned by RTÉ, together with Kevin O’Connell and Ian Wilson, to compose a short string quartet for Seamus Heaney’s 70th birthday celebrations. She has also been honoured to be part of local musical celebrations in her native Dingle with the Fearaibh Fionntrá project, pieces for Lá Chaitlíona and Céiliúradh an Bhlascaod and performances by the Dingle New Music Orchestra.

Michael R. Jackson is one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2022. His Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics Circle winning A Strange Loop (which had its 2019 world premiere at Playwrights Horizons in association with Page 73 Productions) received 11 Tony nominations in 2022, and was called “a full-on laparoscopy of the heart, soul, and loins” as well as a “gutsy, jubilantly anguished musical with infectious melodies” by Ben Brantley for The New York Times. In The New Yorker, Vinson Cunningham wrote, “To watch this show is to enter, by some urgent, bawdy magic, an ecstatic and infinitely more colorful version of the famous surreal lithograph by M. C. Escher: the hand that lifts from the page, becoming almost real, then draws another hand, which returns the favor.”.  In addition to A Strange Loop, he also wrote book, music and lyrics for White Girl in Danger. Awards and associations include: a New Professional Theatre Festival Award, a Jonathan Larson Grant, a Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, an ASCAP Foundation Harold Adamson Award, a Whiting Award, the Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting, an Outer Critics Circle Award, a Drama Desk Award, an Obie Award, an Antonyo Award, a Fred Ebb Award, a Windham-Campbell Prize, a Dramatist Guild Fellowship and he is an alum of Page 73’s Interstate 73 Writers Group.

Nicholas is currently the artist-in-residence at Theatre Royal Waterford, where he is currently producing a series of new works that investigate pathways to creating sustainable theatre. Nicholas trained at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He works as a self-employed theatre maker—devising, performing and producing new work with a diverse range of companies nationwide. Since 2012, he has collaborated with Waterford Spraoi, directing their bespoke street theatre productions and parades. In 2016, Nicholas began creating his own theatre and street theatre productions under the name ‘Curious State’, producing four Arts Council funded shows to date: “Morbid & Sons”, “The Foolhardy Three”, “Smiley & Veneer”, and Le pOpéra. He continues to devise and perform exciting new work with Monkeyshine Theatre Company. In 2016, he co-founded A Little Room – Theatre Development Centre, Waterford. He is a member of ISACS (Irish Street Art, Circus & Spectacle Network).

Is as Contae Mhaigh Eo do Mhuireann agus rinne sí staidéar ar dhrámaíocht ag an Royal Conservatoire of Scotland agus ar Ghàidhlig i Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. Tá sí mar Stiúrthóir Ealaíne nua le Fíbín, an comhlacht cónaitheach sa Taibhdhearc, an Amharclann Náisiúnta na Gaeilge.

Sular ghlac sí lena ról nua le Fíbín, bhunaigh sí agus bhí sí ina Stiúrthóir Ealaíne ar Theatre Gu Leòr, comhlacht amharclannaíochta atá lonnaithe i nGlaschú agus a bhí ar chamchuairteanna go rialta go náisiúnta agus go hidirnáisiúnta. I 2018, agus í mar Phríomhfheidhmeannach ar Theatre Gu Leòr, bhain Muireann agus a foireann maoiniú rialta amach ó Creative Scotland agus Bòrd na Gàidhlig araon. Bhain sí gradaim amach do shaothair raidió agus drámaíochta a d’fhorbair agus a léirigh sí le Theatre Gu Leòr agus roinnt gradam Gaelic Arts and Culture do léirithe a stiúraigh sí agus a ndearna sí coimisiniú orthu.

Tá seantaithí aici a bheith ag cothú agus ag forbairt ealaíontóirí chomh maith le bheith ag léiriú agus ag stiúradh léiriúchán ar stáitse go náisiúnta in Albain agus go hidirnáisiúnta chomh maith. Tá réimse leathan taithí aici a bheith ag obair ar chomhléiriúcháin agus i gcomhar le móreagraíochtaí eile le 10 mbliana anuas, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hAlban agus Amharclann na Mainistreach san áireamh.Tá sí ag tnúth go mór leis an spás agus drámaíocht na Gaeilge a fhorbairt agus a chothú sna blianta atá amach romhainn.

Muireann, originally from County Mayo, studied drama at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Gàidhlig at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and is now the new Artistic Director with Fíbín, theatre company in residence in An Taibhdhearc, National Irish Language Theatre.

Before taking up her new position with Fíbín, Muireann was the founder and Artistic Director of Theatre Gu Leòr, a theatre company based in Glasgow, which regularly toured nationally and internationally. In 2018 as CEO of Theatre Gu Leòr, Muireann and her team secured regular funding from both Creative Scotland and Bòrd na Gàidhlig, she went on to win awards for the work she developed and produced at Theatre Gu Leòr in radio and in theatre and several Gaelic Arts and Culture awards for productions which she commissioned and directed.

Muireann directed almost all of Theatre Gu Leòr’s productions and she comes with a wealth of experience in nurturing and developing artists working in Gaelic, directing, producing and touring productions nationally in Scotland, and internationally. She also has a wealth of experience in co-producing theatre and has collaborated with many major organisations in the past 10 years including The National Theatre of Scotland and the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. She is hoping to further develop An Taibhdhearc as a home and a creative space for all artists working in theatre in Irish, where their work can develop and flourish.

Sonya Kelly is a playwright and writer for film and television.

Her plays include The Wheelchair on My Face, a look back at a myopic childhood, (Scotsman Fringe First Award 2012, New York Times Critic’s Pick) and How to Keep an Alien (Best Production, Dublin Fringe).

Sonya’s work for the acclaimed Druid Theatre Company includes Furniture (Stewart Parker Award, ZEBBIE Award), Once Upon A Bridge (Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, Best New Play nominee) and The Last Return (Scotsman Fringe First Award 2022).

She is currently working on a number of TV projects with BBC, Treasure Entertainment and Avalon Television, including Smother for BBC and RTE and Series 4 of Breeders for Sky and FX.

Alan Lane is Artistic Director of Slung Low – a Pay What You Decide large scale theatre company based in Holbeck, South Leeds that specialises in outdoor shows with casts of hundreds citizen performers.

In 2017, Slung Low headlined Hull UK City of Culture 2017 with Flood by James Phillips: a 4 Part epic performed online, live and on the BBC. Over half a million people saw a part of Flood. It won a Royal Television Society Award Yorkshire for innovation in drama.

He was the Artistic Director for the National Commemoration of the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 2016: a ceremony with a people’s theatre company of 450.

From 2018-2022 we were managers of the oldest working men’s club in Britain, The Holbeck in South Leeds: they ran this venue as a Pay What You Decide creative and community space.

During the Covid crisis of 2020 the company was the ward lead for Holbeck and Beeston for social care referrals with responsibility for 7,500 homes. They ran a non-means tested self referral foodbank from March 2020 to June 2021: delivering 15,202 food parcels.

His book, The Club on the Edge of Town, chronicles this period and was listed as for Theatre Book Prize 2023.

In December 2022, the company created three new stages in two new homes in Holbeck; The Warehouse in Holbeck and Slung Low at Temple.

In 2023 he co-directed, with Kully Thiarai the Opening Ceremony of Leeds 2023 – The Awakening; a concert of words and music at Headingley Stadium that concluded with the popstar Corrine Bailey Rae arguing with a giant light-god about cultural value in front of an audience of thousands.

Martin was born in Munich, Germany. He trained at the Royal Ballet School in London, England. Martin’s professional dance career spanned over twenty years and included working in companies such as Rambert Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (USA), The National Ballet of Canada, Ballet BC (Canada), and Scottish Ballet. In 2003, he was the recipient of the U.K. Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Male Artist (modern).

Martin has also worked as guest répétiteur at the Croatian National Ballet for the re-staging of Ashley Page’s full-length ballet Alice, as Assistant Choreographer on Orfeo ed Eurydice at Scottish Opera and also as Assistant Choreographer on Krol Roger at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. His teaching credits include: Ballet BC (Canada), Charlotte Ballet (USA), Scottish Ballet, and Ballet Ireland.

Heather Maitland is an arts consultant, author, trainer and Associate of the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies at the University of Warwick, working extensively in Ireland and across Europe.

Her recent research projects include investigating the pay, conditions and financial security of artists in the Irish music industry and performing arts sector for First Music Contact and Theatre Forum, qualitative research into the impact of cultural engagement on active citizenship for Dublin City Council Culture Company, and benchmarking the diversity of the literature and publishing sector for Words Ireland.

She has successfully delivered capacity building projects to help three Irish arts organisations – a festival and two arts centres – understand their audiences better.  She is currently implementing two other capacity building projects involving a festival and an arts centre as well as developing a new annual quantitative and qualitative benchmarking study for Ireland’s theatres and arts centres with Theatre Forum and Indigo.  Sweden’s audience development agency launched Heather’s comprehensive online guide to developing audiences last year.

Ruth McGowan recently joined the Abbey Theatre in the new role of Literary and New Work Director. As a dramaturg, programmer and producer, Ruth has been building creative partnerships and championing new work across performance disciplines since 2009. Specialising in idea development and talent development, she has supported hundreds of artists to bring their work from the page to the stage. She has produced world premieres in festival fields, above pubs, and in historic theatres from Letterkenny to the Lower East Side.

Ruth McGowan was Artistic Director & CEO of Dublin Fringe Festival from 2018 – 2023, having joined the organisation as Programme Manager in 2015. Under her leadership, the festival commissioned an exciting body of contemporary performance work from a broad spectrum of artists, seeded major collaborations between Irish and international artists, introduced valuable mentorship initiatives for early career artists and devised vital targeted support schemes to remove barriers to access to the industry for artists and projects that defy the mainstream.

An advocate for joy, disruption and making space for culture in the city, she sits on Dublin City Council’s Arts & Culture Advisory Group. She holds a B.Ed with English from St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra and an M.Phil in Theatre and Performance from Trinity College Dublin.

Dr Ciara L. Murphy is Assistant Lecturer of Drama and Theatre at Dundalk Institute of Technology. She is the Lead Researcher on the Safe to Create project and a theatre critic for The Irish Times. Ciara has previously written for the Sunday Business Post and was the Regional Editor for Ireland of The Reviews Hub. Ciara has contributed to research on both the Waking the Feminists and Sounding the Feminists research reports and has recently published her first academic monograph: Performing Social Change on the Island of Ireland: From Republic to Pandemic with Routledge.

Oonagh is a director and creative leader. Having trained at the Donmar Warehouse, she has directed productions at The Gate, Soho Theatre, BAC, Lyric Belfast, and the Abbey Theatre.  Her creative life has brought her into collaboration with refugees, young adults with experience of the care system, former sex workers and survivors of torture and trafficking. In 2015 she co-founded Change of Address, a three-year arts integration programme for asylum seekers, and later, established a support group for LGBT asylum seekers, for which she won the inaugural Jo Cox Award for Young Female Changemaker in 2017. As Director of the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation, she recently led the launch of the London Ticket Bank, a cultural variation on a food bank, offering donate-what-you-can tickets for cultural events across London in response to the cost-of-living crisis.

Claire has 20 years’ experience in marketing, strategy and sales, having worked in a number of senior positions for global brand leaders Coca-Cola, Heineken and the National Trust in Ireland, Northern Ireland and London.

On her return to Belfast from London in 2013, she set up Blunt Fringe Productions, an independent theatre company specialising in professional musical theatre, with productions at Lyric Theatre, the MAC, Eastside Arts Festival and Open House Festival – all while working full-time in marketing. Five years ago, she merged her two passions, and moved into working full-time in the arts sector, initially at the MAC, Belfast and is currently as Head of Development and Marketing at the Lyric Theatre.

Niall Gomes O’Connell

Niall is the Operations Manager of Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire. Niall has a keen interest in sustainability and greening, and is currently completing a Masters in the Management of Sustainable Development. Niall is Pavilion’s main point of contact with the Greening Venues Pilot Project, and aims to connect Pavilion’s greening progress to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Niall has been a board member for Dun Laoghaire Rathdown’s Volunteer Centre since 2015. Niall is also a member of Comhlamh’s Trade Justice Group, a group that fosters just, inclusive societies through progressive grassroots activism in Ireland and internationally.

Mike began working professionally in theatre in 2005, having previously worked as a 35mm and digital projectionist. He has worked as Production Manager, technician and designer for various companies in Ireland. Mike is also a board member of the Association of Irish Stage Technicians where he currently acts as Treasurer. He has been a Technical Officer at University of Galway Drama Department since 2017 and is continually inspired by the creativity and dedication displayed by students there. Since 2021, the Department staff and students have been using the Theatre Green Book as a core text when planning productions at the O’Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance.

Adah Parris is a polymath, tech futurist, anti-disciplinary artist, and activist. She is the creator of Cyborg Shamanism™, a philosophy that combines ancient wisdom, living systems and digital technology to inspire innovation and encourage people to consider the kind of ancestors they want to be. Adah is also a sought-after speaker, recognised as a TED Talks Global Emerging Innovator.

Her unique perspective on innovation, transformation, and technology has led her to explore the impact of technology on identity, culture, economics, and ecosystems. Adah is particularly interested in how to adopt emerging technologies in a way that aligns with one’s values and promotes social justice. As the Chair of Mental Health First Aid England and the Advisory Group for the Centre for Cultural Value, she is a vocal advocate for mental health awareness and cultural diversity. Adah is also a Fellow of The Royal Society of the Arts.

Photo credit: Stuey B

Jane Parsons, Capital & Development Manager at Hawk’s Well Theatre, Sligo is involved in all aspects of development including managing capital works, accessibility and community engagement. As part of her role, Jane has coordinated the theatre’s involvement in the Greening Venues pilot project. Jane has worked closely with Catríona Fallon to audit the theatre’s carbon emissions and involved the entire organisation in developing an environmental policy and action plan that aims to embed environmental sustainability within the theatre’s business practice.

Katy is an award winning creative sector leader. Her work during Covid including the creation of After the Interval and leading the formation of the Insights Alliance, won her the prestigious ‘Outstanding Leadership’ Award in the Covid Response Awards 2021. As an experienced audience insight consultant, Katy has developed research and implementation programmes for cultural organisations across the UK and Europe. She co-authored the Arts Council England’s Joint Cultural Needs Assessment Guide and led the evaluation of Festival 2022 for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Prior to becoming a consultant, Katy held senior marketing roles in cultural organisations, holds a Music degree from Cambridge University and a 1st class MBA from Durham University.

Eva Scanlan is the Executive Director at Fishamble: The New Play Company. Current and recent producing work includes Irish and international touring productions of Heaven by Eugene O’Brien; Outrage and Embargo by Deirdre Kinahan; Duck Duck Goose by Caitríona Daly; Mustard and Maz and Bricks by Eva O’Connor; The Treaty, Haughey Gregory, and Inside the GPO by Colin Murphy; The Alternative by Michael Patrick and Oisín Kearney; On Blueberry Hill by Sebastian Barry; Major touring work includes Fishamble’s award-winning plays by Pat Kinevane King, Before, Silent, Underneath and Forgotten; The Humours of Bandon by Margaret McAuliffe; Tiny Plays for Ireland and America at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC and the Irish Arts Centre in New York; and Swing by Steve Blount, Peter Daly, Gavin Kostick and Janet Moran all on tour in Ireland, the UK, North America, and Australia.

Eva produces The 24 Hour Plays: Dublin at the Abbey Theatre in Ireland (2012-present), in association with the 24 Hour Play Company, New York as a fundraiser for Dublin Youth Theatre. She has worked on The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway and The 24 Hour Musicals at the Gramercy Theatre in New York. Previously, she was Producer of terraNOVA Collective in New York (2012-2015), where she produced Underland by Ally Collier; terraNOVA Rx: Four Plays in Rep at IRT Theater; the soloNOVA Arts Festival; the Groundworks New Play Series; Woman of Leisure and Panic (FringeNYC), P.S. Jones and the Frozen City by Rob Askins, among other projects. She has worked on events and conferences at the New School, the Park Avenue Armory, and Madison Square Garden.

Jose Solís is a Honduran cultural critic based in Madrid, Spain. His work appears in The New York Times, American Theatre, Salon, Backstage, TDF Stages, and The National Catholic Reporter, among others. In 2020 he was selected as the Floria Lasky Visiting Artist at Hunter College and created the BIPOC Critics Lab, a training program for cultural critics that has been hosted by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Stratford Festival, and the Public Theater. In 2021 he was named one of the Kennedy Center’s “Next 50.” He is also the creator and host of Token Theatre Friends.

Róisín Stack is a writer, theatre maker and arts manager based in the west of Ireland.

Recent theatre work includes Also for Roaring at Black Box Theatre, Galway, and Belltable, Limerick 2022, and No Woman is an Island (work in progress) for Dublin Theatre Festival Futures 2021.  She is co-founder of artist collective Theatre57 and a Fellow of the Clore Leadership Programme (Jerome Hynes Fellowship 2019/20).

She has worked in arts management and artist development for over a decade with companies such as Druid, Macnas, Clod Ensemble and Galway Theatre Festival. In addition she has assessed applications for Arts Council, Culture Ireland, Galway County Council and iPortunus (now Culture Moves). She also works as a coach across the sector, with clients from theatre, dance and YA.

Her writing has been published by various journals as well as The Irish Times.

www.roisinstack.com

Maeve is a director / writer for film and theatre whose work responds to issues of climate breakdown, and revisits the canon with a feminist lens. She makes work with her partner Alex Gill through their company Cracking Light Productions which is based in Ennistymon.