Tutor Profiles

Hilary is a graduate of the RADA, where she held the Queen Elizabeth Coronation Scholarship. She was Senior Lecturer in Acting at the Webber Douglas School of Dramatic Art from 1985 until 2006. She is the London Director of the Georgian International Theatre Festival, an Associate Director of the Tumanishvili State Theatre, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, and Senior Lecturer in Acting on Fordham University New York’s London program.

Sue was an actor for many years before completing a Masters Degree in Movement Studies at Central School of Speech and Drama. Sue has taught at various drama schools including Central School of Speech & Drama, RADA, ALRA, Gaiety School of Acting before becoming Head of Movement at The Lir Academy.

Sue’s work as a freelance Movement Director for over twenty years in theatre, film and opera includes many productions in The Abbey, National Theatre of Ireland, The Gate Theatre, The Project, Shakespeare’s Globe, Birmingham Rep, The Everyman, The Lyric, Druid, Fishamble, Landmark, Verdant and ANU among others. She won Best Movement Director at the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2019.

In recent years she has worked as Intimacy Coordinator on several films and TV series, including The Dry, Flora & Son, Normal People, Fate: The Winx Saga, Smother, Blackshore and Kin . Intimacy for Stage includes: Breaking (Fishamble), Good Sex (Dead Centre/DTF), Once Before I Go (Gate), Conversations After Sex (This is Pop Baby/DTF), Our New Girl (Gate), Asking For It (Landmark/Gaiety/Birmingham Rep.). Sue also runs workshops on Staging Intimacy and Consent-Based Practices for Actors, Directors and other Theatre Professionals.

Cathal trained as an actor in Scotland, worked in theatre in Scotland and Europe and on BBC radio for seven years.

Then he trained as a voice coach in London and has taught for over 25 years in drama schools in UK, USA and Ireland, as well as working in theatre television and film. Cathal is also a director, specialising in Beckett, as well as directing Shakespeare, Wilde and Yeats and a writer, with plays about Keats, Yeats, and adaptations of Wilde.

David is a theatre director and playwright. He is also the Artistic Director of Bewley’s Café Theatre - a position he holds alongside teaching Acting Technique at The Lir Academy. Most recently, he directed This Beautiful Village by Lisa Tierney-Keogh for the Abbey Theatre. He also co-wrote and co-directed CLASS with Iseult Golden, which played the Bush Theatre in London, won an Edinburgh Fringe First and a ZeBBie Award from the Writers Guild of Ireland for Best Theatre Script in 2018. It has toured Ireland and enjoyed sold out runs at the Abbey Theatre and the Galway International Arts Festival.

Other directing highlights include: These Halcyon Days by Deirdre Kinahan (Edinburgh Fringe First Winner/DTF), Beowulf: the Blockbuster by Bryan Burroughs (Edinburgh Fringe Stage Award, IAC New York, NY Times Critic’s Pick), Moment by Deirdre Kinahan (Bush Theatre, London), In The Next Room by Sarah Ruhl, Three Winters by Tena Štivičić and Brontë by Polly Teale (all at The Lir Academy), and the award-winning Tick my Box! (Inis Theatre) among others.

Paul Meade is a Writer, Director, Actor and Artistic Director of Gúna Nua Theatre. Paul trained at the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College, and later received an M.A. in Modern Drama from U.C.D.

With Gúna Nua he has directed: Pondling (Fringe First, Stewart Parker Award, Best Female Performer Dublin Fringe), The Goddess of Liberty (BBC/Stewart Parker Award), Little Gem (Best of Edinburgh Award, Stewart Parker Award, Best Female Performer Dublin Fringe), The Morning After The Life Before (Best Director 1st Irish Festival New York.), Appropriate (Lustrum Award), and most recently The 3.30 at Cheltenham.

Writing: Sham, Faith, Meltdown, Scenes From a Water Cooler (Best Production Dublin Fringe), Skin Deep (Stewart Parker Award), Thesis and Trousers. Also, Mushroom (Storytellers) Light Signals (Team) and Begotten Not Made (Jim McNaughton/Business to Arts Bursary and RTE radio.)

Vinny Murphy has worked as a Writer, Director, Actor and Composer for Film, Television and Theatre.

He teaches screen acting at The Lir Academy and brings with him experience in many different aspects of film making as well as his vast experience of working with screen actors.

He has acted in over 40 films and TV programs, he has directed nearly as many and has also written films including co-writing the international award-winning “Accelerator” which he also directed. He has composed music extensively for films including 2 feature films, so when he reminds an actor to “leave some room for the music” he’s not kidding.

Ciaran has been working in the film and theatre industry since 1998. In 2003 he graduated from the Theatre Studies programme at Inchicore College and later went on to train with the Irish Dramatic Combat Academy. Ciaran has trained extensively in armed and unarmed stage combat in Ireland and in the USA. He is among Ireland’s leading experts in theatrical violence and regularly works as a stage combat instructor, stunt performer, fight director, and actor.

Ciaran is a member of Stunt Register Ireland and has worked as a stunt performer on Vikings, Penny Dreadful, Into the Badlands, Red Rock, Reign, Jekyll & Hyde and the music video for Kodaline’s hit song All I Want, for which he also created the fight choreography.

Gavin Kostick has written over twenty plays for a wide range of companies, which have been produced in Dublin and have toured internationally. Gavin has provided dramaturgical support for dozens of theatrical productions throughout Ireland and he is also the Literary Manager for Fishamble: The New Play Company.

Judith Lyons is a choral director, soprano soloist and music teacher based in Dublin. She read music at Trinity College, Dublin and undertook further study at the Royal Conservatoire of Music, Birmingham. Her current roles include directing the award-winning upper voices choir, Dulciana Vocal Ensemble, singing as a Lay Vicar Choral in Christ Church Cathedral, singing and associate conducting at St. Ann’s Church, Dawson Street and assisting with the treble lines in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin where she began her career as a chorister. Judith has performed and toured widely with choirs and corporate ensembles such as Sing & Tonics, Peregryne, Chamber Choir Ireland, Anúna and New Dublin Voices. Recent and upcoming solo engagements include Bach’s Magnificat, Mass in B minor, Cantata BWV140 and St. John Passion, Mozart's Mass in C minor, Coronation Mass, 'Credo' Mass, Vespers and The Magic Flute, Fauré’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Sondheim’s Into the Woods and Vivaldi’s Gloria.

Michaela Wohlgemuth came to the Alexander Technique in 1993. After training in the Alexander Technique Institute Los Angeles and working with the performing community in LA, she moved to Ireland and developed there her busy teaching practice. She is training people one-to-one from all walks of life and particularly those in high performance like acting and music to improve performance with the Alexander Technique. She is one of the Co-founder of the Irish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers (ISATT) and has been training teachers since 2003. In 2006, she became the Assistant Director of Ireland’s only Alexander Teaching College in Galway, Ireland. In 2016 she joined the faculty at The Lir Academy of Dramatic Art Dublin.

Ross Scanlon trained at the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama where he was awarded the Michael McNamara Gold Medal of excellence in performance and at the Royal Academy of Music, London. His operatic roles have received critical acclaim making him one of the most sought after Tenors of his generation. Notable roles include Le Thérière L'Enfant et les sortlièges with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Barbican, London, Hot Biscuit Paul Bunyan for Welsh National Opera, Irus The Return of Ulysses & Male Chorus The Rape of Lucretia for Opera Collective Ireland, Ed A Belfast Opera for NI Opera, Bookkeeper The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny for OTC and Rough Magic, Dublin. Ross has been a regular soloist with the RTE Concert and Symphony Orchestras and has an extensive Oratorio and Concert resume. Having sung for many dignitaries around the world, he recently was engaged to perform for HRH, Prince of Wales, with The Ulster Orchestra, Belfast. Ross is singing tutor at The Lir Academy, Trinity College and is also a member of the Vocal Faculty at The American College, Dublin where he lectures on the Musical Theater Course. Alongside teaching he is an Examiner for theRoyal Irish Academy of Music.

Andy Crook trained at the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, Paris and has a degree in Drama from the University of Hull. He has worked as a teacher of physical theatre and acting for various schools and universities including Trinity College where he was Associate Co-ordinator and then Co-ordinator of the BA in Acting programme, UCC, Birmingham School of Acting, Rose Bruford College and the Accademia dell’Arte, Arrezzo.

He has directed shows for Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, Peacock Theatre, Dublin, Articulate Anatomy Theatre Company, Backstage Theatre, Longford and The Republic of Culture and The Corps Ensemble. He also has acted for various companies in Ireland, the UK and USA. He is a member of The Corps Ensemble, Dublin. He joined the Lir Academy in 2020 as an instructor in Movement and Physical Theatre. (P/T)

Thomas Conway is the new writing manager with the Gate Theatre, Dublin. He has taught drama at many third-level institutions, including Trinity College Dublin, University of Galway and The Lir: National Academy of Dramatic Art. During his time as literary manager with Druid he gave dramaturgical support to world premières by Tom Murphy, Enda Walsh, Stuart Carolan, Lucy Caldwell, Meadhbh McHugh and Nancy Harris and to revivals of plays by Eugene O’Neill, Martin McDonagh, Sean O’Casey, Tom Murphy, Shakespeare (adapted by Mark O’Rowe) and Samuel Beckett, among others. He also adapted Shakespeare’s Richard III.

He has edited The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Irish Plays (2012), bringing into print for the first time the work of Amy Conroy, Mark O’Halloran, Philip McMahon, Lynda Radley, Una McKevitt and Grace Dyas. He has edited two volumes of plays by Tom Murphy: DruidMurphy: Plays by Tom Murphy (2012) and The Mommo Plays (2014). Dramaturgy for independent theatre makers and choreographers includes work with Michael Keegan Dolan, Pan Pan Theatre Company, Una McKevitt, Dick Walsh, and Painted Bird—the latter an ongoing collaboration with director, Fiona McGeown, to investigate women’s experiences throughout 20th century Ireland. He has been a tutor at Drama League of Ireland’s Summer School and has given workshops to drama groups all over Ireland.

Karin McCully holds an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from The Yale School of Drama. She was the first full-time resident Dramaturg at the Abbey Theatre where she subsequently became Literary Manager. She has twenty years experience as a professional Dramaturg and lecturer in Theatre History and Dramaturgy having taught at Yale, UCLA, IADT, UCD and TCD.

Gavin Kostick has written over twenty plays for a wide range of companies, which have been produced in Dublin and have toured internationally. Gavin has provided dramaturgical support for dozens of theatrical productions throughout Ireland and he is also the Literary Manager for Fishamble: The New Play Company.

Graham Whybrow is Course Director of the MFA (Playwriting). He was Literary Manager of the Royal Court Theatre in London for twelve years (1994–2007), when it premiered more than 200 new plays and launched a new generation of over 50 playwrights.

Sinéad is resident Lighting Designer at The Lir Academy leading the Lighting Design module on the Masters in Stage Design. Sinéad works as a lighting designer for Theatre, Opera and dance throughout Ireland. She has received Irish Times Theatre Awards for Best Lighting three times between 2007 and 2010. Sinéad's recent lighting designs include Tartuffe & iGirl (Abbey Theatre), Bajazet, The Lighthouse & Least Like The Other (Irish National Opera) and In Middletown (Gate Theatre).

She has worked extensively for The Abbey Theatre, Corn Exchange and Irish National Opera, as well as for The Gate Theatre, Liz Roche Company and The Emergency Room. Sinéad is particularly interested in sustainable theatre making and has been involved in drafting The Lir's Sustainability Policy and Action Plan.

Thomas Conway is the new writing manager with the Gate Theatre, Dublin. He has taught drama at many third-level institutions, including Trinity College Dublin, University of Galway and The Lir: National Academy of Dramatic Art. During his time as literary manager with Druid he gave dramaturgical support to world premières by Tom Murphy, Enda Walsh, Stuart Carolan, Lucy Caldwell, Meadhbh McHugh and Nancy Harris and to revivals of plays by Eugene O’Neill, Martin McDonagh, Sean O’Casey, Tom Murphy, Shakespeare (adapted by Mark O’Rowe) and Samuel Beckett, among others. He also adapted Shakespeare’s Richard III.

He has edited The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Irish Plays (2012), bringing into print for the first time the work of Amy Conroy, Mark O’Halloran, Philip McMahon, Lynda Radley, Una McKevitt and Grace Dyas. He has edited two volumes of plays by Tom Murphy: DruidMurphy: Plays by Tom Murphy (2012) and The Mommo Plays (2014). Dramaturgy for independent theatre makers and choreographers includes work with Michael Keegan Dolan, Pan Pan Theatre Company, Una McKevitt, Dick Walsh, and Painted Bird—the latter an ongoing collaboration with director, Fiona McGeown, to investigate women’s experiences throughout 20th century Ireland. He has been a tutor at Drama League of Ireland’s Summer School and has given workshops to drama groups all over Ireland.

Karin McCully holds an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from The Yale School of Drama. She was the first full-time resident Dramaturg at the Abbey Theatre where she subsequently became Literary Manager. She has twenty years experience as a professional Dramaturg and lecturer in Theatre History and Dramaturgy having taught at Yale, UCLA, IADT, UCD and TCD.

Maree is the course director of the MFA Stage Design at the Lir. Alongside this role she maintains a busy and prolific freelance design practice. Maree is a regular creative collaborator with many of Ireland's leading companies and directors in theatre, dance, opera, and musicals. She has created worlds for performance on stages big and small across the country and internationally, in site-specific locations, immersive experiences and outdoor productions.

Maree has also worked extensively in television and film. She is the recipient of the Tanya Moiseiwitsch design award at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in 2024.

Clodagh Deegan is a Costume Designer and (former) Costume Supervisor who works across theatre, film and opera. Recent design work has included Costume Design for Spirits Unsurrendered, a contemporary opera performed in Kilmainham Gaol, directed by Aoife Spillane Hinks; Horse Ape Bird, a contemporary opera directed by Zoe Ni Riordain for Irish National Opera; Eist Liom, a filmed theatre piece, produced by One Two One Two in a co-production with The Abbey Theatre; and films Citizen Lane and Arracht, the latter earning her an IFTA nomination.

Clodagh has presented costume workshops to second-level students as part of the Cinemagic Festival for Young People in Ireland and Northern Ireland. She was a contributor to the Clothing in Lockdown project initiated by fashion academics Lori Smith and Jana Melkumova-Reynolds on rarelywearslipstick.com, and to Women in Clothes by Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits and Leanne Shapton. Clodagh has written for The Journal of Dress Historians, and has presented a paper ‘Extrapolating History’ to their Costume Drama Conference.

Sue was an actor for many years before completing a Masters Degree in Movement Studies at Central School of Speech and Drama. Sue has taught at various drama schools including Central School of Speech & Drama, RADA, ALRA, Gaiety School of Acting before becoming Head of Movement at The Lir Academy.

Sue’s work as a freelance Movement Director for over twenty years in theatre, film and opera includes many productions in The Abbey, National Theatre of Ireland, The Gate Theatre, The Project, Shakespeare’s Globe, Birmingham Rep, The Everyman, The Lyric, Druid, Fishamble, Landmark, Verdant and ANU among others. She won Best Movement Director at the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2019.

In recent years she has worked as Intimacy Coordinator on several films and TV series, including The Dry, Flora & Son, Normal People, Fate: The Winx Saga, Smother, Blackshore and Kin . Intimacy for Stage includes: Breaking (Fishamble), Good Sex (Dead Centre/DTF), Once Before I Go (Gate), Conversations After Sex (This is Pop Baby/DTF), Our New Girl (Gate), Asking For It (Landmark/Gaiety/Birmingham Rep.). Sue also runs workshops on Staging Intimacy and Consent-Based Practices for Actors, Directors and other Theatre Professionals.

Thomas Conway is the new writing manager with the Gate Theatre, Dublin. He has taught drama at many third-level institutions, including Trinity College Dublin, University of Galway and The Lir: National Academy of Dramatic Art. During his time as literary manager with Druid he gave dramaturgical support to world premières by Tom Murphy, Enda Walsh, Stuart Carolan, Lucy Caldwell, Meadhbh McHugh and Nancy Harris and to revivals of plays by Eugene O’Neill, Martin McDonagh, Sean O’Casey, Tom Murphy, Shakespeare (adapted by Mark O’Rowe) and Samuel Beckett, among others. He also adapted Shakespeare’s Richard III.

He has edited The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Irish Plays (2012), bringing into print for the first time the work of Amy Conroy, Mark O’Halloran, Philip McMahon, Lynda Radley, Una McKevitt and Grace Dyas. He has edited two volumes of plays by Tom Murphy: DruidMurphy: Plays by Tom Murphy (2012) and The Mommo Plays (2014). Dramaturgy for independent theatre makers and choreographers includes work with Michael Keegan Dolan, Pan Pan Theatre Company, Una McKevitt, Dick Walsh, and Painted Bird—the latter an ongoing collaboration with director, Fiona McGeown, to investigate women’s experiences throughout 20th century Ireland. He has been a tutor at Drama League of Ireland’s Summer School and has given workshops to drama groups all over Ireland.

Karin McCully holds an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from The Yale School of Drama. She was the first full-time resident Dramaturg at the Abbey Theatre where she subsequently became Literary Manager. She has twenty years experience as a professional Dramaturg and lecturer in Theatre History and Dramaturgy having taught at Yale, UCLA, IADT, UCD and TCD.

Annabelle is an award-winning Irish freelance theatre director, artistic director of Hatch Theatre
Company and Head of MFA in Theatre Directing, at The Lir, National Academy of Dramatic Arts,
Ireland. She has been working as a theatre director for 28 years and in recent years has
established herself as one of Ireland’s leading theatre directors.
In a freelance capacity, she has directed work for The Abbey, The Hampstead Theatre (London),
Druid, The Gate, Landmark Productions, The Gaiety, Dublin Theatre Festival and The Lyric
Theatre, Belfast among others.

Plays include Ravens (Hampstead Theatre, London), Our New Girl, Look Back in Anger (The Gate, Dublin), Evening Train (The Everyman, Cork), Asking For It (Landmark Productions, The Everyman and The Abbey), Andrew Synnott’s opera Dubliners (Opera Theatre Company and Wexford Festival Opera), Crestfall, Helen and I (Druid), The Wake, Hedda Gabler, Major Barbara, The House (Irish Times Irish Theatre Award for Best Director), Pygmalion, A Number, Blue/Orange (Abbey Theatre), Dancing at Lughnasa (Lyric Theatre, Belfast and Dublin Theatre Festival), Contractions, The Sit (Bewley’s Café Theatre), The Vortex (Gate Theatre, Dublin). For Hatch Theatre Company plays include The Talk Of The Town (in a co-production with Landmark Productions and Dublin Theatre Festival), Love and Money, Further Than The Furthest Thing, Cruel and Tender, Pyrenees, Blood and The Country (Project Arts Centre) and Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse adapted by Marina Carr (Hatch, The Everyman and Cork Midsummer Festival) and Girl on an Altar by Marina Carr for the Abbey Theatre.

As Artistic Director of ANU Productions, Louise’s work includes: Vardo (Dublin Theatre Festival), Angel Meadow (Nominated for Best Director Award, UK National Theatre Awards), Thirteen (Winner of the Judges Special Award, Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards), Living the Lockout: Dublin Tenement Experience, The Boys of Foley Street (Dublin Theatre Festival, Dublin City Council Public Art Commission, Winner Best Theatrical Production of the Year Award ERICS, Nominated for two Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards including Best Director Award), Laundry (Dublin Theatre Festival 2011, Winner of Best Production Award, Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards, Nominated for Best Director Award Irish Times Theatre Awards), World’s End Lane (Dublin Theatre Festival 2011, Dublin Fringe 2010, Winner Best Off-site Production Award, Nominated Best Production Award, Irish Times Theatre Awards), Fingal Ronan (Robert Wilson Watermill Center New York), Memory Deleted (Winner Best Production Award), Basin (Dublin Fringe Festival 2009, Winner Best Supporting Actress Award Irish Times Theatre Awards) and Down The Valley (winner Best Production Award).

Since 2010, Louise is Associate Director with Prime Cut Productions in Belfast. She was individually nominated for the Special Judges Award at the Irish Times Theatre Awards for “For continuing to present challenging theatre in unusual locations that illuminates darker, often ignored parts of society and makes her audience question what theatre can be.”

Des has worked as a production manager in Irish theatre for over twenty years. During this time Des has had the opportunity to work on shows of all sizes from tiny studio performances to West End transfers to festival management and everything in between, collaborating with companies including Fishamble, Cois Ceim, the Corn Exchange and the Abbey Theatre to name but a few.

Aisling has worked in Theatre for 27 years as a stage manager, production manager and technical director amongst other roles.

Aisling has production managed for THISISPOPBABY and Landmark Productions as well as The Abbey Theatre and worked at Inchicore CFE teaching Crewing and Working in the Performing Arts Industry.

Aisling was the Technical Director of the Abbey Theatre and member of the Senior Management Team. She has also worked as Head of Production and a Production Manager, CSM and DSM for the Abbey Theatre. She had been with the Abbey for nearly 12 years.

Aisling has a Diploma in Stagecraft Production from Inchicore VEC, she was a board member of the Association of Irish Stage Technicians, and is committed to the promotion of theatre specific training and creating best practice within the sector. She has directed an adaptation of Dawn Kings’ radio play ‘My One and Only’ starring Paddy Joe Malpas for Theatre Upstairs. She completed a BA in Management Practice from NCIRL in 2019.

Ivan has been working as a composer and sound designer in theatre for over twenty years. Working with most major theatre companies in the country, Ivan has been Head of the Sound Department at The Lir Academy for over ten years. He also runs courses for the Fringe Festival and the AIST.

Ivan has a background in live music having played in many bands and released many records over the last 25 years. He also has experience in nearly every field of audio having worked in TV and film as location recordist, boom op, Foley artist, post-production sound and has produced lots of material for radio, podcasting and beyond.

Jason obtained an MA in visual art from IADT Dun Laoghaire in 2005 and has worked extensively as a scenic artist in Ireland since 2006.

In tandem with his work as a scenic artist, Jason has worked freelance as a specialist painter, painting murals and bespoke paint effects on cruise ships and for the hospitality industry worldwide.

As part of the SMTT course, Jason is responsible for guiding the student Scenic Head of Department through the process of preparing and completing the scenic elements of the sets for all The Lir’s in house productions, as well as teaching the fundamental skills necessary to become a competent and professional scenic artist.

Jason Coogans career in set construction began in Northern Ireland with Big Telly Theatre company when he worked constructing underwater sets, drawing on his experience as a commercial diver. He has since worked in set construction and as a touring stage carpenter in Ireland China, Serbia, Africa, the UK and Europe for seventeen years. During this time, he has worked extensively in theatre, dance, opera, television and installations. He has toured with Fishamble, Riverdance, Barabbas, hot for theatre, Rough Magic and the Abbey Theatre as well as many others. Jason joined the Lir in 2020 as the Construction & Technical Stage Manager. (Bachelor in Stage Management & Technical Theatre) (F/T)

Blue Hanley has been working in theatre and performance since 2010. She began working in subtitling for theatre before moving into lighting. Her design work includes The Abbey, Asylum Productions, Big Telly NI, and An Taibhdhearc; and work as a technician for axis, Druid, The Gate, and the Town Hall Theatre Galway.

Blue studied Stage Design (Lighting) MFA, The Lir 2018-2019; Translation Studies MA, DCU 2020-2021; and her recent research focuses on accessibility in theatre.

Clodagh Deegan is a Costume Designer and (former) Costume Supervisor who works across theatre, film and opera. Recent design work has included Costume Design for Spirits Unsurrendered, a contemporary opera performed in Kilmainham Gaol, directed by Aoife Spillane Hinks; Horse Ape Bird, a contemporary opera directed by Zoe Ni Riordain for Irish National Opera; Eist Liom, a filmed theatre piece, produced by One Two One Two in a co-production with The Abbey Theatre; and films Citizen Lane and Arracht, the latter earning her an IFTA nomination.

Clodagh has presented costume workshops to second-level students as part of the Cinemagic Festival for Young People in Ireland and Northern Ireland. She was a contributor to the Clothing in Lockdown project initiated by fashion academics Lori Smith and Jana Melkumova-Reynolds on rarelywearslipstick.com, and to Women in Clothes by Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits and Leanne Shapton. Clodagh has written for The Journal of Dress Historians, and has presented a paper ‘Extrapolating History’ to their Costume Drama Conference.

Ed has worked as prop maker, sculptor, set builder and large-scale puppet maker in film, television, theatre and street theatre for the last 15 years. He holds a diploma in sculpture and an honours degree in Modelmaking, Design and Digital Effects for Film and Television.

In his career he’s worked on Game of Thrones and the Pope’s exorcist in film. In theatre Ed has worked for the Abbey Theatre and The Gaiety among others and has also built large scale puppets for Macnas Street Theatre and St.Patrick's Festival.

Now as the Head of Prop Making for the Lir Academy, Ed is responsible for teaching prop making to the SMTT students as well as guiding the students through making high end theatre props for The Lir Academy’s many yearly plays.

Sue was an actor for many years before completing a Masters Degree in Movement Studies at Central School of Speech and Drama. Sue has taught at various drama schools including Central School of Speech & Drama, RADA, ALRA, Gaiety School of Acting before becoming Head of Movement at The Lir Academy.

Sue’s work as a freelance Movement Director for over twenty years in theatre, film and opera includes many productions in The Abbey, National Theatre of Ireland, The Gate Theatre, The Project, Shakespeare’s Globe, Birmingham Rep, The Everyman, The Lyric, Druid, Fishamble, Landmark, Verdant and ANU among others. She won Best Movement Director at the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2019.

In recent years she has worked as Intimacy Coordinator on several films and TV series, including The Dry, Flora & Son, Normal People, Fate: The Winx Saga, Smother, Blackshore and Kin . Intimacy for Stage includes: Breaking (Fishamble), Good Sex (Dead Centre/DTF), Once Before I Go (Gate), Conversations After Sex (This is Pop Baby/DTF), Our New Girl (Gate), Asking For It (Landmark/Gaiety/Birmingham Rep.). Sue also runs workshops on Staging Intimacy and Consent-Based Practices for Actors, Directors and other Theatre Professionals.

David is a theatre director and playwright. He is also the Artistic Director of Bewley’s Café Theatre - a position he holds alongside teaching Acting Technique at The Lir Academy. Most recently, he directed This Beautiful Village by Lisa Tierney-Keogh for the Abbey Theatre. He also co-wrote and co-directed CLASS with Iseult Golden, which played the Bush Theatre in London, won an Edinburgh Fringe First and a ZeBBie Award from the Writers Guild of Ireland for Best Theatre Script in 2018. It has toured Ireland and enjoyed sold out runs at the Abbey Theatre and the Galway International Arts Festival.

Other directing highlights include: These Halcyon Days by Deirdre Kinahan (Edinburgh Fringe First Winner/DTF), Beowulf: the Blockbuster by Bryan Burroughs (Edinburgh Fringe Stage Award, IAC New York, NY Times Critic’s Pick), Moment by Deirdre Kinahan (Bush Theatre, London), In The Next Room by Sarah Ruhl, Three Winters by Tena Štivičić and Brontë by Polly Teale (all at The Lir Academy), and the award-winning Tick my Box! (Inis Theatre) among others.

Paul Meade is a Writer, Director, Actor and Artistic Director of Gúna Nua Theatre. Paul trained at the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College, and later received an M.A. in Modern Drama from U.C.D.

With Gúna Nua he has directed: Pondling (Fringe First, Stewart Parker Award, Best Female Performer Dublin Fringe), The Goddess of Liberty (BBC/Stewart Parker Award), Little Gem (Best of Edinburgh Award, Stewart Parker Award, Best Female Performer Dublin Fringe), The Morning After The Life Before (Best Director 1st Irish Festival New York.), Appropriate (Lustrum Award), and most recently The 3.30 at Cheltenham.

Writing: Sham, Faith, Meltdown, Scenes From a Water Cooler (Best Production Dublin Fringe), Skin Deep (Stewart Parker Award), Thesis and Trousers. Also, Mushroom (Storytellers) Light Signals (Team) and Begotten Not Made (Jim McNaughton/Business to Arts Bursary and RTE radio.)

Vinny Murphy has worked as a Writer, Director, Actor and Composer for Film, Television and Theatre.

He teaches screen acting at The Lir Academy and brings with him experience in many different aspects of film making as well as his vast experience of working with screen actors.

He has acted in over 40 films and TV programs, he has directed nearly as many and has also written films including co-writing the international award-winning “Accelerator” which he also directed. He has composed music extensively for films including 2 feature films, so when he reminds an actor to “leave some room for the music” he’s not kidding.

David is originally from Australia and moved to Ireland in 2004. He has an uncompromising passion for the professional development of emerging artists and the highest quality of actor training. He has developed his own technical practice, has self-designed and directed actor training programs including The Applied Art of Acting, and written three textbooks on acting, theatre, and film practice.

David also founded Company D Theatre, specifically designed to provide opportunities and theatrical education for emerging actors. He has written, directed and produced many stage plays and has self-published thirteen complete plays. He continues to act professionally under the name David Michael Scott.

Iseult is a writer, actor and director based in Dublin, Ireland. Directing work includes When Rachel met Fiona by Colette Cullen (New Theatre) Next Please by Aisling O’Mara, CLASS by Iseult Golden and David Horan, Breathless by John McKenna (Orion/Danu), Connected by Will Irvine and Karl Quinn (Fringe/Project Arts Centre), Payback by Maria McDermottroe and Marion O’Dwyer (Show in a Bag/Fishamble), Mangan’s Last Gasp by Gerard Lee and Buridan’s Ass by SR Plant (Bewley’s Café Theatre).

As an actor, Iseult has toured nationally and internationally. She has worked with companies including Barabbas, Macnas, Blue Raincoat and Storytellers Theatre Company. She was co-artistic director of Inis Theatre, co-creating and performing in all of their shows: The World's Wife, Lady Susan, To Kill a Dead Man and the award-winning Tick My Box!

Writing work includes CLASS (DFT and Abbey productions 2017/18, and London and Edinburgh 2018/19) Belonging to Laura (a screen adaptation of Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde - for Accomplice Television/TV3 - IFTA Nomination 2009) and The Importance of Being Whatever (IFTA Winner 2012) all above in collaboration with co-writer, David Horan. Solo writing work includes Fireworks, a one-act play for Tall Tales Theatre Company (published as part of the collection TXTs) and for screen, The Roy Rap as part of the animated series, Little Roy (Jam Media/CBBC) as well as some episodes for Fair City (RTE). Work in development includes Interventions (Pavilion Patron Donation Award), Faithless and The Virginity Project. She is currently under commission for the Abbey Theatre.

Iseult teaches at the Lir National Academy, Ireland and also works regularly with writers, supporting their work as a mentor and dramaturg.

Maisie is a freelance theatre director & Artistic Director of MIRARI Productions. Recent work includes ‘Our Island’ by Barry McStay for Tiger Dublin Fringe Festival (nominated for 5 Fringe Judge’s Awards including Best Production), ‘Playcation’ a series of readings of contemporary European plays in Project Arts Centre, June and July 2015 and ‘In Dog Years I’m Dead’ by Kate Heffernan winner of 2014 Stewart Parker Trust Award. MIRARI Productions were Artists in Residence in Dunamaise Arts Centre, Portlaoise 2013 -14, creating community Radio Drama ‘Hometruths’ for live broadcast on Midlands 103fm. Maisie was Resident Assistant Director in the Abbey Theatre 2013-2014

As Artistic Director of ANU Productions, her work includes: Last Words and PALS (National Museum of Ireland), Road To The Rising (RTE), Beautiful Dreamers (Limerick City of Culture), Vardo (Dublin Theatre Festival), Angel Meadow (Winner of two Awards at Manchester Theatre Awards including Best Production and Best Ensemble / HOME Manchester), Thirteen (Winner of the Judges Special Award, Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards), Dublin Tenement Experience, The Boys of Foley Street (Dublin Theatre Festival, Dublin City Council Public Art Commission, Winner Best Theatrical Production of the Year Award ERICS, Nominated for two Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards including Best Director Award), Laundry (Dublin Theatre Festival 2011, Winner of Best Production Award, Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards, Nominated for Best Director Award Irish Times Theatre Awards), World’s End Lane (Dublin Theatre Festival 2011, Dublin Fringe 2010, Winner Best Off-site Production Award, Nominated Best Production Award, Irish Times Theatre Awards), Fingal Ronan (Robert Wilson Watermill Center New York), Memory Deleted (Winner Best Production Award) and Basin (Dublin Fringe Festival 2009).

At The Lir Academy Louise has devised and directed Given the Day, Coop and The Sin Eaters.

Ross Scanlon trained at the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama where he was awarded the Michael McNamara Gold Medal of excellence in performance and at the Royal Academy of Music, London. His operatic roles have received critical acclaim making him one of the most sought after Tenors of his generation. Notable roles include Le Thérière L'Enfant et les sortlièges with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Barbican, London, Hot Biscuit Paul Bunyan for Welsh National Opera, Irus The Return of Ulysses & Male Chorus The Rape of Lucretia for Opera Collective Ireland, Ed A Belfast Opera for NI Opera, Bookkeeper The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny for OTC and Rough Magic, Dublin. Ross has been a regular soloist with the RTE Concert and Symphony Orchestras and has an extensive Oratorio and Concert resume. Having sung for many dignitaries around the world, he recently was engaged to perform for HRH, Prince of Wales, with The Ulster Orchestra, Belfast. Ross is singing tutor at The Lir Academy, Trinity College and is also a member of the Vocal Faculty at The American College, Dublin where he lectures on the Musical Theater Course. Alongside teaching he is an Examiner for theRoyal Irish Academy of Music.

Andy Crook trained at the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, Paris and has a degree in Drama from the University of Hull. He has worked as a teacher of physical theatre and acting for various schools and universities including Trinity College where he was Associate Co-ordinator and then Co-ordinator of the BA in Acting programme, UCC, Birmingham School of Acting, Rose Bruford College and the Accademia dell’Arte, Arrezzo.

He has directed shows for Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, Peacock Theatre, Dublin, Articulate Anatomy Theatre Company, Backstage Theatre, Longford and The Republic of Culture and The Corps Ensemble. He also has acted for various companies in Ireland, the UK and USA. He is a member of The Corps Ensemble, Dublin. He joined the Lir Academy in 2020 as an instructor in Movement and Physical Theatre. (P/T)

An Obie award-winning producer, he has worked with companies such as ANU Productions, Collapsing Horse Theatre, THISISPOPBABY and Dead Centre, producing work performed in venues across Ireland, and some of the most globally important festivals and theatres including Manchester International Festival, Brisbane Arts Festival, the Young Vic, and the Schaubuhne in Berlin.

As a curator and programmer, he ran Ireland’s oldest and largest comedy arts festival, The Kilkenny Cat Laughs, for five years, as well as the theatre stage at Electric Picnic for the last six years for Dublin Theatre Festival. He curated the Pitchonomics strand at Kilkenomics (Ireland’s first comedy and economics festival), and programmed and hosted Ireland’s first conference on Massive Open Online Universities (MOOCs) for the Higher Education Authority of Ireland as part of the UA Award Summit (of which he was Summit Director of for four years).

Matt is currently chair of the board of directors for Project Arts Centre, Dublin and was on the board of directors of Macnas from 2020 until 2023. He is also a qualified career coach working with arts practitioners around Ireland and the UK.

In June 2024, Cian set up his own production, touring and consultancy company COBA: Cian O’Brien Arts. Previous to that, Cian was Artistic Director of Project Arts Centre, Ireland's first arts centre from 2011-2024. Prior to this, he was Producer/Artist Development with Rough Magic Theatre Company and has worked as a freelance producer with many of Dublin’s independent theatre and dance companies. He is a former Alternative Miss Ireland (2011). He is Chairperson of Baboró International Arts Festival for Children, Dead Centre Theatre and former Deputy Chairperson of the National Campaign for the Arts Steering Committee (2016-2022). Cian is a member of the Comité Strategique of the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris.

Photo by Ste Murray.

Claire is a Producer and Arts Manager. She has worked in a wide variety of managerial and production roles in the arts sector over the last 15 years and is currently the Creative Producer for Paul Curley and Julie Sharkey. Recent outings include Polar Bear & Penguin by Paul Culrey and John Currivan at Sydney Opera House and An Ant Called Amy by Julie Sharkey at Imaginate International Children's Festival.

Claire spent five years as General Manager & Producer with THISISPOPBABY), working across a variety of dynamic projects and productions including producing Mark O'Halloran's award-nominated play Conversations After Sex (Dublin Theatre Festival 2021). Prior to this, she was General Manager & Producer at Project Arts Centre (2013-2017). In this role, she also worked closely with Project Artists including Brokentalkers, Junk Ensemble, Louise White, and THEATREclub. She was the producer for Dublin Oldschool by Emmet Kirwan (Dublin and Edinburgh), I'm Your Man by Philip McMahon, and Executive Producer of the Bram Stoker Festival (2015-2016). She was General Manager at the Irish Theatre Institute (2009-2013), Company Manager with Rough Magic, and has also worked with Playgroup, Making Strange and Opera Ireland.

Claire holds a BA in Arts and an MA in Drama & Theatre Studies from UCD and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business & Management, from the London School of Economics.

Emer McGowan has over 30 years of experience working in the arts sector. As the Director of Draíocht in Blanchardstown, she has extensive experience in: policy development; multi-disciplinary programming; leadership/operational management of a large venue; financial and staff management; positioning both nationally and internationally; and best practice across a number of artistic and management areas.

She brings significant experience of:

• Partnership development/stakeholder involvement
• Continuous development of a suite of artist supports and high-quality engagement projects across all disciplines
• Theatre producing/touring locally and nationally
• International experience

Loughlin Deegan was the founding Director of The Lir, National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College, where he led on the opening and development of the Academy for its first twelve years from 2011 to 2023.

Loughlin completed a five-year term as a member of The Arts Council/An
Chomhairle Ealaíon in 2022, where he also served as Chair of the Policy &
Strategy Committee. He has sat on the Board of numerous arts organisations
including Project Arts Centre, Irish Theatre Institute and as Chair of Theatre
Forum.

From 2007 – 2011, Loughlin was Artistic Director of Dublin Theatre Festival, one
of the oldest dedicated theatre festivals in Europe. Loughlin was Executive
Producer of Rough Magic Theatre Company from 2003-2006. He was previously
Literary Manager with Rough Magic when his responsibilities included developing
the work of commissioned writers and launching the SEEDS project, a structured
development initiative for emerging playwrights and theatre artists.

For the Irish Theatre Institute, Loughlin edited the first two editions of the Irish
Theatre Handbook, a comprehensive guide to drama and dance in Ireland, North
and South and compiled and edited the launch phase of the Irish Playography
Database (www.irishplayography.com), a comprehensive, on-line searchable
database of all new Irish plays produced professionally between 1904 and the
present.

Loughlin was awarded the Judges’ Special Award at the 2022 Irish Times Theatre
Awards for his multifaceted contribution to Irish theatre, most recently as
founding director, since 2011, of The Lir Academy.
Playwriting credits include The Stomping Ground (1997) and The Queen and
Peacock (2000).

Niamh has been Director of Irish Theatre Institute since April 2022. Niamh has over 30 years professional experience in the arts sector, she has worked with many leading organisations including: Poetry Ireland and Mermaid County Wicklow Arts Centre as Director, Project Arts Centre as Executive Producer, and in The Gallery of Photography, Black Church Print Studio (an artists’ resource organisation for Fine Art Print), and Arthouse Multimedia Centre. A passionate advocate for the sector, Niamh served on the Board of Dublin Fringe Festival for eight years and has served on many boards over the past years, including: CoisCéim Dance Theatre; Theatre Forum Ireland; Junk Ensemble; and The National Campaign for the Arts.

Photo by Ste Murray.

Tilly is a Dublin-based independent producer working across theatre, dance, film and multidisciplinary performance. Her work playfully traverses form and genre spanning a diverse array of subjects and performance modes. What unites them all is a desire to connect artists and audiences through intimate moments of storytelling and raucous stage experiences.

Tilly is producer for Dead Centre, a Dublin-based theatre company presenting formally innovative theatre works and touring internationally. She also creates new works as an independent producer with a slate of artists including: Murmuration, a collective of theatre artists based in Dublin; dance artists Robyn Byrne and Rachel Ní Bhraonáin; writer and performer Emer Heatley; and director Julia Head. She is part of the field:arts cohort.
Prior to returning to Ireland in 2020, Tilly worked at Headlong, where she was Assistant Producer across the company’s stage productions and short films, and toured across the UK’s main regional venues. Other companies she has worked with include Dublin Dance Festival, Landmark Productions, Headlong, TED Conferences, New York Live Arts, Live Collision International Festival, Amanda Coogan, and Dublin Theatre of the Deaf.

Photo by Donal Talbot.

Tom Lawlor is a consultant linking audiences and brands with Ireland's leading cultural innovators, events, arts organisations and festivals. Since 2007, he has worked in marketing, sponsorship, audience development and programming, connecting people with memorable cultural experiences and steering brands to meaningful engagements with those audiences. He is co-director of Bram Stoker Festival and has worked with Body & Soul Festival, The Trailblazery, Dublin International Film Festival, thisispopbaby, Break Out Pictures, Waterways Ireland, Penguin Live Events, The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Kilkenny Cat Laughs, Dublin City Council and Fáilte Ireland. As a Sponsorship Lead, Tom has brokered and managed multiple arts and event sponsorships, working on the side of both right holders and brands. He has sat on the Board of Directors of GAZE international LGBT Film Festival and the ethical clothing company Re-Dress.

Photo by Allen Kiely.

Anne Clarke is the founder of Landmark Productions, one of Ireland’s leading theatre producers, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024.

In that time, she has produced 46 plays, three operas and a musical – 33 of which were world premieres. The company’s work has been seen on major stages overseas: at the Barbican, National Theatre and ROH in London; at the Edinburgh International Festival; at St Ann’s Warehouse and BAM, New York; as well as in the West End and on Broadway.

She is a member of the Board of The Lir Academy. She received the Special Tribute Award in The Irish Times Theatre Awards for 2015, in recognition of her work as ‘a producer of world-class theatre in the independent sector in Ireland’.

www.landmarkproductions.ie.

Cathal trained as an actor in Scotland, worked in theatre in Scotland and Europe and on BBC radio for seven years.

Then he trained as a voice coach in London and has taught for over 25 years in drama schools in UK, USA and Ireland, as well as working in theatre television and film. Cathal is also a director, specialising in Beckett, as well as directing Shakespeare, Wilde and Yeats and a writer, with plays about Keats, Yeats, and adaptations of Wilde.

Bryan is an actor, director, movement director and more recently “writer” having penned and performed the award winning Beowulf : The Blockbuster earning Bryan a STAGE award for acting excellence at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival. Other notable performances include Barabbas’ Johnny Patterson : The Singing Irish Clown for which he received the Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actor and “B” in Company SJ’s production of Beckett’s “Act Without Words II ” which toured most recently to The Barbican in London.

Bryan is a graduate from the Samuel Beckett Centre at Trinity College Dublin and has taught Movement/Physical Theatre at Trinity College Dublin, NYU / Tisch School of the Arts and at the Accademia dell ’ Arte in Arezzo, Italy.

David is a theatre director and playwright. He is also the Artistic Director of Bewley’s Café Theatre - a position he holds alongside teaching Acting Technique at The Lir Academy. Most recently, he directed This Beautiful Village by Lisa Tierney-Keogh for the Abbey Theatre. He also co-wrote and co-directed CLASS with Iseult Golden, which played the Bush Theatre in London, won an Edinburgh Fringe First and a ZeBBie Award from the Writers Guild of Ireland for Best Theatre Script in 2018. It has toured Ireland and enjoyed sold out runs at the Abbey Theatre and the Galway International Arts Festival.

Other directing highlights include: These Halcyon Days by Deirdre Kinahan (Edinburgh Fringe First Winner/DTF), Beowulf: the Blockbuster by Bryan Burroughs (Edinburgh Fringe Stage Award, IAC New York, NY Times Critic’s Pick), Moment by Deirdre Kinahan (Bush Theatre, London), In The Next Room by Sarah Ruhl, Three Winters by Tena Štivičić and Brontë by Polly Teale (all at The Lir Academy), and the award-winning Tick my Box! (Inis Theatre) among others.

Vinny Murphy has worked as a Writer, Director, Actor and Composer for Film, Television and Theatre.

He teaches screen acting at The Lir Academy and brings with him experience in many different aspects of film making as well as his vast experience of working with screen actors.

He has acted in over 40 films and TV programs, he has directed nearly as many and has also written films including co-writing the international award-winning “Accelerator” which he also directed. He has composed music extensively for films including 2 feature films, so when he reminds an actor to “leave some room for the music” he’s not kidding.

Ciaran has been working in the film and theatre industry since 1998. In 2003 he graduated from the Theatre Studies programme at Inchicore College and later went on to train with the Irish Dramatic Combat Academy. Ciaran has trained extensively in armed and unarmed stage combat in Ireland and in the USA. He is among Ireland’s leading experts in theatrical violence and regularly works as a stage combat instructor, stunt performer, fight director, and actor.

Ciaran is a member of Stunt Register Ireland and has worked as a stunt performer on Vikings, Penny Dreadful, Into the Badlands, Red Rock, Reign, Jekyll & Hyde and the music video for Kodaline’s hit song All I Want, for which he also created the fight choreography.

Caroline Byrne is a director and actor trainer. She was formally Associate Director at The Gate Theatre and is currently an Education Associate Practitioner at Royal Shakespeare Company. Caroline has worked as an actor trainer at National Student Drama Festival, Lyric Belfast, East 15, Central School of Speech and Drama and the Actors Centre. As Creative Projects Manager at the Actors Centre she ran several creative initiatives such as BBC Talent Boost and Acting the Classics.

Caroline’s directing credits include Katie Roche (Abbey Theatre), Oliver Twist (Regents Park Open Air Theatre), The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe) The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Richard Burton Theatre), Parallel Macbeth (Clare Theatre, Young Vic) Macbeth (Chapter Arts, RWCMD), Old Vic New Voices Festival (Old Vic), Electra (Caird Studio) Eclipsed (Gate Theatre, London), By Mr Farquhar (Waterside Theatre, Derry); Text Messages (Project, Dublin) and Shakespeare in a Suitcase (co-directed with Tim Crouch for RSC). She has also directed for the Bush Theatre, Farnham Maltings, Central School of Speech and Drama, RWCMD and Durham Theatre, Berkeley, USA. Her work as associate director includes Grounded (Fringe First Winner at Traverse Theatre).

Roger Evans has been appointed as the new Head of Short Courses. Roger is an Actor and Director. He was brought up in the South Wales valleys and studied acting at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and has worked extensively in film, television and theatre across Europe and in America. He also has an MA in Actor Training and Coaching from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and has taught in many Drama schools including The Lir.

David is originally from Australia and moved to Ireland in 2004. He has an uncompromising passion for the professional development of emerging artists and the highest quality of actor training. He has developed his own technical practice, has self-designed and directed actor training programs including The Applied Art of Acting, and written three textbooks on acting, theatre, and film practice.

David also founded Company D Theatre, specifically designed to provide opportunities and theatrical education for emerging actors. He has written, directed and produced many stage plays and has self-published thirteen complete plays. He continues to act professionally under the name David Michael Scott.

Iseult is a writer, actor and director based in Dublin, Ireland. Directing work includes When Rachel met Fiona by Colette Cullen (New Theatre) Next Please by Aisling O’Mara, CLASS by Iseult Golden and David Horan, Breathless by John McKenna (Orion/Danu), Connected by Will Irvine and Karl Quinn (Fringe/Project Arts Centre), Payback by Maria McDermottroe and Marion O’Dwyer (Show in a Bag/Fishamble), Mangan’s Last Gasp by Gerard Lee and Buridan’s Ass by SR Plant (Bewley’s Café Theatre).

As an actor, Iseult has toured nationally and internationally. She has worked with companies including Barabbas, Macnas, Blue Raincoat and Storytellers Theatre Company. She was co-artistic director of Inis Theatre, co-creating and performing in all of their shows: The World's Wife, Lady Susan, To Kill a Dead Man and the award-winning Tick My Box!

Writing work includes CLASS (DFT and Abbey productions 2017/18, and London and Edinburgh 2018/19) Belonging to Laura (a screen adaptation of Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde - for Accomplice Television/TV3 - IFTA Nomination 2009) and The Importance of Being Whatever (IFTA Winner 2012) all above in collaboration with co-writer, David Horan. Solo writing work includes Fireworks, a one-act play for Tall Tales Theatre Company (published as part of the collection TXTs) and for screen, The Roy Rap as part of the animated series, Little Roy (Jam Media/CBBC) as well as some episodes for Fair City (RTE). Work in development includes Interventions (Pavilion Patron Donation Award), Faithless and The Virginity Project. She is currently under commission for the Abbey Theatre.

Iseult teaches at the Lir National Academy, Ireland and also works regularly with writers, supporting their work as a mentor and dramaturg.

Morgan Cooke is an actor, composer, musician and singing tutor at The Lir Academy. Recent work includes piano and vocal coaching on The Wake at the Abbey, the role of Flann O’Brien in the documentary An Béal Saibhir, multiple roles in YOUtopia at the Coombe Hospital and the Abbey, multiple roles in Star of the Sea in the Dublin Theatre Festival 2015 and the role of Daddy Warbucks in Annie at Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe, Christmas 2015. He composed the soundtrack for Fornocht A Chonac at Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe, a coproduction with the Abbey (Galway International Arts Festival 2016), and is currently in rehearsal for Breaks with BezKinte for the Dublin Fringe 2016.

Muirne trained as a dancer with Jill Wigham before joining Dublin City Ballet. She has performed with Dance Theatre of Ireland, Irish Modern Dance Theatre, Rubato Ballet,The Lido Amsterdam, Vienna Theatre Ballet and Coisceim Dance Theatre. Her choreography for theatre work includes The Dandy Dolls, The Tempest, Drama at Inish, Cavalcaders ,A Doll’s House and She stoops to Conquer (Abbey Theatre). Borstal Boy (Gaiety Theatre), Pageant, As You Are (CoisCéim Dance Theatre) and The Ballet Ruse ( Dublin and Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Duck Death and the Tulip, The Incredible Book Eating Boy, Egg, A Spell of Cold Weather, Nivellis War (Cahoots NI), Gulliver’s Travels (National Youth Theatre), Little Women and Arcadia (The Gate Theatre), Dancing at Lughnasa (The Gate Theatre, An Grianán Theatre, The Bucharest National Theatre and Second Age), Wallflowering, Hue and Cry, Maisy Dailys Rainbow and Moment (Tall Tales), Can You Catch a Mermaid (Pavilion Theatre), How High is Up (The Ark) The Death of Harry Leon (Ouroboros), The Merchant of Venice (Second Age) The Lulu House and The Making of tis a Pity She’s a Whore (Siren Productions). Television credits include Rock Rivals (UTV Television). Muirne also choreographed the Special Olympics Opening Ceremony in Belfast in 2005. Together with David Bolger she devised A Dash of Colour (Special Olympics Croke Park 2004), Intimate Details and Golf Swing (Opening Ceremony Ryder Cup 2006) and the opening ceremony for UEFA League Final (Aviva Stadium 2011). Last year she was commissioned by Dublin City Council to create outdoor, pop up dance pieces to celebrate the Giro d’Italia in Dublin and for Tiger Dublin Fringe Festival.” Most recently she was movement director for Ouzel for Riverfest at Dublin Docklands Festival and Opera Theatre Company’s Rigoletto, directed by Selina Cartmell.

Ruth Lehane is an award winning actress, writer and theatre maker.
She trained at Ecole Jacques Lecoq, Paris and the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College, Dublin. Having worked for two years with Jacques Lecoq where she discovered the European approach to clown, she later studied Clown Through Mask, a Native American approach, developed by Richard Pochinko with Sue Morrison in Toronto.
She is the founder of Fourth Leaf Theatre Co. Ruth’s company, makes theatre that provokes, challenges and delights an audience.

Her vast range of experience as an actor and theatre maker has seen her work with makers of original work and practitioners of innovative practises. She has worked with a diverse range of companies both nationally and internationally some of which include; The Abbey, Dublin; The Lyric, Belfast; Barabbas; Blue Raincoat; The Ark; Big telly; The Belgrade Theatre; Cahoots NI; Tinderbox and Fabulous Beast.
She has toured with her work internationally to London, Edinburg, Glasgow, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Bulgaria, Romania and new York.

Ruth is a highly skilled facilitator. Influenced by the methodology of Jacques Lecoq and the disciplines of Theatre of Clown, Neutral Mask, Gestural Language and The Architecture of the Space, her unique range of experience make her workshops exciting, inspirational and fun. This physical and creative approach draws on the imagination and offers a place to explore and be challenged.

Andy Crook trained at the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, Paris and has a degree in Drama from the University of Hull. He has worked as a teacher of physical theatre and acting for various schools and universities including Trinity College where he was Associate Co-ordinator and then Co-ordinator of the BA in Acting programme, UCC, Birmingham School of Acting, Rose Bruford College and the Accademia dell’Arte, Arrezzo.

He has directed shows for Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, Peacock Theatre, Dublin, Articulate Anatomy Theatre Company, Backstage Theatre, Longford and The Republic of Culture and The Corps Ensemble. He also has acted for various companies in Ireland, the UK and USA. He is a member of The Corps Ensemble, Dublin. He joined the Lir Academy in 2020 as an instructor in Movement and Physical Theatre. (P/T)

Dee Burke is an actor, theatre facilitator and director. She specialises in Youth Arts and has been facilitating and directing theatre with young people for over fifteen years.

Some highlights from this work includes directing several productions for the National Theatre: Connections programme, facilitating in schools across the country for the Artist in Schools scheme and facilitating on several young actor programmes in The Lir Academy since 2021. Dee is also a Resident Facilitator and Director with Griese Youth Theatre.

Dee began her acting career as a company member of award winning theatre company ANU Productions. This work with ANU at a formative stage in her acting career instilled the importance of collaborative arts practice, seeing how this way of playing can energise and inspire actors in a rehearsal room.

Dee believes we should consistently push the boundaries of what theatre can be in Ireland. She recently performed in Ballad of a Care Centre by acclaimed visual artist John Conway which combined virtual reality elements with live performance. Dee is continuing to collaborate on this project in several interpretations of the original piece.

Some of Dee’s previous theatre acting work includes Hedda Gabler (Abbey Theatre), The Fabulously True and Timeless Tales of Sergeant Virgil (Andy Crook), Glorious Madness, AngelMeadow, Vardo Corner, Thirteen, The Boys of Foley Street, Laundry, World’s End Lane, Memory Deleted and Down the Valley (Anu Productions), Beautiful Dreamers (Performance Corp and Anu) Meat by Gillian Greer (Smock Alley Theatre) and Black Wednesday by Gavin Kostick (Show in a Bag/Bewley’s Café Theatre).

Maeve Bradley is a 2021 BA Acting Graduate of The Lir. Since graduating she has been pursuing her acting career as well as working with us part time as a development officer and Lir Alumni Network administrator. She also teaches acting at our Junior Academy.

Sarah Joan K is a director, performer, facilitator and visual artist from Kilkenny. She is a first class honours graduate of Drama and Sociology at Trinity College Dublin, and a Youth Theatre Ireland QQI accredited youth drama facilitator. Sarah has performed in a number of regional and national venues, including the Peacock Theatre, Project Arts Centre, Visual Carlow, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, The Watergate Theatre, and Temple Bar Gallery and Studios.

She is director of emerging theatre collective ‘Hello Operator,’ and was selected as Young Curator for the Nasc Network festival Lasta (2023-2024). Sarah has directed work shown in Smock Alley, The Samuel Beckett Theatre, and Kilkenny Arts Festival, and delivered workshops and lectures in Dublin City University, The Lir Academy, and Callan Open Doors festival (in association with Asylum Productions).

Fergus J Walsh is a puppet artist from Dublin. He has an MFA in Puppetry from the University of Connecticut and has been an Artist in Residence at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. He was part of the Wakka Wakka Production team on the show Saga, winner of a Drama Desk award for Puppetry Innovation and was the lead puppeteer on the world premieres of The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and The Radio City Spring Spectacular. He founded AchesonWalsh Studios, a puppet creation studio providing design, fabrication and direction services, with Matt Acheson in 2014. Their clients include Amazon Studios, various Broadway Theatres, Cirque Du Soleil, Disney, Lincoln Center Theater, Radio City Music Hall, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and many others. Fergus is an Associate Professor of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut.