Five Great Days & Nights

One of the world’s biggest cultural celebrations, St. Patrick’s Festival returns to Dublin this March 13–17, 2020. Running over five great days and nights, the Festival is a vibrant and dynamic showcase of Ireland’s rich culture and heritage, both traditional and contemporary.

Principally funded by Fáilte Ireland, Dublin City Council and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the packed 2020 programme will offer hundreds of events throughout Dublin from music, performance, art, spoken word and literature to tours, trails, food events, family fun and much more.

• Susan Kirby
  Chief Executive
• Karen Walshe
  Artistic Director
• Anna McGowan
  General Manager
• Aileen Galvin
  Marketing & Communications Director
• Mary Leane
  Financial Controller
• Ted Kavanagh
  Financial Accountant
• Tony Killeen
  Head of Production
• David 'Spud' Murphy
  Parade Director
• Natasha Purtill
  Partnership Account Manager
• Danielle Lynch
  Development Manager
• Neil Burke
  Festival Producer
• Ali Morris
  Programme Manager/Sustainability Officer
• Bekah Molony
  Digital Marketing Manager
• Rowena Shanley
  Marketing & Publicity Coordinator
• Dearbhail O'Sullivan
  Box Office Manager
• Rachel Hopkins
  Community Arts Project Manager
• Muirne Bloomer
  Community Arts Pageant Director
• Steph Farrell
  Production Administrator
• Darren Murphy
  Production Co-Ordinator
• Louise Osborne
  Programme Coordinator
• Milja Juretic
  Volunteer & Branding Co-Ordinator
• Ruth Murphy
  Hospitality Manager
• Brendan McGlynn
  Front of House
• Aoife Woodlock
  Associate Producer
• Aiden Grennelle & Pete Reddy
  Festival Design
• Post Studio
  Festival Website

St. Patrick’s Festival is governed by a voluntary Board of Directors, which can be found listed below. St. Patrick’s Festival is committed to best practice governance and have continued the journey of compliance with the Charities Governance Code since beginning the organisation. St. Patrick’s Festival complies with all regulatory requirements and operates in accordance with its governing document, available here.

St. Patrick’s Festival is a proud member of the Charities Institute Ireland (Cii), the body formed from the merger of ICTR and Fundraising Ireland in 2016.

St. Patrick’s Festival keeps detailed books and records of accounts and maintains strict financial controls. The organisation is transparent in its audited financial statements.

Directors Financial Report

Director’s Report and Financial Statements 2019

Director’s Report and Financial Statements 2018

Director’s Report and Financial Statements 2017

Director’s Report and Financial Statements 2016

In accordance with Governance law, St. Patrick’s Festival has two sub-committees, the Finance, Governance and Audit sub-committee and the Fundraising and Sponsorship sub-committee. Our Board members, a short biography of each and the sub-committee that they are involved in, are outlined below.

St. Patrick’s Festival Board Members

Teresa Tully
Teresa is a Director at Ernst & Young and joined the Festival Board in January 2016. She is an Associate Chartered Accountant and has served in an audit and advisory capacity on a diverse range of topics, including regulation implementation, technical accounting and internal control reviews. Teresa is Chair of the Finance, Governance and Audit sub-committee.

Dermot Horan
Dermot is the Director of Acquisitions and Co-Productions at RTE, and Vice President EBU TV Committee. Dermot is a member of the Finance, Governance and Audit sub-committee.

Shane Clarke
Shane Clarke is the Director of Corporate Services, Policy & Northern Ireland with Tourism Ireland. Previous roles Shane has held include Managing Director and Finance Director for M&P Sales and a General Manager for Diageo. Shane has been a Director on the Board for St. Patrick's Festival since January 2018. Shane is a member of the Finance, Governance and Audit sub-committee.

Maree Gallagher
Maree Gallagher is a qualified solicitor specialising in EU and Irish regulatory law and is currently of Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP. Maree has been a Board member since June 2013 and is the Dublin Chamber of Commerce representative. Maree is a member of the Fundraising and Sponsorship sub-committee.

Ciara Sugrue
Ciara is the Head of Festivals and Events at Fáilte Ireland and is Fáilte Ireland's representative on the Board since January 2011. Ciara is a member of the Fundraising and Sponsorship sub-committee.

Stephen McNally
Stephen is the Deputy Chief Executive for Dalata Hotel Group since 2007 and has served as a Director of the Board of St. Patrick's Festival since October 2016.

Lord Mayor Paul McAuliffe
Lord Mayor Paul McAuliffe has served as Lord Mayor of Dublin and ex-officio member of the Board of St. Patrick’s Festival since June 2019. He has been a Dublin City Councillor since May 2009. He was also chairperson of Dublin City Council's Enterprise and Economic Development Strategic Policy Committee.