About the Festival

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 currently in the role of Acting Chair and also a member of the Fundraising and Sponsorship sub-committee.

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. Stephen is a member of the Finance, Governance and Audit sub-committee. 

Orla Carroll is Director of Product Development at Fáilte Ireland.  She joined Fáilte Ireland in 2008 after working for over 10 years in the Telecommunications Industry. 

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.

Lord Mayor Caroline Conroy has served as Lord Mayor of Dublin and ex-officio member of the Board of St. Patrick’s Festival since June 2022. In June 2022, she was elected as the 354th Lord Mayor of Dublin. She is a member of the DCC Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) on Transport, sits on the Animal Welfare Committee and serves on the Executive Committee of the Green Party. Councillor Conroy graduated with a degree in Business Studies from Dublin City University (DCU), and has been actively involved in her community since she was a teenager: leading youth groups, supporting people who live alone, serving on the committees of local community groups and campaigning on local issues.

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

Natalie is CMO for Mason Hayes & Curran LLP in Europe and the USA. She also represents Dublin Chamber on the Dublin City Council Enterprise & Economic Development Strategic Policy Commission and on trade delegations to both London and Brussels. She is a three-time graduate of UCD with a BA, MBA, and a Diploma in Corporate Governance.

Eoghan is the CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC), the representative body for Irish tourism and hospitality interests. Eoghan previously owned and managed O’Mara Travel Ltd, a leading tour operator; Heritage Island Ltd, a marketing company for visitor attractions; and O’Mara Consultancy Ltd, a tourism consultancy business. In his earlier career he was Procurement Executive with Diageo in London and Dublin. Eoghan has been CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) since September 2015.

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.