Ger Lawlor (Chairman)
Ger Lawlor (Chairman)
Ger Lawlor established his own photography practice in 2006 specialising in high quality corporate, architectural and advertising commissions for local and national clients.
Prior to this, he enjoyed a successful career in telecommunications, where he specialised in the planning and implementation of large scale commercial telephony solutions.
Ger has served the Festival in many capacities, both in the artistic area where he has been heavily involved in Wexford productions, the preparation of scores, coaching local singers and in an administrative capacity working with the Festival archive. His early mentors included Dr. Tom Walsh, and Seamus O’Dwyer, founder and co-founder of the Festival.
An accomplished choirmaster, Ger is Director of Music and organist in Wexford’s twin churches, and has been responsible for many award winning performances from local choirs and music groups since 1977.
Ger became a member of the Festival Council in 1984 and was appointed to the board of Directors of The Wexford Festival Trust in 1993. His Chairmanship of the Trust commenced in 2013.
Sean Benton
Sean Benton has a distinguished career in Public Service. He has served as Chairman of the Office of Public Works (OPW), as a Commissioner in the OPW where his responsibilities included managing the State property portfolio, and as Director of Finance at the Department of Health.
He is currently Chairman of the National Sports Campus Development Authority and a former Chairman of the operating company at the National Aquatic Centre.
In each case he has led numerous major projects and initiatives concerning National infrastructure.
He is also Chairman of Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services.
Sean holds a Masters in Strategic Management from Trinity College Dublin and was appointed to the Board of The Wexford Festival Trust in 2011.
David Byers
David Byers studied at Queen’s University, the Royal Academy of Music, London, as Manson Scholar in Composition, and with Henri Pousseur at the Liège Conservatoire, thanks to the Macauley Fellowship (An Chomhairle Ealaíon) and a Belgian Government Scholarship. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2008.
After 25 years with the BBC, including many live relays from Wexford Festival Opera, he took early retirement as Chief Producer, Music and Arts, and for the next eight years he was Chief Executive of the Ulster Orchestra Society Limited., retiring in September 2010.
Across those years, David charted a distinctive artistic direction for the Ulster Orchestra, including its broadcast output in the 1980s and 90s, spearheading the commissioning of many new works from Irish composers.
David remains active as composer, musicologist, broadcaster and writer. His compositions, from orchestral to chamber and incidental music, have been broadcast throughout Europe and in the USA and Australia.
David served on the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s Music and Opera Advisory Committee; he is a former member of An Chomhairle Ealaíon and was Northern Editor of Soundpost and Music Ireland. For many years he was a Governor of the Royal Irish Academy of Music. A founding committee member of the Sonorities Festival, he has also served on the board of the National Concert Hall. He was Chairman of the Irish Baroque Orchestra (2012-2014) and has served on many international juries of music competitions.
David was appointed to the Board of The Wexford Festival Trust in 2004.
Pat Caulfield
Pat is a former Managing Director of Nutricia Infant Nutrition Limited and Chairman of The Food Safety Consultative Council and Drover Foods Limited.
Pat holds a Bachelor of Commerce from UCD and is a Fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
As a business leader over many years Pat has significant experience in the development and implementation of business strategies, optimising business performance, and dealing with business and economic challenges.
He currently runs his own consultancy practice providing advice to clients in the key areas of strategic planning, financial management, change management and development of growth strategies.
Pat was appointed to the Board of The Wexford Festival Trust in 2008.
Paul Cleary
Paul Cleary is a native of Wexford and graduated from UCD in 1987 with a Degree in Science.
Over the past 25 years Paul has held various national and international positions within the ABS, Cardo and Sulzer Group and has garnered extensive experience in the area of Sales, Marketing and Business Development.
In particular Paul has played a significant role in the establishment and development of new markets in Eastern Europe, Africa, South America and Asia and in the development and implementation of sales processes and pricing strategy. He is currently the Commercial Support Manager for Sulzer Pump Solutions Ireland Limited.
Paul is a recognised authority on opera with a particular interest in the lesser known composers of the Italian and French schools, an area which he studies extensively.
Paul travels extensively to attend live opera, ranging from student performances to the major opera houses and festivals.
Paul has served on the Board of The Wexford Festival Trust since September 2014.
Mary Gallagher
Mary Gallagher is the owner of the Blue Egg Gallery specialising in the exhibition of Irish and international crafts. She has also worked as a freelance consultant in the visual arts sector. Her clients included Dublin Port Company, Aviva Insurance, the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland and Wexford Arts Centre.
Mary has worked extensively in the Maritime Industry having held many senior positions with Stena Line in the UK and Ireland. She has also worked as a freelance maritime transport consultant, completing projects for port authorities and government offices in Ireland and the UK. Mary served as a member of the Irish Government’s Task Force on Transport Logistics in Connection with Ports and on the first Dublin Transport Authority. She is currently a member of the Board of the Commissioners of Irish Lights.
Mary has been a member of the board of Wexford Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Services Limited for many years and has been Chairperson since 2011. She has been the programme manager of Music for Wexford since 2004 and sings with the Wexford Festival Singers.
Mary holds a B.A. (English & Sociology and Politics) from NUI Galway and has a Master of Business Studies degree (MBS) in Transport and Strategic Planning from University College Dublin.
Mary has served on the Board of The Wexford Festival Trust since September 2014.
Dr. Cate Hartigan
Cate is a native of Wexford and holds a Doctorate in Governance.
Cate is currently the Head of Health Promotion and Improvement working in the Health and Wellbeing Division in the Health Service Executive
Cate has an extensive background in governance and change management, strategy and policy development and implementation. She has lengthy experience of serving at board level on a number of arts organisations and provides corporate governance expertise on a voluntary basis to the NGO sector.
Cate was appointed to the Board of The Wexford Festival Trust in 2010.
Paul Hennessy
Paul is a Chartered Accountant and has been an Audit Partner in PwC for over twenty five years. During that time he has held a number of management positions at National, European and Global levels.
He has worked in a number of sectors including Energy, Communications, Private Companies, Healthcare and Public Sector. He continues to be responsible for many of the firm’s key client relationships and serves a wide portfolio of clients providing assurance services, advice on governance and controls, growth and exit strategies, acquisitions and business combinations.
A former Chairman of Wexford Festival Trust and Wexford Festival UK Trust, he also served as a Director of the Irish Management Institute and the Wexford Chamber of Commerce. He is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Family Business at Dublin City University.
Paul became a member of the Festival Council in 1990 and was appointed to the board of Directors of The Wexford Festival Trust in 1993.
Ted Howlin
Ted Howlin has had a distinguished career in the Local Government including three terms as Mayor of Wexford.
A former County Councilor and Chairman of the Wexford County Council, Ted has extensive experience in public sector management and local government. He has led a range of initiatives for local authorities and has served as a member of a number of community organisations including The South East Regional Committee, Wexford VEC, South East Community Training and Education Centre Limited and has served as Chair of the Economic & Social Development Committee.
Ted became a member of the Festival Council in 1978 and was appointed as Director of The Wexford Festival Trust in 1993. He served as Chairman of The Wexford Festival Trust from 1998 to 2003.
Geraldine Karlsson
Geraldine Karlsson is a successful entrepreneur and co-founded DoneDeal, one of the most successful online businesses of the past decade. She played a critical role in the development of the company particularly in the areas of strategy formulation and implementation, marketing and business development. In addition she led the establishment of DoneDeal’s corporate social responsibility initiative.
With a background and degree in Computer Science Geraldine has extensive experience both nationally and internationally as a Business Analyst, IT Developer and Project Manager for companies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Microsoft (Ireland & Australia), AMP Bank (Australia), QlikTeck (Sweden) and Allied Irish Bank.
Geraldine has served on the Board of The Wexford Festival Trust since September 2014.
David Maguire
David Maguire is a business graduate of UCC, who lives and works in Wexford. He is Loans Manager in Wexford Credit Union and has over 20 years’ experience in volunteer management roles in various community, arts and sporting organisations.
David is co-founder and Director of Wexford Maritime Festival, with extensive experience in event management. David is also a member of AOIFE (Association of Irish Festivals and Events), and is presently Director of the Volunteer Corps in the Wexford Festival.
David was appointed to the Board of The Wexford Festival Trust in 2008.
Eleanor White
Eleanor White is a graduate of LCST and currently works with the HSE as a manager for speech and language therapy services.
Eleanor has served in a governance capacity in a number of community organisations including Wexford County Enterprise Board and currently serves on the board of Wexford Community Development Association Society Limited (Innovation Wexford). She is also member of Junior Chamber International where she has filled leadership roles at Local, National and European level.
Eleanor joined the Festival Council in 1983 and was appointed to the Board of The Wexford Festival Trust in 1993.
Lisa Cliffe (Company Secretary)
Lisa Cliffe is a qualified Chartered Secretary and is currently a Manager in PwC’s Entity Governance and Compliance Department.
With over eleven years’ experience working in the corporate secretarial, governance and company law sector Lisa has a wealth of experience in dealing with corporate compliance and governance issues for private and public companies as well as multi-national and not for profit organisations.