11th February—10th March 2025
Director
Technical Manager
Administrator / Artists’ Liaison
Digital Comms Officer
Technical Assistant
Director
Helen Carey was Director of Fire Station Artists’ Studios, Dublin (2014-2024), a prominent resource organisation for Visual Artists in Dublin. Having worked in Ireland, France and the United Kingdom, previous positions she has held include inaugural Director of the flagship Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, Director/Curator of Limerick City Gallery of Art, Director, Galway Arts Centre and Public Art Project Manager, At Bristol Regeneration Project. She is currently a member of the Expert Advisory Committee of Culture Ireland. With an independent Visual Arts curating practice, Helen’s selected recent public art projects and exhibitions include Representative of the Department of Foreign Affairs on the Choctaw – Irish Public Art commission (2024) in Oklahoma, US, ongoing exhibitions with Galerie Michaela Stock, Vienna and Curator of the 20th anniversary TULCA Festival of Visual Art 2020, Galway. With an MA in International Relations (UCD) and an MA in Visual Arts Practices (IADT), Helen’s research interests include contemporary culture and national identity and cultural influences on counter terrorism approaches.
Technical Manager
Rónán has over 20 years of management experience in the Youth and Adult education sector. Along with experience in programme management, community engagement, staff mentoring and infrastructure development, he also brings practical skills in a range of craft areas, including; stained glass, bronze casting, iron smelting, welding, blacksmithing and woodwork.
Administrator / Artists’ Liaison
Elma has an experienced background in administration and has a Diploma in Computer and Secretarial Studies. Elma has coordinated and managed a number of Percent for Art Schemes for both the private and public sectors, and in her role liaises with the NSF Board, artists and external agencies, including Governmental departments. A number of years ago, Elma was also appointed artists’ liaison at the NSF, where she assists artists’ with non-technical issues.
Digital Comms Officer
Stephanie is a freelance graphic designer and communications manager with fifteen years experience in the arts sector. She has a background in both fine art and graphic design, studying at LSAD TUS and MTU respectively. She began working in arts administration at Camden Palace Hotel, organising exhibitions, events and managing the website. She joined the Cork Community Art Link team in 2018 as an arts administrator; organising a variety of events including the Dragon of Shandon Parade, Rebel Street Festival, and SEA-Change Arts Conference. While in charge of digital communications for CCAL she was responsible for community management, and developing and growing the centre’s online presence. She is currently responsible for all digital communications and digital marketing for NSF, all in-house graphic design, and provides social media and PR consultations for resident artists. Past clients include Fastnet Film Festival, ITZACON Gaming Convention NUIG, Cork Midsummer Festival, The Irish Gaming Association, and K-Fest Arts Festival.
Technical Assistant
John has lived and worked in America, Germany and Mexico. He studied sculpture and graphic design in California and went on to do several apprenticeships including fabrication applied to sculpture and furniture manufacture, glassblowing, carpentry, electrics and precision engineering. He returned to college after moving to Ireland to study cabinetmaking and furniture restoration. John has worked in many fields, and when he’s not at the NSF he works as a maker and installer for several artists, galleries and museums nationally and internationally as well as from his studio in Cork. He was a co-founder of Blackpool Studios. The largest projects he has worked on to-date, was Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s ‘The Umbrellas’ and the restoration of Sauerburg Castle, a UNESCO world heritage site in Germany.
Elected 2014 to date
Sarah Moran BA MRUP MIPI graduated from University College Cork in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts and qualified as a town planner at University College Dublin in 2000. She has worked for An Bord Pleanála since 2006 and is now a Senior Planning Inspector. Prior to her time at the Board, she worked as a planner with Cork City Council, Cork County Council and Dublin City Council. Sarah works with the Cork branch of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI) and the IPI National Council to forward the Institute’s mission to advance planning by serving, improving and promoting the planning profession for the benefit of the community and the common good. Sarah is also chairperson of the NSF.
Elected 2015 to date
Niall Smith has a lifelong interest in understanding the universe we live in. He received a PhD in astrophysics from UCD in 1990 and along with others established the science and visitor centre at Blackrock Castle Observatory (www.bco.ie) in Cork in 2007 in a partnership between Cork Institute of Technology and Cork City Council. The centre celebrates the full spectrum of human inquiry from the perspectives of science, art, humanities and performance, and is made possible by the innovation, creativity and hard work of a small and highly dedicated team. In 2017 Niall was the Local Lead for the International Space University Space Studies Programme which was the largest space conference held in Ireland to date. He is also the Head of Research at Munster Technological University, a job which affords him the opportunity to work across discipline boundaries. Niall remains an active researcher and was awarded Science Foundation Ireland’s Research Image of the Year Award in 2020 for work that examined the efficacy of masks using techniques borrowed from astrophysics.
Elected November 2020 to date
Ian is an Associate Partner with the professional services firm, EY, and is part of the Assurance team in the EY Cork office. He is a qualified accountant and is a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland with over twenty years’ experience working with EY, with a number of years spent in Dublin. With a finance and business background, he works with a wide portfolio of both global and local clients, across a variety of industry sectors. He is based and living in Cork.
Elected January 2021 to date
Marilyn is a visual artist and lecturer who works predominantly through durational social art practice. Since 2021 she is a Lecturer at Crawford College of Art and Design. She previously developed and co-directed a Master's in Social Art Practice (MA SPACE) at Limerick School of Art and Design. She has a PhD from University of Limerick and in 2021 she completed a continuing professional development course, Commissioning and Curating Contemporary Public Art by Valand Academy at the University of Gothenburg. She is a founding member of CONJUNCTION – a globally dispersed collective of 25 mid-career and established curators, artists, designers, educators, and public art practitioners. Link to website.
Elected November 2024 to date
From Ballincollig, Joe is a member of Cork City Council representing the city's South West ward. He holds a Masters Degree in Government from University College Cork, as well as a Bachelors Degree in Accounting. Prior to being elected to Cork City Council, Joe served as a senior parliamentary and press adviser in the Houses of the Oireachtas. He is also a board member of the Crawford Art Gallery and the Cork International Film Festival.
Elected December 2024 to date
Jean has worked in the cultural sector for over 30 years. She holds a degree in Theatre Studies and Masters in Cultural Management She was the founding artistic director of The Garage Theatre, Monaghan and the first Arts Manager for Omagh District Council, and Strule Arts Centre, Omagh. She was Arts Officer for Cork City Council from 2015 – 2019. She now works for the Courts Service in the Learning & Development Unit, with responsibility for measuring impact of learning interventions. She has a lifelong interest in creative practice and its impact on communities. She has previously served as a board member of The Garage Theatre, Monaghan, and Omagh Womens Aid.
Elected 2014 to date
Sarah Moran BA MRUP MIPI graduated from University College Cork in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts and qualified as a town planner at University College Dublin in 2000. She has worked for An Bord Pleanála since 2006 and is now a Senior Planning Inspector. Prior to her time at the Board, she worked as a planner with Cork City Council, Cork County Council and Dublin City Council. Sarah works with the Cork branch of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI) and the IPI National Council to forward the Institute’s mission to advance planning by serving, improving and promoting the planning profession for the benefit of the community and the common good. Sarah is also chairperson of the NSF.
Elected 2015 to date
Niall Smith has a lifelong interest in understanding the universe we live in. He received a PhD in astrophysics from UCD in 1990 and along with others established the science and visitor centre at Blackrock Castle Observatory (www.bco.ie) in Cork in 2007 in a partnership between Cork Institute of Technology and Cork City Council. The centre celebrates the full spectrum of human inquiry from the perspectives of science, art, humanities and performance, and is made possible by the innovation, creativity and hard work of a small and highly dedicated team. In 2017 Niall was the Local Lead for the International Space University Space Studies Programme which was the largest space conference held in Ireland to date. He is also the Head of Research at Munster Technological University, a job which affords him the opportunity to work across discipline boundaries. Niall remains an active researcher and was awarded Science Foundation Ireland’s Research Image of the Year Award in 2020 for work that examined the efficacy of masks using techniques borrowed from astrophysics.
Elected November 2020 to date
Ian is an Associate Partner with the professional services firm, EY, and is part of the Assurance team in the EY Cork office. He is a qualified accountant and is a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland with over twenty years’ experience working with EY, with a number of years spent in Dublin. With a finance and business background, he works with a wide portfolio of both global and local clients, across a variety of industry sectors. He is based and living in Cork.
Elected January 2021 to date
Marilyn is a visual artist and lecturer who works predominantly through durational social art practice. Since 2021 she is a Lecturer at Crawford College of Art and Design. She previously developed and co-directed a Master's in Social Art Practice (MA SPACE) at Limerick School of Art and Design. She has a PhD from University of Limerick and in 2021 she completed a continuing professional development course, Commissioning and Curating Contemporary Public Art by Valand Academy at the University of Gothenburg. She is a founding member of CONJUNCTION – a globally dispersed collective of 25 mid-career and established curators, artists, designers, educators, and public art practitioners. Link to website.
Elected November 2024 to date
From Ballincollig, Joe is a member of Cork City Council representing the city's South West ward. He holds a Masters Degree in Government from University College Cork, as well as a Bachelors Degree in Accounting. Prior to being elected to Cork City Council, Joe served as a senior parliamentary and press adviser in the Houses of the Oireachtas. He is also a board member of the Crawford Art Gallery and the Cork International Film Festival.
Elected December 2024 to date
Jean has worked in the cultural sector for over 30 years. She holds a degree in Theatre Studies and Masters in Cultural Management She was the founding artistic director of The Garage Theatre, Monaghan and the first Arts Manager for Omagh District Council, and Strule Arts Centre, Omagh. She was Arts Officer for Cork City Council from 2015 – 2019. She now works for the Courts Service in the Learning & Development Unit, with responsibility for measuring impact of learning interventions. She has a lifelong interest in creative practice and its impact on communities. She has previously served as a board member of The Garage Theatre, Monaghan, and Omagh Womens Aid.