Irish Film Board Biographies

Chairman Designate, Mr Bill O'Herlihy

Bill O'Herlihy is a television broadcaster working for RTÉ, best known for being the chief presenter of the station's soccer coverage. He has worked in broadcasting since the 1960s, and has been RTÉ's chief sports presenter for major events such as Olympic Games, FIFA World Cups, UEFA European Football Championships and European and World Track and Field Championships. Mr O'Herlihy won a Jacobs' Award for his presentation of Network 2's coverage of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, when Ireland reached the quarter-finals. Mr O'Herlihy is also a public relations executive.

Mr Maurice Sweeney (Documentary Filmmaker)

For the last ten years, Maurice Sweeney has been regarded as one of Ireland’s leading documentary filmmakers. Having worked on diverse films from drama documentaries Cromwell In Ireland to creative portraits of Irish writer Flann O Brien and crime writer John Connolly, Mr Sweeney has just finished his first major drama feature, Saving The Titanic, to wide critical acclaim. As a director, Mr Sweeney has won four IFTAS.

Dr Annie Doona (Academic)

Dr Annie Doona is President of Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT). The National Film School is part of IADT since it was launched in November 2003. It is a centre of excellence for education and training in film, animation, broadcasting and digital media.

Mr John Rice (Animator)

John Rice is a company director, co-founder and CEO of JAM Media, an award winning animation company which creates, develops and produces its own entertainment brands. Mr Rice began his animation career in feature film working at 20th Century Fox in the States working as an animator on films such as Anastasia and Titan AE. This was followed by a stint at MTV in New York where he spent two years as a character designer on a number of well-known projects. To date JAM's entertainment brands have been licensed to over 70 territories, translated into 23 languages and can be seen by over 120 million people.

Ms Kate O’Toole (Actress)

Kate O'Toole is an Irish actress, daughter of actors Peter O'Toole and Siân Phillips. Ms O'Toole appeared in a 2006 West End production of Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke at the Apollo Theatre, London, and is cast in Channel 4's Forgiven.

Ms O'Toole appeared in the first and third season of the Showtime series The Tudors and was nominated for Best Actress at the Irish Times Theatre awards for her role as Eleanor in Rough Magic Theatre Company's production of Terry Johnson's Dead Funny. She won Best Actress UK in the Barclays/Arts Council Theatre Awards for her performance as 'B' in Edward Albee's Three Tall Women (Lyric theatre, Belfast). Film credits include The Last Furlong(2011), Possession (2002), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), Get Well Soon (BBC TV series), Eden, Laughter, 32a, and John Huston's last film, The Dead. She is board chairwoman of the Galway Film Fleadh.

Mr Seamus Deasy (Cinematographer)

Award winning cinematographer, Seamus Deasy has been nominated for five Irish Film and Television Awards including Best Director of Photography (Film/TV Drama) for Neverland (2011), Best Director of Photography for A Film with Me in It (2008), Best Cinematography for The Mighty Celt (2005), Best Craft Achievement - Film for When the Sky Falls (2000) and Best Craft Contribution for The General (1998). Mr Deasy is the winner of the 2005 IFTA Award for Best Cinematography for The Tiger's Tail (2006).

Katie Holly (Producer)

Katie Holly is MD of Bl!nder Films where she has produced award-winning films which have screened at numerous international festival including Edinburgh, Seattle, Slamdance, Rotterdam, London, Toronto and sxsw. Her debut feature One Hundred Mornings received a Special Jury Award at the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival and an IFTA for best cinematography. Feature credits include Sensation, Come on Eileen, and Citadel. Ms Holly began her career at Treasure Entertainment in 2001 where she worked on films such as Man About Dog, The Mighty Celt and Shrooms.