Governing Body

Professor Moore has worked as a Senior Manager in the further education sector having joined Ulster University in 1999. He has since been active in the development of the creative arts/industries policy in the University becoming Head of the School of Creative Arts and Technologies in 2008. He was awarded a personal chair in 2009 becoming Professor of Creative Technology at the Magee campus.

David Smith was appointed President of IADT in 2020. He is the former Head of Faculty of Film, Art and Creative Technologies at IADT and has extensive experience in higher education and professional practice. David is principal of the widely acclaimed design studio Atelier and was Programme Chair and Senior Lecturer in Visual Communications Design at IADT until 2015.

Dr Eimear Cotter was appointed in 2017 as Director of the EPA initially with responsibility for the Office of Environmental Sustainability. She is currently Director of the Office of Evidence and Assessment. Eimear has a wide range of experience in environmental protection, climate change, sustainable energy and sustainability. She previously worked in the EPA and Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

Eimear holds a BA (Mod) in chemistry from Trinity College Dublin, a PhD in atmospheric chemistry from Oxford University and an MBA from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. She is a 2019 Eisenhower Fellow.

Owen Laverty, is based in County Dublin, Ireland, and has been Head of Enterprise and Economics for DLR at Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, bringing experience from previous roles at Maynooth University, Axis Design Ltd. and Design Partners.

Owen Laverty holds a 1986-1990 B.Sc. Mech Eng in Mechanical Engineering at Dublin Institute of Technology. With a robust skill set that includes Product Development, Business Strategy, Executive Coaching, Intellectual Property, Team Building and more, Owen Laverty contributes valuable insights to the industry

Bernadette Costello is a former Director of Internal Audit & Risk Management, University of Galway. Bernadette started her professional career as a trainee accountant with PwC, Dublin and has extensive expertise including corporate governance and related areas, risk management and both financial and management accounting.

Bernadette is an experienced Non-Executive Director currently serving as a board member of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) and Audit Risk Governance Committee (Chair), Oberstown Children Detention Campus and Audit and Risk Committee (Chair),Irish Management Institute and Audit and Risk Committee (Chair), Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board and Finance Committee and Galway Harbour Company and Audit & Risk Committee member.

Previously, Bernadette has served as member of the Council of Chartered Accountants Ireland and Audit Committee (Chair) and the Board of Accounting Technicians Ireland (Chair), Board and member of the Audit Committee of the National Treatment Purchase Fund.

Bernadette is a Chartered Director, a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Higher Diploma in Education from University of Galway.

Brian Mulligan holds a Bachelor of Engineering (1978), and a Master of Engineering Design (1993). Originally qualified as a Civil Engineer in 1978, Brian worked for a number of years in engineering design and research, specialising in mathematical modelling and simulation, before entering higher education in 1984. First as a lecturer and later as a manager with the Atlantic Technological University in Sligo (in current and former forms), Brian was an early innovator and evangelist in the use of technology in teaching, running “training for trainers” programmes in the mid-nineties, starting the long-running EdTech conference series in 2000, founding the Irish Learning Technology Association in 2002 and leading the development of the largest online distance learning operation in the state. Brian is passionate about innovation in higher education in Ireland and internationally, regularly presenting at conferences, training sessions and to the media on how technology can improve teaching and more recently on the strategic value of learning technologies.

Having retired formally from the role of Head of Online Learning Strategic Projects in the Atlantic Technological University in December 2022, Brian continues to pursue his passion for innovation in education through consultancy and advisory work (edfutures.ie) and through international pro-bono projects.

Brian is also involved in the arts in Sligo as a long-standing supporter of the Sligo Jazz Summer School, singer and double bass player with The Old Market Street Swing Band, and Charlie McGettigan’s band, Jargon.

Peter is a member of SIPTU and sits on their National Community Sector Committee. He is a graduate of the National College of Ireland (NCI) BA in Accountancy and Human Resources. Peter is a full time Community Worker with Southside Partnership DLR and is a Councillor on the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council since 2014. He is also a Board Member of the dlr Mill Theatre, Dundrum.

Colm is Head of Specialist Factual Content at RTÉ and runs a slate of c. 70 hours of high-end, television and online documentary content for the national broadcaster annually. He joined RTÉ as a producer/director following a public competition in 1994. Colm worked previously in a variety of roles in the music industry and also as a freelance journalist.

Colm’s slate is among the more public-facing in the RTÉ Content division and covers diversity, education, sport and music documentary, history, natural history and wildlife. He is leading RTÉ’s coverage of the Decade of Centenaries, and manages an annual budget of c. €10-€15m. As part of his brief, Colm steers a variety of important third-party relationships; these are with other broadcasters, co-funders, and State agencies.

Colm is a member of the RTÉ Editorial Standards Board, a small in-house group that advises on risk and compliance on output on all platforms, and is one of the authors of RTÉ’s Journalism and Content Guidelines. He is a Trustee of the RTÉ Benevolent Society and served a four-year term [2011-2015] as Chair of the Board of Management at Rathfarnham Educate Together National School. Colm is a qualified hurling coach and currently works with the senior camogie section at his adopted club, Ballinteer Saint John’s.

Colm is an advocate for lifelong learning, and regularly addresses the film and television sector. In 2021, he graduated with a First Class Masters in Irish History under Prof. Paul Rouse in UCD; his area of academic interest is in the history of entertainment in independent Ireland.

Colm works on a regular basis with graduates of IADT, in a variety of different guises. He is a noted mentor, and has a considerable track record in the development of emerging talent, both in front and behind the lens. Colm is risk taker and a lateral thinker; his slate allows him to balance the expectations of a national broadcaster – impact audience and political reaction, talkability – with what is often considered as an outlying editorial approach.

To this end, Colm is in synch with the ethos and values of the Institute. Colm believes in the power and potential of fresh and dynamic thinking, and he looks forward to working in a collaborative and a cohesive manner with colleagues for the duration of his term on the IADT Governing Body.

Vanessa Robinson is a senior creative and business leader with more than 18 years’ experience across Ireland’s cultural, screen and creative industries. Her background spans animation, film and television production, digital media and communications, with experience across Ireland, Europe and North America.

As Co-Founder and CEO of Little Moon Animation, an award-winning Irish studio founded in 2019, Vanessa leads the development, financing and production of original content for children and families. She is also the creator of the award-winning Irish-language preschool series Fia’s Fairies and an advocate for Irish-language content on screen.

Vanessa has also led the studio’s investment in real-time animation pipelines and emerging production technologies. She is passionate about supporting new talent, creating sustainable careers and strengthening Ireland’s animation and wider creative industries.

Michael West is a playwright, screenwriter and translator. He has had a long association with The Corn Exchange, one of Ireland’s leading independent theatre companies, with whom he collaborated on The Fall of the Second Republic (in a co-production with the Abbey 2020); The Seagull (Dublin Theatre Festival 2016); the first stage adaptation of Joyce’s Dubliners for DTF 2012; Man of Valour (2011); Freefall (DTF 2009, winner of the Irish Theatre Award and Irish Writers Guild award for best play); Everyday (DTF 2006); and Dublin by Lamplight (2004) which was revived by the Abbey Theatre in 2017.

Other work for The Corn Exchange includes Foley (2001); the stage adaptation of Lolita; Car Show; and A Play on Two Chairs.

He has translated The Marriage of Figaro (Abbey Theatre) by Beaumarchais; Molière’s Tartuffe (Gate Theatre, Dublin); and for Pigsback, Molière’s Dom Juan and The Tender Trap (an adaptation of La Double Inconstance by Marivaux). His translation of Jean-Pierre Siméon’s Stabat Mater was performed at Avignon, and Forever Yours, Mary-Lou by Michel Tremblay was presented at the Theatre Royal, Bath in 2017.

His acclaimed translation of Death and the Ploughman, a 15th century Bohemian text, has been presented by Project Arts Centre in a co-production with La Comédie de Reims, directed by Christian Schiaretti. It was produced in the USA in 2004 by Anne Bogart’s SITI company.

Other work includes FRNKNSTN with Theatre Lovett in 2018; Conservatory, which played at the Abbey in 2014; and a production of The Chinese Room, which premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in the USA in 2016, directed by James Macdonald. His adaptation of Mike McCormack’s Solar Bones played at the Abbey Theatre in 2023 (winner of Best Actor and Best Director at the Irish Theatre Awards.)

His plays are published by Methuen. He teaches scriptwriting at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University Belfast.

Ruth Barry joined the Institute of Art, Design + Technology as Marketing Manager in 2017.

She has over twenty-five years’ experience working in marketing roles within the telecommunications and corporate sectors in Ireland including 15 years in senior management positions with Vodafone Ireland.

Ruth has a proven track record of delivering innovative marketing campaigns, strategic communications and critical thinking within these roles. She enjoys an environment that is innovative, creative and collaborative.

Working within the Higher Education sector has given her great insights into the education landscape in Ireland.  Ruth is married with 2 teenage children and lives in Dún Laoghaire.

Turlough is a Technical Officer in the Information Technology Department in IADT. He is the National Equalities Officer for Unite the Union in the TU/IoT branch, and the local IADT technical representative. Turlough has been member of IADT Energy (Green) Team throughout its lifespan.

Turlough’s external achievements/interests include: Campaigner for the Together4Yes referendum campaign, and an organiser of its second largest fundraising event a (5k running race). He is avid mountain runner representing and managing Ireland at senior level and he currently represents Ireland at Masters (Over 50s) level.

Robert Griffin is a lecturer in Immersive Media Production and Emerging Technologies Design. His main areas of expertise include immersive learning design, human–computer interaction, and the creative application of XR technologies across education, psychology, and the arts.

In addition to his teaching and research, Rob chairs the IADT XR Research Group and contributes to national and European initiatives on emerging media and digital education. He previously served as Chair of the MSc in Cyberpsychology and as an Academic Lead for the Creative Futures Academy.

Dr Gráinne Kirwan (she/her) is a Lecturer in Psychology at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. She joined the IADT in September 2004 and has primarily worked on the BSc (Hons) Applied Psychology and the MSc in Cyberpsychology, although she has also supervised Masters by Research students and co-supervised PhD students with the University of Wolverhampton, as well as assessing PhD students in Dublin City University and the University of Bournemouth.

She is a former programme chair on the MSc in Cyberpsychology and is the current programme co-chair on the BSc (Hons) Applied Psychology. She is also the current chair of the Psychology Ethics Committee.

She previously spent a year as an Associate Professor of Psychology at the Higher Education Learning Philosophy University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia while on career break from IADT.

Her research and teaching interests focus mainly on forensic psychology and cyberpsychology. Her publications include being a co-author/co-editor on five academic books (including a second edition of An Introduction to Cyberpsychology which is due to be published by Routledge in January 2024). She has published over thirty book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as numerous articles in professional magazines and conference presentations/papers.

Gráinne is currently a member of the Council of the Psychological Society of Ireland and was one of the members of the first CORU Psychologists Registration Board. As part of her outreach work Grainne provides guest talks for schools on internet safety. She has also been an invited guest speaker for a number of universities and external organisations, including those organised and/or hosted by University College Dublin, Credit Suisse, NATO Innovation Hub, Norfolk State University, the United Nations Vienna International Centre, Maynooth University, and the ASEAN Regional Union of Psychological Societies.

Eva Perez is a lecturer in Digital Marketing and Programme Chair for the BA (Hons) in Digital Marketing. Eva’s main areas of expertise lies in the changing digital landscape and the latest digital tools and techniques, including social media. Eva is currently pursuing her Ph.D. studies in Trinity College Dublin. Her Ph.D. work focuses on the adoption challenges of social media as a teaching and learning tool by academics within higher education. She is also a researcher of the Trinity Centre for Digital Business, which aims at investigating how digital technology is transforming businesses.

Chloe Danga is the President of IADT Students’ Union for the academic year 2026/27. She is a graduate from IADT with a Honours Bachelor’s Degree in New Media Studies. Chloe held a plethora of  leadership roles within IADT, including founding and presiding over the Afro-Caribbean Society, and founding and serving as president of Erasmus Student Network IADT Global, and was class representative in her New Media Studies program, as well as a faculty representative for Faculty of Humanities and Enterprise. Chloe has also completed the Erasmus+ program in IADT, she studied for a semester abroad in Hogeschool Rotterdam,  Rotterdam, South Holland.

Salem Anowe Chukwuezi is the Vice President of Welfare + Equality for the Student’s Union in IADT for 2026/2027. She is a recent graduate from the Honors Bachelors Degree in Photography + Visual Media. Throughout her time in IADT, Salem has furthered many important cultural campaigns on campus from being the president of the African Caribbean Society (2025 – 2026), as well as being a part of the Erasmus Student Network, during her traineeship in Reykjavík, Iceland in 2024. She is extremely excited to fight for students on an institutional and national level and couldn’t feel more confident alongside the incoming officers this year!

Leaf Tottenham is the Vice President for Education in IADT Students’ Union for 2026/2027. They recently completed their third year in Design for Film – Costume Design, and have taken the sabbatical role of Education Officer for the academic year. Leaf is passionate about student life in IADT, and was a class representative for their first two years of study, and Part Time Officer for LGBTQ Rights for the last academic year. They are delighted to be working alongside the SU team and excited for the coming year!

Intro & Membership

The Governing Body of IADT has established an Audit & Risk Committee in accordance with the Code of Governance of Institutes of Technology 2018, reflecting the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies 2016. The Committee has oversight of and monitors the Institute’s internal controls, risk management and audit matters. The Audit & Risk Committee also ensures that the Institute’s financial reporting and disclosures are compliant with statutory and other requirements. The Audit & Risk Committee provides an independent and objective review to the Governing Body of the financial reporting process, internal controls and the audit functions of the Institute. Its role is advisory rather than supervisory in nature.

The Membership of the IADT Audit & Risk Committee is as follows:

• Bernadette Costello (Chairperson) – External Governing Body Member
• Dr Eimear Cotter – External Governing Body Member
• Sam Dunwoody – External Member
• Prof. Paul Moore – External Governing Body Member
• Colm O’Callaghan – External Governing  Body Member

Audit & Risk Terms of Reference

Audit & Risk Committee Minutes

Intro & Membership

The Governing Body of IADT has established an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee to assist the Governing Body in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities and providing leadership and accountability for equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the Institute’s activities. The purpose of the committee is to assist and advise the Governing Body in the performance of its functions by providing governance and oversight which will achieved by reviewing reports and assurances received from the President and the Institute Executive Management Team. The committee will also provide guidance and direction on policy matters associated the achievement of EDI objectives across the Institute.

The Membership of the IADT EDI Committee is as follows:

• Ruth Barry (Chairperson) – Internal Governing Body Member
• Carlos Alfonso Velasquez – Student Member
• Turlough Conway – Internal Governing Body Member
• Salem Anowe Chukwuezi (ex officio) – Students’ Union Member
• Sandra King – Independent External Member
• Sean Henriques – Staff Member
• Claire McGing (ex officio) – EDI Manager
• Dawn Meagher – Student Member
• Alice Morrissey – Staff Member
• Brian Mulligan – External Governing Body Member
• David Smith (ex officio) – President
• Anne Wright (Deputy Chairperson) – Staff Member

EDI Terms of Reference

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at IADT

Intro & Membership

The Governing Body has established a Governing Body Nominations Committee as a Committee of the Governing Body, in accordance with the procedures approved by the Governing Body and the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for the recruitment and selection of Governing Body Members, and to recommend to the Governing Body the names of Appointees.

The Membership of the IADT Governing Body Nominations Committee is as follows:

• Prof. Paul Moore (Chairperson) – Governing Body Chairperson and External Governing Body Member
• Bernadette Costello – External Governing Body Member
• Vacant – External Governing Body Member
• Owen Laverty – External Governing Body Member
• Cllr. Peter O’Brien – External Governing Body Member

IADT Governing Body Nominations Committee Terms of Reference

Human Resources at IADT