Board
Riverbank Arts Centre has a voluntary board of management that oversee the governance of the company in accordance with the law and best practice for non-profit organisations. Current board members are listed below.
Maureen Bergin
Joined Board: 2019Maureen is the Community & Business Relations Director at Kildare Village. Maureen has been with Kildare Village since its opening in 2006 and held the position of Retail Director, overseeing the day to day operations of 100 boutiques, until January 2017. Prior to joining Kildare Village, Maureen spent 10 years in Dunnes Store HO as part of the group buying teams. Maureen is currently President of the County Kildare Chamber of Commerce and an executive member of Kildare Town Chamber.
Holly Carey
Joined Board: 2023Holly Carey has worked across the arts and entertainment industries in Ireland and internationally for over twenty years. Credits as Production Executive at Samson Films and Accomplice Television include Bachelors Walk and Once. Highlights as Casting Director at the Abbey Theatre include world premieres of works by Marina Carr, Nancy Harris, Mark O’Rowe, Roddy Doyle, Sebastian Barry, Tom Murphy and Sam Shepard. In 2012 Holly co-founded and was the inaugural artistic director of Subtitle European Film Festival in Kilkenny. She remains a director. She established the Creatives and Literary department of the Lisa Richards Agency in London that same year, representing a list of top-tier international creatives. Other work includes producing several large-scale musicals and concerts for Cork Opera House. She is a former member of the Governing Authority of Dublin City University. Holly grew up in The Curragh.
Paul Davis - Chairman
Joined Board: 2014Paul Davis is founder of Davis Events Agency, an award winning company that manages cultural and arts festivals and events as well as brand marketing campaigns.
Eláine Donnelly
Joined Board: 2023Eláine Donnelly is acting Arts Officer for Kildare County Council Arts Service. She has been engaged as Assistant Arts Officer with the Council since 2021. Previously she held the post of General Manager with Irish Theatre Institute a national resource organisation for the professional Irish theatre sector, where she had extensive hands-on experience of operational and financial management, programme development, governance, compliance and strategic relationship building. Eláine has also worked with teams in established arts organisations countrywide including Roscommon Arts Centre and Galway International Arts Festival with a focus on programming, audience development and fundraising.
Dr Brenda Donohue
Joined Board: 2022Dr Brenda Donohue is a researcher in the areas of education and the arts. She graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2013 with a thesis on contemporary theatre in Ireland and Italy. In 2016/2017, she was a member of the #WakingTheFeminists movement, for whom she coordinated a large research project investigating gender balance in Irish theatre. She has had a life-long interest in the arts, and recently co-authored a research project, commissioned by the Irish Theatre Institute on behalf of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, called Speak Up, which examined experiences of bullying and harassment in the arts industries. She also acts as an advisory board member for the Sounding The Feminists' research project on gender balance in music composition. Brenda works in the field of Educational Research, where she is National Project Manager for the PISA assessments in Ireland, under the auspices of the OECD.
Thomas Hunter McGowan
Joined Board: 2009Thomas has been CEO of Company Rescue Agency Limited since June 2023. Prior to that he was CEO of Kerry Co-operative Creameries Ltd 2017-2023, CEO InterTradeIreland 2012-2017, Director of Finance Kildare County Council 2008-2012, Managing Director Swansea Cork Ferries Ltd 1989-2008. Thomas is an Honours Commerce graduate of University College Dublin and holds a Masters of Commerce from University College Cork. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute. He is a board member of Rehab Group, Rehab Enterprises Ltd and Haven Products Ltd (UK). He was previously a board member of the Cork Chamber of Commerce and served for two terms on the board of Chambers Ireland. He was also a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for British-Irish Studies, Chairman of the North South CEO Pensions Committee, and a forum member of the ESRI and a director of Briarstar Ltd.
Teresa Murray
Joined Board: 2017Teresa was an Independent Councillor for Maynooth Municipal District on Kildare County Council from 2014-2019. She lives in Maynooth. Teresa is Deputy Principal of Scoil na Mainistreach Celbridge. She has worked with many community based groups at local, county and national level. She is a past member of the Governing Authority of Maynooth University and was Vice President of the ETB National Parents Association.
Donnchadh O'Neill
Joined Board: 2021Donnchadh O’Neill is Managing Director of Gibney Communications, one of Ireland’s leading corporate communications consultancies representing some of Ireland’s most high profile domestic and international businesses. He is a former producer with RTE Radio One covering many of the leading daytime current affairs and arts shows. He has also produced a number of radio documentaries on subjects including Patrick Kavanagh and The Sawdoctors. A native of Newbridge, Donnchadh began his career working with the Kildare Nationalist and subsequently as North Kildare reporter for the Leinster Leader. He was previously a Board member of Bedrock Productions, the founders of the Dublin Fringe Festival, and is an enthusiastic supporter of the Irish music scene.