Team

Tom O’Toole (B. Comm., MBS, PhD, FMII, FIAM) is Head of the School of Business at Waterford Institute of Technology. As dean, he has executive responsibility for the strategy and operations of the School. Currently, he is also vice president for international relations at the Institute. Tom is a widely published author in the area of business relationships and networks with over 70 peer reviewed publications with a focus on collaborative innovation, entrepreneurial firms’ capability building, and relationship strength. Tom is heavily involved in regional development. He has been recognised for his contribution to marketing practice in Ireland by being awarded a fellow of the Marketing Institute of Ireland (2005), and for his contribution to management education in Ireland, in 2012, by being made a Fellow of the Irish Academy of Management. Tom was a Fulbright Scholar in 2013. Tom is a member of the Kilkenny Arts Festival Board since 2007.

Lorelei Harris is a cultural producer and consultant and an internationally acclaimed radio documentary maker. She worked for many years as Editor of Arts, Factual and Drama for RTÉ Radio 1 and as Head of Arts and Cultural Strategy for RTÉ. She was responsible for establishing a number of important radio strands such as the long running and multi award winning Documentary on One. She developed RTÉ’s Independent Radio Productions and managed the RTÉ’s relationship with the independent radio sector for a number of years. She worked closely with the European Broadcasting Union and served as Chair of its Radio Documentary Group for more than a decade and in a consultative capacity to the EBU Radio Culture Group. She was also a member of the Steering Committee of the Prix Europa. Among many large scale public events she initiated and managed, Lorelei led the 2016 RTÉ Reflecting The Rising, the largest public event convened in Ireland since The Eucharistic Congress. She is currently a member of the Board of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. Lorelei joined the board in 2016.

Christine Monk is am Australian-born, Dublin-based cultural publicist, who has been working closely as an independent consultant with cultural organisations, festivals and venues in Ireland for over 20 years. Her recent client list includes The Gate Theatre, National Concert Hall, RTE Arts, The Arts Council, Macnas, National Youth Theatre,the Feis Ceoil and the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards. In Kilkenny her clients have included Cartoon Saloon, the Design and Crafts Council and the Butler Gallery. She is currently a board member with Poetry Ireland. Christine joined the board in 2019.

Mairead Meagher is a lecturer in Computing in Waterford Institute of Technology and has served on both its Academic Council and Governing Body during her time there. She is currently a committee member of the Kilkenny Choir. Mairead has been a volunteer with the festival since moving to Kilkenny in 2010 and joined the board in 2021 and is it's secretary.

Conor leads the Solution Consulting team at MURAL, the US headquartered digital collaboration platform. He is a former Accenture Strategy and Innovation leader who has worked with senior clients around the world. He is a founding member of the Irish World Schools Debating Council, an educational charity focused on the highest level of international student debating. Conor joined the board in 2021.

Cathal joined Kilkenny College CLG in April 2025 as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Kilkenny College, Cathal worked with Deutsche Bank and State Street International (Ireland) Limited for 27 years. Career highlights included the establishment of the State Street office in Kilkenny, Chief Administration Officer role with responsibility for Board and Committee Governance, AML, Controls, and New Business approvals, member of a number of State Street Ireland Boards and Committees, and responsibility for Fund Accounting and Financial reporting departments. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank / State Street in 1997, Cathal was the Financial Controller with Korea Exchange Bank from 1996-1997, worked as an Internal Auditor in EMEA and the Caribbean with American International Group from 1992-1996 and as an auditor with Coopers and Lybrand from 1988-1992. Cathal has an Honours Degree in Accounting and Finance from Dublin City University and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1992. Cathal is a Director of the Kilkenny Arts Festival and the Kilkenny Civic Trust. Cathal joined the board in 2022.

Catherine Heaney is a journalist and editor, and has worked in Dublin and London for over 20 years for publications including The Week, The Gloss and The Irish Times. In publishing, she held roles as an editor at Fourth Estate and Head of Faber Academy, the creative writing school of the London publishing house. Since 2017, she has been a director of the Estate of Seamus Heaney, which was set up by the Heaney family to preserve, promote and protect the work of the Irish poet and Nobel laureate. She works with publishers, festivals and cultural organisations in Ireland and internationally to preserve and promote her father's work and legacy.