Aoibheann Gibbons has responsibility for the development and implementation of a range of research programmes which underpin UCD’s strategic objectives for research. Having won and managed 18 research and development projects across 10 thematic programmes of the 4th framework of the European Commission, Aoibheann’s career and achievements span the academic, corporate and arts environments. She balances her scientific background with experience in arts and media which includes interactive television and the creation of digital media events and exhibitions. Aoibheann was a member of the judging panel for the Irish Design Awards and the Golden Spider awards and has supported the creation of artistic work in new media since her time as Director of Arthouse Multimedia Centre in Temple Bar and subsequently as COO in eircom’s multimedia division.
Dick Ahlstrom is Science Editor of The Irish Times and edits the Thursday Science Today page. He established the page 12 years ago but has been reporting on Irish and international science since 1986 when we was appointed as the newspaper’s first science correspondent.
A graduate of the National College of Art and Design and University College Dublin, Anne Hodge is responsible for programming and curating exhibitions and providing public access to the Gallery’s extensive collection of works on paper. Her research interests include printmaking in Ireland and the history of collecting.
Professor Declan McGonagle is Director of the National College of Art and Design. He was previously Director of Interface Research in Art, Technologies and Design at the School of Art and Design, University of Ulster, Belfast. He worked and exhibited as an artist for a period after graduating from Belfast College of Art before being appointed the first Organiser of the Orchard Gallery in Derry in 1978. He was Director of Exhibitions at the ICA in London and was the first Director of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, later directing the City Arts Centre’s Civil Arts Inquiry. He is a Board member of Engage U.K., the Liverpool Biennial and ProjectBase Biennial in Cornwall. He was short-listed for the Turner Prize and has also served on the Turner Prize and other national and international award juries and has been external examiner in a number of UK third level Institutions. His research practice is concerned with the relationships between art/artist, the institution and communities on which he writes and lectures regularly.
Eilis O’Brien is responsible for marketing and communications at UCD and since joining the university in 2004 has led the re-branding process and the development of the UCD Horizons campaigns. Before joining UCD, Eilis O’Brien BA, MBA, was director of communications at Dublin City University where she established the office of communications and marketing. Prior to this she was director of communications, education and training during the start-up phase of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. She was also public relations manager with Bank of Ireland for eight years and with Bord Gáis Éireann for five years. In addition to her industry experience, Eilis has also worked in consultancy where she specialised in strategic communications in the health and environment sectors.
David O’Donoghue is a Director of Stoney Road Press, Fine Art Publishing and Editioning House and Director of Works on Paper Ltd, an art consultancy and management company. Previously, David was Print Development Executive for Temple Bar Properties from 1994 - 1997. From 1992 – 1994, he was Director of Brownes Gallery and Pantheon Galleries, Dawson Street. David is a Fine Art graduate of Dun Laoghaire School of Art and Design.
Ruth Ferguson has a BA in History of Art and Archaeology and an MA in Architectural History. She has worked in the National Gallery of Ireland and IMMA and curated various exhibitions including a major retrospective of the work of the Irish artist Patrick Swift and the Sheela an Gig exhibition which formed part of 'From Beyond the Pale' in 1994. She is currently curator of UCD Newman House and the UCD art collection.
