Governance, Staff, Policies

Seamus Newcombe is Chief Executive of Payac Services, which provides Payment Services to Credit Unions in Ireland. Seamus joined Payac from Bank of Ireland where he held the role of Head of Bank of Ireland for Leitrim Roscommon. Seamus started his career with Permanent TSB, and has also held management positions with IFG Group, Bailieborough Credit Union and Link Credit Union where he was CEO. Seamus is a graduate of University of Ulster, University College Dublin and Boston College’s School of Management Leadership Programme. He is a Certified Risk Manager, Certified Data Protection Officer and Qualified Financial Advisor, as well as completing a MSc in Executive Leadership. Seamus is a member of the Association of Compliance Officers of Ireland, Institute of Bankers, and is a former member of the National Executive of CUMA. Seamus was appointed by the Minister for Finance as a member of the Credit Union Advisory Committee (CUAC) to the Irish Government in September 2018.

Charlie grew up in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal in the 1960’s. He cut his musical teeth playing in Rock n Roll bands around Donegal before moving to Dublin in 1968 where he immersed himself in the thriving Dublin Folk scene. He moved to Drumshanbo in 1973 where he formed Jargon who went on to win the Letterkenny Folk Festival in 1982 gaining a recording contract with Polygram Records. He recorded many singles with Jargon e.g. “Bailieboro and me” and “The Singer”. When Jargon disbanded he worked with Ennis Singer Maura O Connell who recorded his most famous song “Feet of a dancer” among others. Charlie now pursues a solo career and has recorded many albums in his own right. He won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland in 1994 with Paul Harrington singing Brendan Graham’s song “Rock n Roll Kids”. Charlie’s songs have been recorded by many artists including Eleanor Shanley, Mary and Frances Black, Hal Ketchum and many more. He has lived in Drumshanbo for thirty six years where he is a member of the Drumshanbo Adult Choir. He has been a member of the Drumshanbo Drama and Musical Societies and has performed in many of their productions. He is a member of the board of Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO).

Mary is Director of Services for Housing and Community, Corporate Services, Culture and Emergency Services in Leitrim County Council. She joined the board of The Dock in 2015.

Philip Delamere studied sculpture at Limerick School of Art from 1989 to 1994 and worked as a visual artist, theatre designer, street theatre director and arts organiser until 2000. He became County Arts Officer with Roscommon County Council in 2000 and has been Arts Officer with Leitrim County Council since 2011. As a Local Authority Arts Officer he is responsible for devising and implementing policy, plans and programmes for arts development within County Leitrim for Leitrim County Council. Philip is also a board member of Create, the national development agency for collaborative arts and was appointed to the governing body of I.T. Sligo in 2014.

Rebeccah Farrell is Deputy General Manager of Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Ireland’s largest fixed seat theatre.
She holds an MSc in Management from UCD’s Michael Smurfit Business School and a BSc in Surveying and Property Economics from TUD Technological University Dublin.
A native of Carrick-on-Shannon, Rebeccah has wide-ranging experience and interests in the entertainment and culture sector. She was previously General Manager of Carrick Cineplex, an independent cinema and café/wine-bar and recipient of several national awards and worked closely with Irish film industry professionals to promote new Irish talent and titles as well as developing Arthouse, World Cinema, and Live Arts programming. She led Carrick Water Music Festival for six years as Head of Operations and Programming, staging opera, classical, folk, and contemporary music performances, and a broad fringe programme. Notable past performers include The Waterboys, Celine Byrne, Veronica Dunne, Vladimir Jablakov, Lisa Hannigan to name but a few.

A co-founder of Penknife Productions Theatrical Company she produced the European premiere of ‘The Edge of Our Bodies’ by Pulitzer Prize finalist Adam Rapp in Dublin’s Smock Alley Theatre followed by a run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Other past involvements and committee work include the Carrick Carnival, a 10-day summer Festival and the Phase One Electronic Music & Arts Festival in The Dock Arts Centre.

Kealin Ireland is a Human Resources Consultant with considerable experience in a range of organisations. Before setting up her own consultancy she worked in both the private and public sectors, IBEC, 3rd level education and manufacturing. She has also lectured extensively in both the National College of Ireland and the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art and Design.

Kealin provides a range of Human Resources and Employee Relations services and solutions. She can design and deliver training and development initiatives, facilitate workshops, carry out research or provide specific and ongoing advice and support. She has extensive experience of working with Trade Unions and representing clients in the Workplace Relations Commission. In a personal capacity, Kealin works with and in community groups. She established Leitrim BirdWatch in 2009 and leads walks and talks relating to birds and wildlife. She also sits on Leitrim Council’s Environment Strategic Policy Group. She has a deep interest in wildlife and rural heritage. Kealin, along with her husband Ciarán Beattie, established Leitrim Flowers in 2009. They run a successful flower farm, growing and providing a range of flowers and foliage. They sell at farmers’ markets and also cater for a large number of weddings. They have brought hundreds of visitors to Leitrim, through attendance at their garden and horticulture training courses.Kealin has a broad and deep interest in the arts. Her specific interests are in poetry, literary fiction and the visual arts. Kealin holds an MBS from UCD’s Graduate Business School.

Liz is a graduate of the school of business at GMIT. She leads The Dock team with operational processes; including financial controls, budgeting and payments and program supervision and is a key support in the overall management of The Dock. She is the longest serving member of staff at The Dock and has been instrumental in the organisations development. She is a keen badminton player, runner and football coach.

Email Liz lodowd@leitrimcoco.ie

Ray Duffy is a graduate in Electronic and Telecommunications Engineering TUD. He brings extensive experience to The Dock having worked in the events and cultural industry for twenty five years. Rays role is wide ranging and includes the safe installation of exhibitions, theatre shows and music performances, along with the preservation and maintenance of the building. He is an award winning Sound and Light Specialist. He has recently led The Dock on a major technical overhaul.

Email Ray rduffy@leitrimcoco.ie

Laura trained as a visual artist and studied fine art at IT Sligo. She develops The Docks education programme, leading on outreach work with schools and young people. Laura supports with visual art curation and produces the visual art programme. She manages the gallery mediation programme including tours and visits. Laura has recently developed a number of innovative online events. She has a keen interest in new and virtual technologies.

Email Laura lmahon@leitrimcoco.ie

Anna is a graduate of Languages and English Studies at Technological University Dublin. She returned recently to Ireland from Berlin, Germany where she worked as an English Language Assistant in a technical school and as a historical city guide. She has also worked in education in Badajoz, Spain. Her role at The Dock involves the management of all marketing operations, as well as website and box office maintenance.

Email: anna.collins@leitrimcoco.ie

Lara Byrne works as the Events & Community Coordinator at The Dock. Her background is in the arts. Recently, she completed an MFA in Creative Writing at UCD. Lara has worked as an Assistant Archivist in Sligo County Library, and has also worked in The Model Arts Centre, as a manager of the cultural cinema programme. She has worked as an Arts Correspondent for The Sligo Champion newspaper and in recent years, she has worked abroad as an English support language teacher in Northern India and as a field archaeologist on both urban and rural sites in Ireland. In 2021 she was the writer-researcher and co-curator on a 6-part podcast and online exhibition, entitled, ‘Encounters with Jack B. Yeats,’ to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of the artist. In 2016, she was the researcher-writer on three historical supplements, entitled, ‘The Sligo Rising,’ issued by The Sligo Champion to commemorate the one hundred anniversary of the 1916 Rising.

Email Lara lara.byrne@leitrimcoco.ie