Artists Inventors Funders
Many wonderfully talented and dedicated people have made this work happen. Here they are.
Thomas Johnston
Concept, Script & Musical Composition
Thomas is a musician and the director of Ceol Connected, are a young and impassioned company that strives to create meaningful, virtuosic, fantastical, and gloriously joyful work for young audiences that is of the highest quality and that draws inspiration and intrigue from the world of traditional arts. We tour our work nationally and internationally. We produce recordings that can be enjoyed by children in Ireland and around the world. We design and implement innovative and highly engaging inclusive arts, music education, and arts-in-education projects, and we provide consultation services to a range of arts organisations, projects, and companies who seek assistance in these areas.
Órla Kelly
Concept, Script & Sound Effects
Órla is a visual artist, creative educationalist and arts manager with a specific practice that focuses on working with and for early years children, aiming to stimulate and support the naturally creative, poetic, philosophical and curious intelligences of the young child. She is the founder and director of Early Childhood Creativity, an initiative that promotes creative thinking and activity in early years children and their parents, and supports artists and educationalists to develop specific and creative ways of working with early years children (0-6 years). She has worked with young children for twenty years creating work in Ireland and Europe, with and without a common spoken tongue, using creative understanding to collaboratively create. Her work with children aims to explore a naturally intelligent and free imagination, where real creation is almost always an intelligent action, done with concentration and joy to understand the world and our relationship with it.
Eimear Morrissey
Narration
Best known for her role as Tracey Rooney in the RTE2 comedy drama Damo & Ivor, which saw her reprise the role for Damo & Ivor: The Movie. After which she went on to work with Director Phyllida Lloyd on Herself, John Hayse on Redemption (ITV) and is currently filming an exciting film project due to be released in 2022.
Eimear also appeared in Fair City for a number of years playing Social Worker Emily Mahon. Has toured the UK with Tinder: The Comedy directed by Daryn Crosbie, playing the role of Maz, the play also ran at Dublin’s Tivoli and Olympia Theatre’s. And was nominated as Best Actress at The Dublin International Short Film and Music Festival for the role of Sonya in The Ballsbridge Poisoner, directed by Clive Arnold.
Eimear also has substantial stage experience working with theatre companies throughout Ireland. Eimear has considerable experience in musicals and pantomime; she has an excellent ear for accents, a strong singing voice and is an extremely well established Voiceover Artist represented by Voicebank Dublin. She is also a skilled Drama Facilitator.
Stephen Markham
Sound Design and Arrangements
Stephen is a sound designer, composer and arranger from Ennis, Co. Clare. He has been a longtime collaborator on Ceol Connected’s productions and recordings for young audiences including WUNDERGROUND, a live coproduction with the National Concert Hall and Pavilion Theatre, and Ceol Connected’s LEAF co-production with Draíocht Arts Centre. He has also collaborated as sound designer, arranger and performer on A Winter Wish, The Far Field, The Quiet Tree, Return of Spring, and TREEHOUSE.
Stephen is a multi all-Ireland champion pianist, he has also toured & recorded with various traditional artists including Finbar Furey, The Young Irelanders, Project West, Kevin Crawford & Colin Farrell.
Beth O' Halloran
Illustrations
Beth is a visual artist, writer, illustrator and educator. She lives and works in Dublin, Ireland where she wears a few hats – as an artist, lecturer (in the National College of Art and Design), writer (fiction and non-fiction), mindfulness instructor (facilitate workshops and help run a weekly Zen meditation group), and owner of two enormous dogs (Mr Bojangles and Dune).
Born in Boston to an Irish Dad and a 'Mainer' Mum, Beth has bobbed between the two sides of the Atlantic all her life with detours for five New York City years (as artist/ dogwalker), which was wonderful but had her addled, so she took to the sweet quiet of a Zen monastery in Japan where she lived as a monk for three years. These experiences have shaped her current life which combines art, teaching and a love of the natural world.
Trevor Hutchinson
Recording, Mixing, Mastering
Trevor has had a long and extensive career in the music industry. Arriving in Dublin from Belfast in 1980 with indie band Katmandu, he went on to establish himself at the centre of the industry with his role in the group the Waterboys. After 6 years of touring and recording with the band he went on to help launch the career of Sharon Shannon along with col-leagues Steve Cooney and Maire Breathnach.
In 1997 he formed the group Lunasa, a group which is still very much at the forefront of Irish traditional music today. His unique approach to the double bass has helped define their sound over two decades and ten albums. In addition he set up Marguerite Studios in 1991. Countless albums have come from that facility, and production and engineering credits include Donal Lunny and Frank Harte, Tim O’Brien, Eric Bibb, Anna Friel, Cherish the Ladies, John Renbourne, Lunasa, JigJam, Mox-ie, Liz Carroll and many others.
He has performed and recorded with numerous artists including Natalie Merchant, Tim O’Brien, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Eric Bibb, Carlos Nunes, Ken Stringfellow (REM), Water-boys, Eddie Reader, Luka Bloom. He is currently producing a cd recording of the stage show Port.
Commissioned by Julie Clarke
Fingal County Council Arts Office
Julie is the Youth & Education Officer of Fingal Arts Office. The Youth & Education Programme serves children and young people aged 0 – 18 years in Fingal county. With a significant youth population Fingal is one of the youngest, fastest growing and most diverse counties in Ireland.
Working across art forms, and engaging with professionals in the arts, education, youth and community sectors, this programme
produces innovative and ambitious projects with, for and by children and young people;
Supports experimentation within arts and education practice;
Develops a collaborative ethos with national & international partners;
Programmes professional development opportunities for artists and educators;
Conducts documentation and research in a bid to better understand and contribute to the growing arts and education sector nationally.