IFTA BOARD

• Liam Cunningham
  Actor

  Irish actor Liam Cunningham has appeared in both the highest, and second highest, grossing Irish independent film The Guard (2011) and The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006). In 2012, Cunningham joined the main cast for the second season of HBO's Game of Thrones and was nominated for an IFTA for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Drama in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and he won the award in 2018.

• David McLoughlin
  Producer

  David McLoughlin’s producing career spans over twenty five years. He is a former Chief Executive of Screen Producers Ireland and is currently Vice-Chair of its Film and Television Drama Committee. He was recently appointed to the Steering Group of the National Talent Academy (East) for Film & TV. In 2002 he co-founded, and was the chair for the first five years, of the Dublin International Film Festival. From 2007 to 2021, he was Chief Executive of Wexford Festival Opera & the National Opera House. In 2021, he returned to the world of film and television production to join the producing team in Metropolitan Films International, with upcoming projects including Season 2 of Netflix’s global hit Wednesday.

• Louise Kiely
  Casting Director

  Louise Kiely is one of Ireland’s leading Casting Directors. In 2005, she founded Louise Kiely Casting. For her work on Normal People, she was nominated for an Emmy Award and was the recipient of the CSA Artios Award & the co-recipient of the CDG Award for Best Casting in a Limited Series In 2023, Louise was the recipient of the CSA Artios Award for her work on The Banshees of Inisherin.

• Áine Moriarty
  IFTA CEO

  Áine Moriarty is the founder and Chief Executive of the Irish Film & Television Academy (www.ifta.ie) est. in 2003 which has 1,140 Members of Irish industry professionals and runs an Educational Programme of c50 events annually including the John Ford Ireland - Film Symposium. She has Executive Produced 17 x IFTA Awards Ceremonies; is a founding member of the Film Academies Network of Europe; and lectured annually at the Digital MEDIA Business School in Spain for five years. She founded the IFTN Network (www.iftn.ie) in 1995 and previously was manager of Film Ireland Magazine for 3 years. She is a member of the Audiovisual Federation of Ireland: Member of the Film Steering Group Kerry; Board Member of the Kerry Film Festival.

• Múirne Laffan
  

  Muirne Laffan has over twenty years of experience in new media technologies, evolving consumer behaviour and smart platform economics. In her previous role, she was the Managing Director of RTÉ Digital, where she worked for sixteen years, and was instrumental in setting up GAAGO, which helped bring our national games to a global audience. Prior to that, she was VP, Media Director at Universal McCann in New York, and was Chairperson of the Digital Steering Committee for the European Broadcasting Union (from 2015 to 2017). She is also a Non Executive Director of the Abbey Theatre.

• Nick Linnane
  Nick Linnane & Co

  Nick Linnane is Managing Director of Nick Linnane & Co which provides financial & business advice and accountancy services to businesses in Ireland and have offices in Dublin city and Westmeath. Nick works with a wide range of businesses in Ireland from media and technology to manufacturing and publishing.

• Joe Ryan
  

  Joe Ryan is Vice President at international specialist Overhaul. His expertise includes designing and implementing process improvement and developing new innovative solutions that bring better customer experiences, vertical horizontal and cultural alignment for organisations to achieve their strategic goals.