IADT - Dún Laoghaire

Barry Dignam

Barry Dignam is Programme Chair of Film & Television at the Irish National Film School at IADT. He was the Irish Course Director of Viewfinder, the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master of Art in Cinematography. As an educator, he has over twenty years’ experience in teaching, academic strategy and quality assurance.

He studied Drama at Trinity College Dublin and Film at the National Film School IADT.

As a filmmaker, He has made many multi-award-winning shorts including 'Chicken', 'Dream Kitchen' and 'A Ferret Called Mickey'. He's had been nominated for a Palme d'Or at Cannes and a Berlin Bear. 'Monged' a feature he co-wrote with Gary Duggan premiered in 2015. His films have been presented in official selection at over a hundred and fifty international film festivals. They have been screened by top broadcasters including Film Four, PBS, Canal+ and been released on DVD and theatrically in Europe, the US and beyond.

Deirdre O’Toole

Deirdre O’Toole is a lecturer in the National Film School of Ireland, IADT. She lectures on the BA (Hons) Film and Television Production, BA (Hons) New Media Studies and the Erasmus+ MA Cinematography. Deirdre has a practice-based PhD in Film and Visual Studies from Queen's University Belfast, where she made documentaries collaborating with storytellers who had experienced trauma.

Deirdre is also a filmmaker who has worked for many years as a cinematographer where she filmed documentaries, music videos and dramas. Deirdre has directed three documentaries which have been shown extensively in film festivals and galleries around the world including Chagrin Documentary Festival, Ohio, Red Rock Film Festival, Utah, Docs Ireland, Belfast, Aspen Mountain Film Festival, Colorado, On Art Film Festival, Poland, Kinosmena Festival, Minsk, Irish Film Institute Documentary Festival, and Europa Documentary Festival, Egypt. Her work was showcased for four months in the Turchin Centre for the Arts, North Carolina in 2019, twice in the Saranac Gallery in Washington and twice in CIACLA, USA.

Jean Rice

Jean has been a stalwart member of the academic staff in Film & TV for over twenty years, and brings an exemplary track record in creative production industry experience, and works tirelessly to maintain rich and rewarding industry connections for the benefit of the student body. She has nurtured and advocated for students and graduates alike and is dedicated in her promotion of student creativity and craft excellence. Among the many brilliant initiatives Jean has spearheaded in her time, is the award-winning Young Women in Film & TV, a series of annual workshops which focus on visual storytelling and was designed to inspire young women to consider a career in the film and television industry, delivered by all female teams of industry professionals. Jean believes passionately that the future of film & television must be based on diversity, inclusion and gender parity.

Lance Hogan

Lance Hogan has been a producer, musician and composer for the past 30 years. After graduating from film college, he toured the world many times over.

His time on the road gave him an enviable knowledge of world music working with artists including Dead Can Dance, Sinead O'Connor, Kodo Drummers, Ronnie Wood, Babba Maal, Zakir Hussain, U2 & Kila.

Lance is now concentrating on his first love: composing for film. He has scored features from Finland, Hungary, Turkey, Italy, UK and Ireland, working with directors including Oscar-winner Neil Jordan, Oscar-nominated animator Jimmy Murakami, and music video legend, Kevin Godley (10cc).

Paul Freaney

Paul Freaney lectures in Film Studies and Screenwriting at the National Film School, at IADT. He originally designed and launched the institutes’ Masters in Screenwriting and is the Programme Chair of that programme. It has been running now for twenty years and has built a reputation as one of the finest courses of its kind in Europe.

In 2014 he wrote and directed the short film drama - "These Dog Days". It Premiered at the Indie Cork Film Festival and played the Cork Film Festival in 2015. He has developed a number of feature scripts with directors, producers and recently developed a feature "I'm A Wheel" with a Screen Ireland development loan. His most recent screenplay is a contemporary drama entitled "It's Like This". He is on the Board of Directors of the Guestbook Project Foundation, founded by Professor Richard Kearney of Boston College; the foundation promotes peace building in divided Communities through shared storytelling. He is also a member of the Emmy awards screenwriting-judging panel.

Steve O’Reilly

Steve has over twenty years professional experience in Ireland and internationally in the film and television industry. He has worked on productions for many international clients including the BBC, National Geographic, Artė, CBS 60 mins, and Netflix. Steve has worked all over the world including extreme environments such as Antarctica the Himalayas and transatlantic yacht racing.

His list of credits include TV and film commercials, film shorts, documentaries and TV programmes, and include two international award winning feature film documentaries ‘The Summit’ 2014 and 'In A House That Ceased To Be' 2015.

Rónán Ó Muirthile

Rónán Ó Muirthile is the Head of Department for Film & Media and Head of the National Film School at IADT in Dún Laoghaire. The department has a student cohort of over 500 full time and part time students studying all aspects of the screen and media industries. He is responsible for all aspects of academic delivery, quality assurance, budgeting, administration and strategic development. He is an active practitioner. His credits include all genres of TV; high end, award winning documentary films, international formats and some of the best-known and loved Irish prime time programmes. The documentary 'Flann O'Brien: The Lives of Brian' which he wrote & produced was awarded the IFTA for best single documentary in 2007 and 'Connected', a twenty part series he series produced, won the IFTA for best Constructed Reality in 2015..