Alternative Entertainments

The People 

 

MARTIN MORAN - CEO

Martin has been involved with Alternative Entertainments since the 80s. His first contact was as guitar student and attendee of The Tallaght Rock School. In the 90s he began working as guitar tutor with The Des Carty Music School. He then joined the festival support staff, working on projects that would become The Des Carty Sessions and The South Dublin Rock School later to become Suburban Sounds) as administrator and eventually Music Programme Manager. The organisation moved away from its original multi-disciplinary remit and more toward a mainly music-focused programme. Martin has worked on programme development since 2010. He was appointed CEO in 2015.

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LIAM MORRISSEY - Company Secretary, Traditional Music consultant, Visual Arts consultant.

 

Liam is one of the founding members of Alternative Entertainments and was its CEO from 1982 – 2014. He identified the possibilities in arts programming in the Tallaght/Saggart/Rathcoole area in the early 80s and in the absence of any cultural activity decided to programme, manage and deliver music and visual arts events. With a small group of dedicated friends he developed a strong committed artistic audience and a creative hub in the region. He built on a vibrant existing traditional music scene by enrolling the services of musical stalwarts in the area, particularly the great Des Carty, to set up festivals and schools that continue to this day. His pioneering work in the presentation and development of the best of the country’s visual art in the South County Dublin region is one of his most important achievments. Between 1984 and 2013 Liam curated hundreds of high quality exhibitions, workshops, exchanges and commissions. Alternative Entertainments was the first organisation to provide fully serviced and affordable artists’ studios in Tallaght, further nurturing the artistic, creative spirit in the area. Liam continues to contribute to the organisation to this day.

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BRENDA FULLER - Visual Arts Manager, Arts Administrator, Festival Coordinator.

 

Brenda joined Alternative Entertainments in 1990 while working on an Arts in the Communityproject. Her interest in visual arts and arts curation made her a perfect fit for the organisation’s developing visual arts programme. With Liam she identified visual arts projects and developed them into exhibitions and workshop opportunities for the audiences of South County Dublin.  The organisation ran its visual arts programme in a wide variety of spaces around the county until The Alternative entertainments Gallery was opened in the Civic Theatre in 2000. Brenda worked with Liam crafting an annual programme of exhibitions that featured some of the most influential artists in the country – Paddy Graham, Seán McSweeney, Richard Gorman, Brian Maguire, Patrick Pye and Jack Pakenham to name a few.

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Our Sponsors

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Alternative Entertainments is supported in its work by South Dublin County Council Arts Office, Music Generation South Dublin, 

Music Generation Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown, The Arts Council, Meath County Council, Kildare County Council, and Creative Ireland. 

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