Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland Welcomes the Appointment of Board Chair Ray Harman and New Board Member Catherine Magee
Posted: 23rd August 2024
Désirée Finnegan to extend term as Chief Executive of Screen Ireland
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland welcomes the recent appointment of Ray Harman as the new Chair of the Board of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland. This was announced today by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D., who also announced the appointment of new Board Member, Catherine Magee.
The Board of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland is also delighted to take this opportunity to announce that Désirée Finnegan will extend her term as Chief Executive of the agency for five years.
Ray Harman has worked as a songwriter and award-winning composer for film, TV, animation and theatre for over 20 years. He is a Board Member of IMRO and a former director and founder member of the Screen Composers Guild of Ireland. Ray Harman will take up the position as Chair of the Board until the end of his term. He succeeds Chair Susan Bergin, who stepped down from the position earlier this year.
Catherine Magee is a TV drama and film producer based in Ireland and has worked on projects such as ‘Normal People’, ‘Conversations With Friends’ and ‘Small Things Like These’.
Commenting on the appointments, Minister Martin said:
"I want to sincerely thank Susan Bergin for her hard work and the enormous contribution she has made to the Irish film industry over the past three years, both as a member and Chairperson of the Board of Screen Ireland. The Irish film industry continues to go from strength to strength and this is no small part due to the incredible work of Screen Ireland.
I would like to welcome Catherine Magee to the Board of Screen Ireland and congratulate her on appointment. Catherine will bring a wealth of experience to the role. Today, I am also appointing existing Board member, Ray Harman as the new Chairperson of the Board. Ray brings extensive experience to the role and I wish him well as he undertakes his new duties.
I am particularly pleased to announce that CEO Désirée Finnegan will remain with Screen Ireland and will continue to play a leading role in the success of the Irish film industry. Désirée has worked tirelessly to develop Ireland’s audiovisual industry in its entirety, whilst bringing a special focus on the recognition and support for artists and creatives who are the cornerstone of our screen industry.
I wish all well on their appointments and express my gratitude for their commitment to the Irish film industry.”
Désirée Finnegan was first appointed Chief Executive of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland in August 2019. During this time, the Irish screen industry has experienced a record-breaking level of success and growth, despite unprecedented global challenges and disruption.
Ray Harman, the newly appointed Chair of the Board of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, said:
“On behalf of the Screen Ireland Board, we’re delighted that Désirée will extend her term as Chief Executive of Screen Ireland. The recent critical and cultural success experienced by the Irish screen industry has been remarkable. Under Désirée Finnegan’s leadership and creative direction, Screen Ireland has shown strategic vision and a deep commitment to filmmakers and creative artists. The Board of Screen Ireland looks forward to working with Désirée to continue this ambitious vision for our industry.”
With strong and sustained support from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Screen Ireland has grown in scope, with record levels of funding. With an international wave of cultural acclaim for Irish storytelling on screen, the Irish screen industry’s reputation has risen to new heights on the world’s stage. This has been marked by a surge of new voices and emerging talent – as well as a new era for Irish-language film, with Academy Award-nominated An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) breaking historic records at home and abroad.
2024 is already seeing the achievement of more milestones, and the global reach of Irish cinema is continuing around the world: with Kneecap, the first ever Irish language film to be selected for the Sundance Film Festival; Small Things Like These becoming the first ever Irish film to open the Berlin International Film Festival; and five Irish films premiering in one year at the Cannes Film Festival; and the agency’s expansion into digital games with IndieDev, a cross-border games prototype fund – the first of its kind on the island of Ireland.
In the past five years, a suite of measures and strategic initiatives have been introduced by Screen Ireland to support the Irish screen industry. In 2020, in response to the pandemic production shutdown, Screen Ireland worked quickly to implement 20 separate emergency funding schemes to support the industry. The reinstatement of production resulted in a record-breaking year in 2021 – with €500 million invested in the Irish economy as a result of screen production spend across film, television, animation and documentary.
Diverse and new areas have been addressed as a result of this success and increased scope, including the establishment of a National Talent Academy network for skills development nationwide; investing in innovation via support for new formats and storytelling technologies; the increase of funding thresholds for the development and production of Irish feature film; the introduction of supports for wellbeing and dignity in the workplace policies on set; and a new Sustainability Plan and sustainability funding supports for the Irish screen industry.
In 2021, the Executive and Board of Screen Ireland launched Building For A Creative Future 2024: a three-year strategic plan for the Irish screen industry. This plan outlined the future direction for the agency and established five strategic objective pillars for the creative screen industry – innovative and creative storytelling excellence; talent and skills development; audience development; industry development; and an appropriately resourced Screen Ireland. Now, in 2024, a new strategic plan is currently being developed to guide the next stage in industry development for the Irish screen sector.