About Us

Niall is responsible for collaboratively shaping Graffiti’s artistic programmes and productions. He builds company partnerships, secures funding support, and makes sure that the creative voices of children and young people sit at the heart of everything Graffiti does.

He began his Graffiti journey in 2015, leading Creative Learning and Activate, and in 2018 he was appointed Artistic Director and CEO.

Niall has directed numerous Graffiti productions, most recently Grace by Jody O’Neill, Humans: A Robot Musical by John McCarthy, and The Sleep that Ceased to Settle by Finegan Kruckemeyer. His work has been presented at Cork Midsummer Festival, Baboró International Arts Festival for Children, Dublin Theatre Festival, and at venues nationwide.

Many moons ago, he also acted in a Graffiti production of The Lost Ones, directed by his predecessor, mentor and hero, Graffiti’s founder Emelie FitzGibbon.

Niall currently serves as Chair of Theatre for Young Audiences Ireland and sits on the board of Cork Theatre Collective. Previously, he chaired Youth Theatre Ireland and had the joy of directing the National Youth Theatre in 2023 in collaboration with YTI and The Abbey.

A qualified teacher in a former life, Niall is also mad for rowing currachs and spends his spare time driving a very old tractor—happily, not at the same time.

Lynn joined Graffiti in 2019 as General Manager, before moving into the Deputy Director role in 2025. She still keeps a steady hand on stuff like finance, HR, governance and the like, while the day-to-day of the good ship is now expertly captained by her colleague Allyson.

Lynn’s main focus is fundraising: supporting the team with funding applications, and working with Niall to grow our community of advocates and supporters, build new partnerships, and help diversify and grow Graffiti’s financial future. She’s also often found strategising with Niall about what comes next (doing her Big Picture hands), while checking down the back of people’s sofas for loose change for Graffiti (metaphorically… mostly).

Lynn was previously based in London for 16 years, working at Amnesty International in Creative Partnerships and Artist Relations, managing campaigns with global artists across the creative sector, then as Director and Head of Artist Relations at Franses, before returning to her hometown of Cork in 2017. Most importantly, she was also an Activate Youth Theatre alumna from the mid-90s, and once celebrated the Theatre’s birthday by dressing as Mrs Doyle from Father Ted, complete with precariously balanced cup and saucer, insisting on tea for all.

She still loves tea, comedy, the sea, and telling everyone she’s almost finished writing a novel.

Síle oversees creative programming and production development at Graffiti, with her special focus and passion being Graffiti as Gaeilge.

Síle has worked with Graffiti off and on since 1999 and has participated in the company’s evolution throughout the years. She spent nine years working in theatre in the Czech Republic, specialising in physical theatre, puppetry and teaching, and has brought those interests back to Graffiti with her. Highlights with Graffiti include directing “Walking Man” and its Irish re-telling, “An Fear Siúil” by Jody O’Neill and the devised piece “Trasna” in 2020 with Niall Cleary.

Síle has a particular interest in the arts for Early Years and has been closely involved in the BEAG project and our Early Years productions since the beginning.

Síle also leads on our Sustainability Policy, helping Graffiti to develop and enact its climate action plan with the support of the Green Arts Initiative and Theatre Green Book, Ireland.

An established yoga teacher in Cork, Sile also enjoys great coffee, great books and Vitamin Sea – ideally all at the same time.

Ann Marie the Creative Writing Coordinator. She organises and facilitates creative writing workshops for primary and secondary school students visiting Graffiti Theatre. She also runs Write Club, our free teenage writing group. She aims to give as many children in Cork as possible creative writing opportunities.

After joining Fighting Words as a volunteer Ann Marie knew she’d found her passion and was delighted to accept the role as Fighting Words coordinator in October 2024. 

Ann Marie previously worked in government and non-profit organisations in Ireland and New Zealand before she moved back to Cork. There she spent many years working with the National Advocacy Service for People with Disabilities and would probably still be enjoying that role if she hadn’t decided to devote time to her writing.

Now, she is an award winning writer of children’s middle grade fiction. In non-fiction she has written for national papers in both Ireland and the UK but has a preference for tall tales filled with fun. 

Ann Marie is never short of a notebook (although her pens often get lost), loves rowing in dragon boats and making a mess on the kitchen table with art supplies. 

Rachel Doolin is Director of Graffiti BEAG Early Years Arts Programme, a multidisciplinary initiative delivering high-quality participatory arts experiences for children aged 0–3 since 2010. BEAG centres curiosity, care, and co-creation, offering artist-led experiences that nurture early development through sensory and creative exploration. The programme works closely with educators and early years professionals to embed creativity into daily routines, supporting children’s social, emotional, and sensory development.

Rachel brings over a decade of experience in early years and participatory arts, designing and facilitating projects across community, health, and education settings. She is also an independent artist whose practice spans exhibitions, public art commissions, and cross-disciplinary collaboration with artists, NGOs, and community organisations.

In addition, Rachel is an associate artist with Helium Arts, delivering child-led, participatory engagements with children and families in clinical and community settings.

She holds a BA in Fine Art (MTU Crawford, 2015) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Cultural Event Management (IADT, 2024).

Allyson Frick O’Sullivan works across finance, human resources, fundraising, governance, and marketing.

Raised on community theatre magic, she’s been involved in the arts ever since. She received her BA in Theatre at Temple University in Philadelphia, and her MS in Arts Administration at Boston University.

Most recently, she served as the Manager of Cork Midsummer Festival. Before moving to Ireland, she worked for the Boston Children’s Chorus and the Cambridge Community Art Center. Prior, she spent time teaching English in Prague and South Korea. As an artist, her most memorable experience is performing in the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.

Allyson is known for making people feel at home and being social super-glue. She loves reading, yoga and pilates, and being in the sunshine.

Donna is an artist, facilitator and experienced drama practitioner who has been part of Team Graffiti since 2011.  Her work foregrounds access, care and playful creativity, ensuring every young person can participate meaningfully and be seen within the work.

Donna devises and delivers a range of Creative Learning programmes for Graffiti, including professional development workshops for teachers and practitioners who want to develop a more inclusive approach to their work with children and young people. Donna’s role as Inclusion Officer means she works across all of our Youth Theatre groups, and she is also the lead artist of Activate Space, our dedicated Youth Theatre group for young people with disabilities and complex needs. 

She takes play very seriously, is happiest when things are cosy, and believes magic often shows up in small, unexpected moments.

Christine is Graffiti’s office administrator and Bookings Officer.

She has been with the company since 2008, and has the hefty task of calendar coordination of staff, workshops, theatre facilities bookings and external venue engagements.

Christine supports communications with parents, schools and teachers seeking to book productions, workshops, Activate theatre and Fighting Words workshops.

She is the first point of contact at Graffiti Theatre Company and truly enjoys connecting and supporting the many young people, artists, teachers and organisational partners that contact the company.

Christine likes long walks and having a chilled-out day off.

Photography for Graffiti team © Marcin Lewandowski soundofphotography

Emelie FitzGibbon founded Graffiti in 1984 and led the company as Artistic Director/CEO until 2017. She was the founding director of the Everyman Youth Theatre in Cork, directed the Pan Celtic Song Contest and directed a number of productions for the Cork Theatre Company before turning her focus to educational theatre and starting Graffiti.

Her educational theatre productions, mostly for Graffiti but also for Replay and Very Special Arts, have been seen not only in Ireland but also in the U.K, France, Finland and the U.S. As an Educational Drama leader, she has worked with teachers and youth leaders in Sweden, Malta, the U.S, Austria, Switzerland, Hong Kong and the Czech Republic.

Her reviews and articles on poetry, Irish Theatre, Educational Theatre and Youth Theatre have been published in a wide range of newspapers, magazines and journals in Ireland, the UK, Hungary, China, Switzerland, the U.S. and Australia. As a member of the Executive and as Chairperson, Emelie was involved with the National Association for Youth Drama for over 35 years. She worked extensively with New York University’s Department of Educational Theatre and has served on the boards of Cork Theatre Company, Everyman Palace Theatre, Youth Theatre Ireland, Cork Midsummer Festival, Asylum Theatre Company and CIT Arts Committee.