For the fourth consecutive year Donegal Connect took place from 22nd - 25th September, a week to showcase the county to a wide and varied audience through a range of food, genealogy, business, arts and culture events. As part of this year's Donegal Connect event and Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Awards, AwakenHub in partnership with Donegal County Council were delighted to bring you an online event on 22nd September featuring the best of Donegal’s creative talent ‘Donegal Inspires Creative Women of the World’.

Our inspirational line-up included:

Moya Doherty, commissioning producer and originator of Riverdance, who was currently chairing the RTE Board.

Eileen Rafferty, a film producer who had returned from London to Donegal in order to co-found The Bothy in Gaoth Dobhair.

Dr Isobel Cunningham, a former dancer who returned to full-time education after spending five years touring the world with Riverdance and is now lecturing in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at ATU Donegal

Caitriona McLaughlin, an award-winning Theatre and Opera Director, Abbey Theatre Dublin.

Anne Marie Conlon, who is Head of Economic Development with Donegal County Council and leads a creative and dynamic team working to maximise Donegal’s potential as a great place to live, work, invest and explore.

The panel was expertly moderated by Irish-American Mary Ann Pierce, AwakenHub’s New York-based Global Diaspora Ambassador and CEO founder of MAP Digital Inc. The event included a short address from Donegal County Council, outlining the many reasons why Donegal was a great place to start or build a business – whether attendees were returning home or looking to relocate. You can see all of our wonderful guest interviews below.

This year’s theme is reconnecting with people and places, and Donegal Connect have put together a wonderful guest blog for us to encourage people to explore why Donegal is a great place to live, work, invest, study and do business in. So here is their ‘DID YOU KNOW’ piece about Donegal and all it has to offer. Enjoy!

Moya Doherty was the commissioning producer and originator of Riverdance which has just celebrated its 25th global anniversary. She is a founding director of Tyrone Productions which has worked with leading directors to create widely acclaimed productions. She is a writer and broadcaster and her work in radio, television and live performance (including producing the televised Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympic Games in 2003) has seen her recognised with honorary doctorates from Ulster University, NUI Maynooth and University College Dublin.

Eileen is a highly experienced producer with 15 years experience in commercial and film production. After many years in London, in 2016 Eileen co-founded The Bothy - a creative outpost for filmmakers and premium production studio, in Donegal. The Bothy team offers full production and editing services from its base overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Since its inception, The Bothy has produced documentaries, features & commercials and is proud to be currently cutting some exciting new projects for RTE, Channel 4 & Netflix.

Now, working closely with Aideen Doherty at the Donegal Film Office, Údarás na Gaeltachta and a team of industry professionals, Eileen is heading the team that will open Errigal Studios in 2023. Comprising of 2 film studios and facilities, Errigal Studios will be the premier virtual production stage at the heart of spectacular Donegal.

Eileen and her husband David are about to start building their dream home in Donegal, Eileen is line producing a feature film being shot in Donegal, David is making a TV show for the BBC, and all while making sure their 2 daughters attend the 502 extra curricular classes they attend every week!! Busy but Happy Happy days!

You can read our ‘Spotlight’ interview with Eileen here.

Find Eileen on LinkedIn

Dr Isobel Cunningham is a lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at ATU Donegal since 2015. Isobel returned to full time education after 5 years performing with Riverdance – The Show throughout Europe and Asia. Her Ph.D. is entitled “Evolution and Formation of Entrepreneurial Founding Teams in the Video Games Industry”. Isobel has a particular interest in female entrepreneurs and creative entrepreneurs and in her work collaborates with many local businesses and is a part of several cross border research projects.

Find Dr Isobel Cunningham on LinkedIn

Caitríona, Artistic Director at Abby Theatre, was born in Donegal and studied science at the University of Ulster before moving into theatre. She was Associate Director at the Abbey Theatre from 2017-2020, where her productions included: The Great Hunger by Patrick Kavanagh (with Conall Morrison); Citysong by Dylan Coburn Gray (ITTA nomination Best New Play); On Raftery’s Hill by Marina Carr, (for which she won Best Director at the 2019 ITTA); and Two Pints by Roddy Doyle, which toured widely in Ireland and the USA. She also worked with theatre and opera companies on both sides of the border, including Wexford Opera, Hot for Theatre, INO, The Local Group, and Landmark, and she was the director on O’Casey in the Estate, a TV documentary shown on RTE.

Find Caitríona on LinkedIn