Team
Dingle Lit is organised by a dedicated committee of volunteers, who between them bring vast and diverse experience, and work year-round behind the scenes to make this magical weekend happen. The organising committee is assisted during the festival weekend by wonderful volunteers, to whom we are eternally grateful, and we encourage anyone interested in volunteering to get in touch.
Dingle Lit Festival Committee
Sheila O’Reilly
Festival Director
A book industry professional for over 35 years, Sheila owned award-winning bookshops in South London. She was a member of Booksellers Association (BA) Management Council and now works part-time leading the BA’s learning and development online platform. She is also a business mentor for independent bookshops on behalf of the BA.
Siobhán Prendergast
Director of Irish Language Events
A publishing professional for 30 years, Siobhán founded her own company, Dingle Publishing Services in 2014. Siobhán is a fluent Irish speaker and holds a PgDip in Publishing and Book Production and a Master of Arts with Distinction in Publishing. Specialising in helping authors with self-publishing, she regularly gives workshops and webinars on the subject.
Peter McKay
Treasurer
A publishing professional with over 40 years’ experience, Peter worked at board level for Thomson Reuters, Elsevier and was latterly CEO of The Publishing Training Centre in the UK. Peter works on grant applications, oversees venues and logistics, tends to the website and oversees all things technology-related for the festival.
Irene Flannery
Volunteer Coordinator
Irene is a Nutritional Therapist (www.omnom.ie), speaker, tutor and researcher in health and wellness, delivering and organising events, courses and programmes. She writes a fortnightly column for West & Mid Kerry Live magazine. Irene is the Volunteer Coordinator for Dingle Lit, and also oversees Health & Safety, Garda vetting, and all our policies.
Niall McDowell
Sponsorship
Niall McDowell is a Partner at a leading Irish law firm. He holds a BA in Philosophy & Politics, is an avid reader and writes in his free time. Niall has primary responsibility for the festival’s sponsorship activities including looking after the Founders and Friends of the Festival schemes and managing key sponsor relationships.
Deanna O’Connor
Branding & Content
Deanna is a freelance writer, editor, and native content specialist. As an award-winning magazine editor, she has worked across print and digital publishing, events, and broadcast media. A certified trainer and facilitator, she also hosts public speaking and personal branding workshops and webinars for corporate and private clients. Deanna oversees branding, design, marketing, and content creation for the festival.
Camilla Dinkel
Programming
Camilla Dinkel is a founder member of Dingle Lit. She is the former owner of the Dingle Bookshop, which she ran for 15 years with her husband Mike Venner, hosting many literary events. They are also co-owners of Ponc Press, a traditional letterpress printers. A resident on the Dingle Peninsula for over 20 years, Camilla is a fluent Irish speaker.
Nicholas McLachlan
Programming
Nicholas McLachlan is a writer and teacher of poetry and fiction. His first collection of poetry, The Rain Barrel, was published by Salmon Poetry in 2015. From 1995-2010 he was director of Dingle Writing Courses. He produced and edited Ildána, a bi-lingual book of West Kerry art and writing (2008) and 80 MPH, A Festschrift for Leland Bardwell (2002).
Mia Colleran
Programming
Mia Colleran is an assistant editor at 4th Estate. She has worked at numerous book festivals and previously she reviewed books for The Irish Times, Guardian, and Irish Independent among others. Mia is a fluent Irish speaker. In 2019 Mia was a winner of James Patterson’s Young Bookseller Special Achievement Award.
Aoife O’Connor
Company Secretary, Dingle Lit clg
Aoife works as a solicitor in Dingle. She recently moved home from Dublin to help run the family practice. Aoife holds a degree in law and Irish and has a passion for reading. She is the company secretary for Dingle Lit.
