Check out our first 10 guest speakers and performers for Culture Crush 2025. More Guests will be announced in late October.

Sharron Mannion:
MC/Host
Sharon Mannion is a comedian and writer best known for her role as ‘Concepta’ in the RTE 2/UKTV hit comedy, ‘Bridget & Eamon’. She is resident host of The Comedy Cellar at the International Bar, the longest running comedy club in Ireland and is currently touring the country with her show 'Jukebox Donkey'

David Keenan:
Songwriter / Musician / Composer
David Keenan’s multifaceted artistry including three studio Albums, an Irish number 1 record, work for screen and published poetry makes him a singular figure in Music today. Widely regarded as one of the best lyric writers of his generation he has toured the world with his own unique style of song and performance as well as joining the likes of Hozier, David Gray, Counting Crows & Rodrigo y Gabriella as a special guest. The bilingual documentary film about his journey entitled ‘Focla ar Chanbhás’ or ‘Words on Canvas’ has screened at film festivals across North America and Europe as well as winning best in cinematography award at Doc’s Ireland in Belfast. His fourth album Modern Mythologies is due out in November 2025

Sinéad Gleeson:
Writer
Sinéad Gleeson’s essay collection Constellations: Reflections from Life won Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards and the Dalkey Literary Award for Emerging Writer. It was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Michel Déon Prize, and has been translated into several languages. She is the editor of four anthologies including The Art of the Glimpse and the award-winning The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers, and The Glass Shore. Sinéad has engaged in collaborations with artists and musicians, with commissions from The Wellcome Collection, the RHA, BBC, Rua Red Gallery and Frieze. She is co-editor with Kim Gordon of This Woman’s Work: Essays on Music. Her debut novel, Hagstone, was published in 2024 by 4th Estate. It was longlisted for Dublin International Literary Award and shortlisted for the John McGahern Book Prize.

Aoife Barry:
Broadcaster
Aoife Barry is a freelance journalist and author of the bestselling book Social Capital, about social media in Ireland, which was nominated for an Irish Book Award. She is an arts columnist for the Sunday Times, the co-presenter of culture podcast Get Around To It; has bylines across all major Irish newspapers and appears regularly on RTE Radio One, Newstalk and Today FM.

Dr Lollie Mancey:
Anthropologist / Futurist / TV Presenter
Dr Lollie Mancey is an anthropologist, futurist, and innovation strategist whose work explores how culture and technology shape society, leadership, and the future of work. As Programme Director at UCD’s Innovation Academy, she equips leaders and learners with the skills to thrive in complexity, earning multiple Excellence in Teaching Awards. Beyond academia, she is a partner at WeAreImpetus, designing high-impact programmes on AI, leadership, and change for global organisations. A broadcaster and media voice, she co-presents RTÉ’s Futureville and has appeared on the Tommy Tiernan Show, bringing frontier ideas into everyday conversations. Lollie has advised organisations from NASA to Mastercard and speaks internationally on AI ethics, hybrid human-AI teams, and future-ready leadership. Known for blending rigour with relatability, she challenges audiences to see the future not as something to predict, but as something we actively create together.

Nell Roddy:
Co-Founder Break Out Pictures
Following an MA in Film and TV studies in DCU, Nell joined Element Pictures in 2008 where she headed up Publicity and Corporate Comms for the company for over 11 years. In March 2019, Nell left Element and co-founded Break Out Pictures, an innovative film distribution company with a firm dedication to supporting emerging and established creatives. Break Out Pictures is a theatrical first all-rights distribution company that looks to acquire the best in independent film for the Ire/UK market. Recent releases include Aoife Kelleher’s documentary on our former president MRS. ROBINSON, the critically acclaimed book adaptation THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN directed by Pat Collins and the compelling BLUE ROAD:THE EDNA O'BRIEN STORY. In 2022, Break Out Pictures released Oscar and BAFTA Nominated An Cailín Ciúin to much critical and commercial success.

Mark Little:
Journalist and Tech Entrepreneur
Mark Little is an entrepreneur and journalist working to understand the impact of technology on media and democracy. Mark is the co-founder of Kinzen, which used AI and human analysis to detect online harms, and the founder of Storyful, the world's first social news agency. Mark has worked on trust and safety issues at Spotify, and developed media partnerships for Twitter. He is a former TV presenter and foreign correspondent for RTE, and was a member of the Future of Media Commission, tasked with mapping the future of public media in Ireland.

Úna Molloy:
Music Agent, Event Producer
Úna Molloy has been working as an agent and event producer in the Irish music industry since 2006. Úna runs the Irish agency Turning Pirate, working with artists like Lisa Hannigan, Ye Vagabonds, Paul Noonan, Wallis Bird along with bringing artists like Carsie Blanton and Josh Okeefe to Ireland for tours. Úna co founded the Live Venue Collective during Covid to help push for funding and employment grants to keep the independent grass roots music industry alive during Covid. Úna also owns Hibernacle, an events company that has produced lots of small festivals since the company started in 2020. Both Turning Pirate and Hibernacle are founded on the basis of creativity and collaboration and have worked hard to build and maintain relationships with artists and audience in the years they both have been alive.

Mark Mullery:
CTO of Cartoon Saloon
Mark Mullery is an Irish animation professional and CTO of Cartoon Saloon for which he has worked since 2013. He has served as assistant director of My Father’s Dragon and the Oscar®-nominated feature Wolfwalkers, as the technical director of the Oscar®-nominated The Breadwinner and the Emmy® Award-nominated Puffin Rock, and as co-director of the upcoming feature Julián.

Jo Linehan:
Sustainability Journalist
Jo is a sustainability journalist who has written for several Irish and international titles, including The Sunday Times Ireland, Irish Country Magazine and Elle UK. Jo is also the founder of GAFF Shop, an online platform for buying and selling pre-loved home pieces. Having gained a first-class honours degree in the MSc in Management for Sustainable Development at Dublin City University in 2023, Jo focuses on supporting ESG education and conversation through partnerships, events, filmmaking, and writing. She is passionate about caring for the planet. In 2024, she made her debut as a documentary producer. The film, Amplified: The Exportation of the Culture Wars, premiered at the Irish Film Institute’s Documentary Festival. She is currently developing a new documentary with the support of Screen Ireland.