Marianne Ní Chinnéide

Marianne Kennedyis a lecturer in Drama, Theatre and Performance at The National University of Ireland, Galway andHead of Production and Curation of Drama and Theatre Studies, NUI Galway based atTheO Donoghue Centre of Drama, Theatre and Performance. She is alsois atheatre-makerwith 20 years professional experience as a producer and director in the Performing, Irish language and Traditional Arts. In 2016 she co-directed Dún na mBan Trí Thine by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne for The National Theatre of the Irish Language and the Galway International Arts Festival. Kennedy has spent six years as the CEO ofSiamsaTire, The National Folk and Arts Centre in Tralee, Co. Kerry as well as six years as Head of the Performing Arts forAcadamhnahOllscolaíochtaGaeilge, NUI Galway. Kennedyis currently a member of Garraí an Ghiorria , a collective of multidisciplinary artists working in the Irish language on the western seaboard which was recently chosen for the Abbey Theatres inaugural 5 X 5 programme which highlights work engaging with Irelands lesser represented voices. Their project, STRINGS, ROPES AND CHAINS: Silencing the Voice of a People , explores the silencing of the Irish people and their language by Cromwell with a special focus on the harp as both a musical instrument and as a symbol of Irish creative expression. The project also examines similarities between historical Irish issues and contemporary issues of migration:a href=https:www.abbeytheatre.ieintroducing-inaugural-5x5-projects target=_blank rel=nofollowhttps:www.abbeytheatre.ieintroducing-inaugural-5x5-projects .