Meet The Team

Bill Whelan has composed music expensively for theatre, film and orchestra. His 1997 Grammy Award winning music Riverdance continues to be performed around the world as the show embarks on its 25th anniversary tour.
To coincide with the 25th anniversary tour, Bill completed a new studio recording of the music from Riverdance, released by Decca/Universal Records. The new recording features many of the young musicians who play the music live with the show, some of whom weren’t even born when Riverdance was first composed.
His orchestral works include: The Seville Suite , Spirit Of Mayo, The Connemara Suite and Linen & Lace . His musical settings of the literary works of Irish writers have been performed widely and include the poetry of WB Yeats, Paul Muldoon, Derek Mahon, Tom McIntyre, Frank McGuinness and Paul Durcan. His music for film includes scores for “Dancing At Lughansa” starring Meryl Streep, “Some Mother’s Son” featuring Helen Mirren and “Lamb” with Liam Neeson. As a producer in the studio he has worked with U2, Van Morrison, Kate Bush, Richard Harris, The Dubliners, Planxty, Andy Irvine, Davy Spillane and Bulgarian/Irish band, East Wind.
Other theatre work includes The Train musical which was inspired by the contraceptive train and the Irish Woman’s Liberation Movement of the 1970’s. With music by Bill Whelan and lyrics by Arthur Riordan, it was performed as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival in 2015 and at Ireland’s National Abbey Theatre in Dublin and The MAC in Belfast in 2017.
Bill serves on the boards of the Limetree Theatre in Limerick. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Music and holds two honorary doctorates. He is an Honorary Freeman of the City of Limerick, where he was born.

John McColgan’s career as a multi-award-winning producer and director began in the mid-seventies at RTÉ Television where he went on to become Head of Entertainment. While in RTÉ he produced and directed a wide range of programming from light entertainment to drama to documentary. He was awarded a Jacob’s Television Award in 1980 for ‘the consistently high quality of his entertainment programming’. He was also Head of Weekend Entertainment at TVAM – ITV’s breakfast television service.

He played a key role in the evolution of Riverdance from the original seven minute dance number and went on to direct the full stage-show spectacular.

John has been closely involved with the Abbey Theatre – he was on the Board of the theatre for five years, served as Chairman of the Abbey Centenary Committee and directed a critically-acclaimed production of Dion Boucicault’s 19th century melodrama The Shaughraun. In May 2011 he produced a major theatrical event marking the historic State visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland. John is the director of the new music and dance stage spectacular Heartbeat of Home which had its world premiere in Dublin in October 2013 and has toured extensively to universal acclaim in North America and China.

John has received many awards during his career, including an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the National University of Ireland, in recognition of his services to the arts and entertainment industry.

He is also an accomplished photographer and is Ambassador for Trócaire, one of Ireland’s largest development agencies . The documentary This Is Palestine follows John on his journey through Gaza and the West Bank. His recent book of photographs Looking at the Same Moon, in aid of Trocaire documents the lives of people in Palestine and Guatemala.