Gerry O’Brien’s career now spans 5 decades having made his professional debut at the Gate theatre in 1970. He has worked on most of the stages in Ireland over the years appearing in productions of Shakespeare, Moliere, Yeats, O’Casey as well as Hugh Leonard, Neil Simon and Tom Murphy.
[Read more…]Jessica Freed – Vice President
Jessica is an actor and writer. She trained at the Gaiety School of Acting, following two years with the National Youth Theatre. From there, she got her first professional job in Borstal Boy at the Gaiety Theatre. Since then, Jessica has worked on a number of productions across stage and television. She has recorded several audio-books and works extensively on medical role play.
Jessica is a long-standing member of Irish Equity, she has been involved in many campaigns and served on the Irish Equity Executive during the 1990s.
Jessica is a long-standing member of Equity. She has been involved in many campaigns and served on the Equity Executive during the 1990s. Alongside supporting performers’ rights, she continues to advocate for a widening of the Basic Income for Artists and a more sustainable model of living for freelance artists. Jessica has been involved in housing activism for many years and is currently working with the Raise the Roof coalition – campaigning to address the country’s housing crisis. Limited access to affordable housing and healthcare are just two of the areas which affect many members acutely.
Jessica is very glad to be back on the Irish Equity Executive and to help advance the work of the Union. Now, more than ever, she believes we need to fight for the rights of our members and the dignity of our profession.
Ann Russell (Trustee)
Ann Russell has worked in the industry for over 30 years as an actor, director and facilitator. She trained with the late Deirdre O’Connell at the Focus Stanislavski Studio and at the Lee Strasberg Institute in NYC. She has an MA in Modern Drama from UCD and a Licentiate Diploma from London College.
Ann began her career at Focus Theatre in the 1990s and has performed on stages throughout Ireland and the UK. Most recently she performed in The Tide by Tara Maria Lovett and Risk Everything by George F Walker. In 2025 she will perform in Michael Hartnett’s latest play Martyrs to Memory.
Ann has also performed on screen in both TV and film, notably in Roddy Doyle’s Family and Fair City and more recently in Harry Wild. She is a member of ReActorsCo-operative Agency: https://reactors.ie/actors/ann-russell/
Ann believes passionately in the value of the arts in society and that access to the arts is a human right, a quality-of-life issue for every citizen and deserves proper funding. The shortage of affordable venues and the cuts that have resulted in the closure of many theatre companies throughout Ireland, causing the reduction in opportunities for members of our community, are of particular concern. She is also a member of the Performing Arts Forum.
Owen Roe (Trustee)
A native of Dublin, Owen has worked as a professional actor for over forty years and has performed in numerous stage and screen productions both in Ireland and internationally. He is the recipient of four Irish Times Theatre Awards, including a Special Tribute Award in 2019 for his contribution to Irish Theatre.
Shane Griffin – Youth Member
Shane joined Irish Equity in 2023 having completed his training at the Drama (Performance) degree programme at TU Dublin. He has always had an awareness of the importance of organised labour and this inspired him join the Union. Since joining, he has come to see membership as a basic part of any performer’s career as “The Union values of solidarity and collective action allow our voices to be heard in our industry”.
As a member of the Executive, Shane’s role is to reach out to his contemporaries and to coordinate visits to all drama and film schools by the Executive.
Gerry Cannon
Gerry trained for the theatre at The Brendan Smith Theatre Academy and at the College of Music in Dublin in the 1980’s where drama students took the London Guildhall Exams in Performance. Having pursued other careers in the interim, Gerry returned to acting in 2016. Since then, he has appeared in plays at Smock Alley, The Sean O’Casey Theatre, The Lexicon and Whale Theatre.
On returning to acting, Gerry has concentrated on screen work with over sixty short film credits to his name. He can be seen in Say Nothing on Disney+, The Troubles – A Dublin Story on Amazon Prime, Dublin Crust on Amazon Prime, The Irish Mob on Apple TV and as the Bishop of London in Vikings: Valhalla on Netflix.
Gerry does a lot of voiceover work, including loop group Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR) for the film and TV industry.
Gerry believes the threat of artificial intelligence to jobs in the voiceover sector needs to be addressed along with the rights and remumeration of Irish based actors working in TV and film productions where, as stakeholders, they should enjoy the same conditions as international colleagues wherever the best practices exist.
John Cronin
John Cronin has been an actor on stage and screen in Ireland for 30 years, having made his professional debut in The Commitments at the age of 12! Since that time John has built a theatre career that has taken him to the West End, the Edinburgh festival and to America via the Gate and the Abbey. He has worked for Livin’ Dred, Prime Cut, Loose Canon, Anu Productions, Theatre Club, Collapsing Horse, Second Age and Rough Magic and is due to appear in the latter’s Dublin Theatre Festival production of GLUE in October 2021. He also has an extensive career on screen in Ireland and beyond appearing in series for RTE, BBC and Sky as well as feature films with actors such as Jackie Chan and Hugo Weaving. Most recently he is to be found in Carrigstown playing the villainous Will Casey in Fair City. He also has a degree in English and History from UCD and a Diploma in Marketing and Advertising from the Fitzwilliam Institute. John is very pleased to be joining the Equity Executive at such an important time.
Dorothy Grace Laity
While pantomime and comedy are her specialist areas and first love, Dorothy has also performed in a wide variety of other disciplines at home and abroad. Highlights have included playing as Colin in Mother Goose, Hermia & Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Griffon in Alice the Musical and Yvette in ‘Allo, ‘Allo. [Read more…]
John O’Brien
John O’Brien has 60 shows to his credit as director and has been an Equity member for many years. Following the economic crash in 2008 he took a Masters Degree in Business and Management and completed a dissertation on the economy of the Irish Culture sector. Part of the research involved a survey of actor income from film and TV (including royalty payments) over a ten-year period.
[Read more…]Colm O’Brien
Colm is a Dublin based actor, he trained at Drama Centre London and Bow Street, Dublin.
Colm believes in, and endeavours to develop, an industry that is fair, open and vibrant. Where artists and arts workers are properly remunerated, respected and treated. Colm firmly believes in increased funding for the arts.
Colm’s credits include: The Rivals (Smock Alley Theatre), The Crown and the Red Cross (Dublin Castle), Deeds of Deceit (Speckintime), The Poor Little Boy With No Arms (One Duck), King Lear (Second Age), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Mouth on Fire), Vikings Season 3, The Last Right (Feature Film).
He is a member of Theatre Forum.
