About us
Run of the Mill make award-winning, inclusive art and provide outreach, training and artistic opportunities for intellectually disabled artists and participants.
OUR STORY
Run of the Mill was founded in 2014 by theatre artist Aisling Byrne with the goal of creating a meaningful platform for the stories, artistic expressions and talents of a community of learning disabled artists and participants in North Kildare with whom she had been collaborating with for many years.
Run of the Mill derived its name from its base at The Mill Community Centre in Celbridge, which remains home to some of our weekly workshops.
At Run of the Mill we make work through collaborative practice, using the methodologies and techniques of drama, theatre and performance.
We seek to redress the historic underrepresentation and misrepresentation of learning disabled people on our stages and our screens by making work that puts the stories, ideas and lived experiences of our participants and artists front and centre.
THE VISION
Run of the Mill is committed to creating a platform for the stories, artistic expressions and talents of intellectually disabled people in the arts in Ireland. We strive to make work of high artistic quality that is entertaining, ambitious, impactful and visible on our stages and our screens.
We believe that the arts are a powerful tool for social change – through amplifying unheard voices and the sharing of new perspectives. We champion the rights of our participants and artists to have meaningful opportunities in the arts and we lobby for increased access for learning disabled people to participation in the arts in all capacities and at all levels – as audience members, participants, artists and paid professionals. We work towards making the landscape of arts practice in Ireland a more inclusive one.
Award Winning Inclusive Arts
Board of Directors
David has spent over 10 years working in the wholesale and tech industries for companies from start-ups to global brands. He worked in various departments during this time, from Finance (Management Accounting) to Sales and Client Development.
From there he was involved in setting up a successful retail and wholesale business in the drinks and beverages industry and has recently completed a professional diploma in digital marketing. David is a co-founder of DB Performance, who offer business and financial strategy advice to small and medium sized businesses and this is where he now works full time.
In theatre, Shaun is currently working on new plays for The Ark, Rough Magic, and Dublin Theatre Festival. He has been the Engagement and Participation Artist at the Ark for the past five years where he works with a responsibility to the Children's Council. In March 2022, Shaun presented his debut documentary feature at Dublin International Film Festival. Adapted from his theatre show Rapids, How to Tell a Secret was made in collaboration with Anna Rodgers and Invisible Thread Films.
Carolann has worked as the arts, health and wellbeing specialist for Kildare County Council from 2013 - 2021. There, she progressed Kildare County Council’s specialist work in arts and health to support artists and both acute and community health care settings to create high quality arts practice in response to these contexts. She delivered this through funding opportunities, collaborative engagement with artists, ongoing professional development support, organisational mentorship and the development of local and national partnerships and collaborations.
Carolann holds a BA Fine Art from DIT and a Postgraduate HDip in Community, Arts, Education from NCAD.
Shaun Dunne | Independent Artist
Shaun Dunne is a film and theatre artist who merges testimony and documentary material with new writing. He is a trained journalist and drama facilitator — with elements of both heavily informing his practice. Recent work includes Restoration (Project Arts Centre) and What Did I Miss? (The Ark). Other theatre credits for Talking Shop Ensemble include the multi-award winning Death of the Tradesmen, Advocacy, and Making A Mark. Film work includes The First was a Boy, Iarscoláire and Dúirt Tú (You Said), all of which were awarded top prizes at premiere Irish Film festivals including Cork International Film Festival and Dublin International Film Festival. Shaun's films have gone on to screen at the prestigious Raindance Film Festival, Galway Film Fleadh and at Kerry International Film Festival. In theatre, Shaun is currently working on new plays for The Ark, Rough Magic, and Dublin Theatre Festival. He has been the Engagement and Participation Artist at the Ark for the past five years where he works with a responsibility to the Children's Council. In March 2022, Shaun presented his debut documentary feature at Dublin International Film Festival. Adapted from his theatre show Rapids, How to Tell a Secret was made in collaboration with Anna Rodgers and Invisible Thread Films.
