Our Board: Don Nugent, Robert Browne, Aileen Eglington, Brendan Phelan, Fionnuala Murphy, Martin Higgins, Owen Keegan, Anne Devine, Susan Nicholson, Cllr Anna Grainger and Cllr Fiona Murray.
Our Board
Chairperson: Owen Keegan
Owen served for 10 years as Chief Executive, Dublin City Council and before that as County Manager/Chief Executive, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.
He has also worked as an economist for DKM Economic Consultants/Davy Stockbrokers, in the Department of Finance, the ESRI and the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government.
Owen also served as Director of the Residential Tenancies Board from 1 March 2024 to June 2026.
Company Secretary: Susan Nicholson
Having worked with the Leadership Team in the Mill Theatre, providing HR Advisory support, Susan was delighted to assume the position of Company Secretary on the Board in January 2025. As a Senior HR Consultant, Susan always aims to deliver comprehensive human resources and board advisory services tailored to the unique challenges of various industries. With a specialisation in talent management, employee development, organisational changes and mediation, her approach is client-centric, ensuring that every organisation she partners with benefits from strategic HR support that aligns with their operational needs.
Having had a number of years working in the background with the team in the Mill Theatre, moving to the position of Company Secretary was something she was very enthusiastic to take on, working closely with both the Leadership Team and the Board Directors.
Don Nugent
Don was appointed Centre Director of Dundrum Town Centre in November 2003 ahead of its opening on 3rd March 2005. The opening garnered a huge level of publicity in the national media, including TV and radio.
He comes from a retail background with many years’ experience in department stores, with both multiple buying and management responsibilities in the department store and shopping centre industries. Don has successfully used his wide-ranging retail experience to create a unique blend of practices to make Dundrum Town Centre Ireland’s premier retail and leisure destination.
Robert Browne
Robert Browne is Deputy Principal at Oatlands College in Mount Merrion in Dublin. He is also a Board Director with Waterford Youth Arts, one of the leading youth arts organisations in the country.
Robert organises the annual Choirs For Cancer event that takes place on World Cancer Day every year. He is currently working with the National Council for Curriculum & Assessment in drafting a new specification for Leaving Certificate Drama, Theatre and Film Studies. Robert is delighted to be a Director of dlr Mill Theatre.
Aileen Eglington
Aileen lives and works in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and has always been active in terms of community engagement. She runs her own marketing communications/PR consultancy called AE Consult.
Aileen is currently on the Boards of dlr Mill Theatre, DLR Chamber of Commerce, and Dublin South FM Community Radio. She is also on the Secretariat for DLR PPN and is Chair of the DLR Rural Task Force.
Brendan Phelan
Brendan is Managing Director of Chapterhouse Consulting (www.fundraising.ie), a fundraising consultancy that assists in planning, implementing and advising on major fundraising programmes for non-profit organisations.
He has worked as a fundraising consultant for over 30 years in Ireland, the UK and the USA on programmes that have collectively raised over €200 million in that time. His most recent work is as Fundraising Manager for the RDS in Ballsbridge, and he has also served as a board member for Smock Alley Theatre. Brendan is actively involved in theatre acting and directing.
Fionnuala Murphy
Fionnuala Murphy has a legal background and practised in the fields of property law, charities and trusts for 30 years.
A native of Munster, Fionnuala has made her home in the Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown area with her husband Liam and their twins. She can often be found volunteering at Parkrun in Cabinteely and loves to sing, often in a choir.
Fionnuala is passionate about the arts and community resources. In her role as a trustee of dlr Mill Theatre, a charity and non-profit centre for arts & culture, she hopes to give back to a community that has welcomed her family.
Martin Higgins
Martin Higgins has held a number of senior executive and non-executive positions. He was Chief Executive of Safefood, the all-island food safety promotion board, as well as holding appointments on a number of state boards.
An accountant by profession, with an interest in corporate governance, he has headed up the audit committees of bodies as diverse as the communications regulator COMREG and the Arts Council.
His governance roles with the Arts Council also included chairing the Funding Appeals Panel for a number of years. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.
Martin has also over thirty years of experience in the professional theatre and entertainment scenes. He has scripted pantomimes for the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin and the Opera House and Everyman Theatre in Cork and has scripted original material for comedienne June Rodgers for 30 years. He has also had consultancy roles in script adaptation and production for touring productions and with UCD.
Martin is passionate about community theatre and has been involved with An Nuadha Players in Maynooth for the past 25 years, his most recent endeavour being a pantomime version of A Christmas carol
He was honoured and delighted to be appointed the board of the DLR Mill Theatre
Anne Devine
Anne is a Director of Service in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (dlr) with responsibility for the Directorate of Forward Planning Infrastructure. Anne presently leads the Cherrywood Development Agency Project Team, a multi-disciplinary team driving the implementation and sustainable growth of the new town of Cherrywood. Anne is also leading on the transformational review of the Sandyford Business District area.
Anne is a graduate of University College Cork, Trinity College Dublin and Roffey Park Institute, a civil and environmental engineer by profession with over 30 years’ experience in senior management and leadership roles in the public sector, managing strategic and project management programmes and in the areas of change management, strategic policy and plan development across local authorities in Ireland and in the U.K.
Outside work, Anne enjoys music and the arts and being in the outdoors.
Fiona Murray
Fiona is a Fianna Fail councillor for Dunlaoghaire Rathdown County Council representing the Dundrum ward. Fiona currently sits on a number of committees including the Local Community Safety Forum, the Finance Strategic Policy Committee SPC , the Planning SPC , The DLR Memorials Committee, The Dodder Steering Group and the Local Policing Forum for the Dundrum and Stillorgan Area.
Fiona is the Parliamentary Assistant to Shay Brennan TD in Leinster House and has a background in Finance, (AIB & BOI) & Transport (Stena Line & P& O). Fiona is a member of the Oireachtas Cross Party Dog Welfare Group. Fiona is from Dundrum and attended St Annes Primary and Secondary School in Milltown.
Fiona loves being a Director on the Board of the Mill Theatre as she always had a huge interest in music and the arts from a very young age studied music and drama and also has a huge interest in dogs. Fiona was lucky enough to have her dog Aslan selected to be the “Dulux Dog” in 2007 and he became an Animal Actor and worked for Dulux Ireland and Dulux UK until 2017. During this time, Aslan did promotions, Ads, and television programs. Also, his pups, Mr Sparky, Shadow and Snowy also worked for Dulux doing promotions. “I developed a huge interest in the benefits the arts bring to the community and The Mill Theatre plays a hugely important role for Dundrum”. Fiona looks forward to working with the Board for the benefit of the community and The Mill Theatre.
