Marguerite Donlon was born in 1966 in County Longford. Her early life was influenced by traditional Irish dance, and she did not begin her ballet studies until the age of 16. She received her training from Anica Dawson and Dorothy Stevens, and was a member of the English National Ballet under Peter Schaufuss. In 1990, she became a solo dancer and choreographer with the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She has worked with many celebrated artists, including Natalia Makarova, Rudolf Nureyev and Sir Kenneth MacMillan. In 2001, Donlon became director of the ballet at the Saarländisches Staatstheater in Saarbrücken, Germany. Her resident company, Donlon Dance Company, is renowned for the highly technical and artistic level of its dancers. They have presented not only Donlon’s choreographies but those of prominent artists such as Ji?í Kylián, Christian Spuck, Helena Waldmann and Rafael Bonachela. Donlon’s artistic and innovative style, which combines different art forms and humour, has been recognised through several awards and nominations. Donlon resigned her directorship in 2013 and was awarded a Medal of Merit for her outstanding work as ballet director and her contributions to the world of dance. Since 2014, Donlon has brought her creativity and coaching skills to the world of business as a business coach and leadership mentor.
Tiede Herrema was born on 21 April 1921 in Utrecht, Holland. He graduated in mechanical engineering in 1945 and gained a bachelor’s degree in industrial psychology in 1951. He continued his studies in psychology and sociology and gained a PhD in 1959, his dissertation dealing with the rehabilitation of disabled people. He married in 1948 Engelina Elizabeth Borren and the couple had four sons. Herrema’s distinguished career in industry spanned 37 years (1946-1983) and covered all aspects, including production management, general management and industrial relations. In 1973, Herrema was appointed managing director of Ferenka Ltd., and in September of that year he moved to Ireland with his wife Elizabeth and their two youngest sons to take up a position in the newly constructed cord manufacturing plant at Annacotty. Two years later, on the morning of 3 October, Herrema was abducted on his way to work by IRA leader Eddie Gallagher and his accomplices Marion Coyle, Brian McGowan and John Vincent Walsh. The objective of the abduction was to secure the release of three republican prisoners, including Dr Rose Dugdale, by whom Gallagher had a son. Herrema’s status as manager of a large multi-national corporation was hoped to bring international pressure on the government to yield to the demands.
For the next two and a half weeks, Herrema and his captors moved from location to location, and their whereabouts remained unknown until 21 October, when Herrema, Gallagher and Coyle were traced to a house in St Evin’s Park, Monasterevin, County Kildare. On the evening of 7 November, after prolonged negotiations directed by Chief Superintendent Laurence Wren, during which a minimum amount of food was allowed into the house, the kidnappers surrendered and Herrema was released after 36 days in captivity. He was later to attribute his survival to his strong physical fitness and his concerted efforts to befriend his captors to make it harder for them to kill him.
In the trials that followed the abduction, Marion Coyle was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment in Limerick Prison, while Eddie Gallagher received twenty years in Portlaoise Prison. For their courage and dignity, Herrema and his wife were honoured by Irish authorities with the honorary citizenship of Ireland and Freedom of Limerick in December 1975. In Holland, Herrema was voted Dutchman of the Year in 1975, and granted an officership of the Order of Orange Nassau by Queen Juliana in 1977.
Following a holiday in the Bahamas to recover from his ordeal, Herrema returned to his job in Ferenka, but in early 1976 was appointed Personnel Director of AKZO and returned to Holland. He later specialised in crisis management and worked in that capacity for Thomassen International, Lijnco Groningen, Silenka, and Radio Veronica. He also became a much sought-after speaker and adviser to the police and multinational companies in hostage preparedness and prevention. His humanitarian interests led to his appointment in 1984 as Director General of the Dutch Red Cross. In the meantime in Limerick, Ferenka Ltd., which throughout its existence had a poor record of industrial relations, was shut down in 1979, with losses of over 1,400 jobs.
Although Herrema and his wife returned to Holland, they never lost their love for Ireland and the Irish people and became regular and popular visitors to the country. Herrema campaigned for an early release of Marion Coyle and Eddie Gallagher, but the release was not granted and both prisoners served full term. Coyle was released in 1985, and Gallagher in 1990. Herrema felt no bitterness towards his captors and expressed a willingness to meet both following their release, but only if requested by Coyle and Gallagher. However, no such request was forthcoming and, in spite of attempts by journalists, the three never met again.
The kidnapping and the trials that followed caused an international media storm, which threw Herrema into the public arena and made him a celebrity for the rest of his life. He later joked that he could never forget his abduction because he was never allowed to forget it. Tiede Herrema died on 24 April 2020, a few days after his 99th birthday and just two days after the death of his wife.
Dance Resource Base is the premier non-profit organization, which supports the dance community in Northern Ireland. It provides facilities and resources and advocates the raising of the profile of dance in the North. Dance Resource Base was incorporated and registered as an independent company in 2006 following a process of consultation with the dance sector. It is a membership organization and is run by a board of governors who are elected annually by company members. It is an annually supported client of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
In September 1977, Karen Callaghan and Joan Davis co-founded the Dublin Contemporary Dance Studio in Harold’s Cross, Dublin to pioneer modern dance in Ireland. Two years later, they established the studio’s performing company, the Dublin Contemporary Dance Theatre, which rapidly built up a varied repertoire of both original and guest choreographers’ work. Many of Ireland’s key choreographers and dancers began their professional careers with this company. In spite of its distinguished track record, the Dublin Contemporary Dance Theatre was forced to fold in 1989, when the Arts Council cut its funding. Its spirit lives on in Dance Theatre of Ireland, founded by the company’s former co-Artistic Directors Robert Connor and Loretta Yurick.
The artists’ association ) + ( = a O (spoken: Convex and Concave Equals a Sphere) was co-founded by performance artist Ursula Mawson-Raffalt and fine arts artist Anthony J. Faulder-Mawson in 1993. The collective is known particularly for the avant-garde nature of its work and unique artistic language, combining text, dance, sound, painting, light, and film. The collective’s performance installations have been shown in Israel, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Romania, Wales, and Ireland and have been the recipients of numerous grants and awards in Ireland and abroad.