Music Generation National Development Office

Rosaleen Molloy

National Director

Rosaleen Molloy was appointed the National Director of Music Generation in 2010 and has over 20 years’ experience of working in the field of music education in Ireland – as a secondary school teacher, a vocal and instrumental teacher, a choral and orchestral conductor, a workshop leader, a facilitator and trainer, and director of a wide range of ambitious music development programmes.

Previous strategic leadership roles include Project Director Arts in the Classroom Initiative (1996-1997), Founder/Director of County Wexford Children’s Choir Programme (1997-2002) and County Arts Officer, Wexford County Council (2002-2010).

A former student of Wexford School of Music and honours graduate of the Music and Education Departments of University College Cork, Rosaleen is also a skilled choral music education specialist and holds an Artist Teacher Diploma and Master Teacher Certificate from the Choral Music Experience Institute, USA. She was recently awarded a prestigious Fellowship from the Harvard Business School Alumni Club of Ireland to complete Harvard Business School Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Leadership programme.

A passionate advocate and dynamic leader for music education, she has pioneered, strategically designed and led numerous ground-breaking initiatives in music education and music development, which have combined innovative and unique approaches to performance, participation and partnership.

Cathriona Grange

Operations Manager

Cathriona is an experienced project and office manager with many years management experience in a variety of voluntary and private sector positions, including afterschool programmes, nursery services, child and family centres, and facilities management.

Cathriona spent almost 20 years working in Social Care roles which have included all age groups of children and young people.

Cathriona’s qualifications include a Diploma in Social Care from DIT (now TU Dublin), a Post Grad Diploma in Management (for Pastoral and Voluntary Services) from All Hallows College, in conjunction with DCU and DePaul University, Chicago, a NEBOSH certificate in Health and Safety Management, and a QQI Certificate in Project Management.

Cathriona is a member of Diva Voces choir, an award winning four-part female voice choir based in Dublin city, which now regularly performs on Culture Night as well as in various concerts and choral festivals.

Cathriona is also an amateur piano and guitar player, who started piano lessons at a young age and completed grade 8 piano with RIAM. Cathriona has a love of a variety of musical genres, in particular of musical theatre.

Paula Phelan

Head of Quality, Support and Development

Kildare native, Paula, completed her undergraduate BAmus degree in NUI Maynooth. She holds an MA Baroque Performance Practice from Queens University Belfast, an MA Arts Administration and Cultural Policy from University College Dublin, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from NUI Maynooth and a Postgraduate Diploma in Early Childhood Music from Birmingham City University.

Previously Paula was General Manager of Irish Baroque Orchestra, a Post-Primary Teacher, Freelance Musician Educator, Programme Director of Music Generation Carlow and General Manager of Belvedere Youth Service. Paula brings with her a breadth of experience spanning the worlds of arts and corporate management, music education leadership and practice.

Jennifer O’Connor-Madsen

LMEP Support Manager

Jenny O’Connor-Madsen is a music educator and project manager. She holds a BA (Hons), an MA and a PhD in musicology from Maynooth University. Her doctoral thesis, completed in 2010, explored the role of women and music in nineteenth-century Dublin. She is the founder and organiser of the Women and Music in Ireland Conference series and has contributed to numerous RTÉ Lyric FM documentaries on the subject. She has spoken at conferences both nationally and internationally and has contributed articles on women and music to a number of publications, including The Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland (2013). She lectured in Music at St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra from 2012-2015.

In 2013, she developed the RIAM Teaching Network, the Royal Irish Academy of Music’s online music education platform. She subsequently project managed the Teaching Network until February 2018. From 2014-2018 she held the post of Senior Examiner for the Royal Irish Academy of Music local centre exams.

She became the Music Development Officer for Music Generation Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown in March 2018.

Cecelia received a Bachelor of Music Degree from Maynooth University, a Professional Diploma in Education from Trinity College Dublin, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Kodály Music Pedagogy from the Kodály Institute of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Hungary. Cecelia also holds an M. Phil. in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship from Trinity College Dublin in partnership with Goldsmiths, University of London.

Before joining Music Generation’s National Development Office in 2020, Cecelia worked in the Marketing Department of the Gaiety School of Acting – The National Theatre School of Ireland. Prior to that, Cecelia held positions in the Marketing & PR Department of Wexford Festival Opera as well as the Education, Community & Outreach Department of the National Concert Hall. Other recent positions include roles with the Kodály Society of Ireland and Sing Ireland’s Youth Sub-Group.

As well as possessing a flair for creative marketing and public relations, Cecelia brings a wealth of knowledge as both a musican and music eductor to the role of Communications & Marketing Officer, and she is excited to be part of Music Generation’s next phase of growth.

Helen Grant

Finance Manager

Helen Grant as Finance Manager is responsible for developing, maintaining effective accounting/budgeting procedures and producing management accounts/reports. Helen, who is CPA qualified has over ten years’ experience in Finance. Prior to joining Music Generation, Helen worked with various different companies, from service to manufacturing and from medium to large multinational corporations.

Anita Butler

Finance and Administration Assistant

Anita is originally from Australia with a Bachelor degree in English and Theatre Studies and a Post Graduate Diploma in Integrated Human Studies. Anita is now an Irish citizen and has enjoyed living in Dublin with her family for nearly a decade.

Anita has several years’ experience working as a project officer for the Australian Government, State Revenue Office of Victoria and she has volunteered in arts organisations such as Screen Hub and participated in the Melbourne Fringe Theatre Festival.

Anita has been an office manager and worked in operations roles for several years in Ireland before taking her current position with Music Generation.

Anita has a great love of music, having played violin from a young age and performing in bands during her time at university and as a young adult. Music has made a hugely positive impact on Anita’s life and she also hopes to help children and young people in Ireland feel uplifted by music learning and performing in their lives.

Aoife Ruth

Reporting and Analysis Manager

Aoife Ruth is a researcher, educator and qualified psychotherapist. She holds a BA (Hons) in Politics and Sociology, a HDip in Psychology, and an MSc in Integrative Psychotherapy. Her Master’s research focused on supporting musicians’ mental health and Aoife is passionate about working with musicians to develop personally and professionally. Her original research in these areas has attracted the interest of international performing arts medicine organisations as well as mental health charities in Ireland. She is a third-level lecturer and trainer and her classes encompass a range of psychological topics relevant to musicians and those working in the creative industries.


Aoife has over fifteen years’ experience working in the not-for-profit, charitable and public sectors - particularly in organisations with an equality focus - for instance, international development, adult education, and disability. In these roles, her work has involved monitoring and evaluation, tracking compliance, and setting up systems to report on the strategic and operational performance of organisations, among other things. Prior to taking up her role as Reporting and Analysis Manager with Music Generation, Aoife worked as a researcher in the public sector.


Aoife is a violinist/violist and keys player and has played with many rock, indie and folk bands over the years. She also has a keen interest in arranging and music for film and has contributed to soundtracks for nature documentaries (RTE’s A Wild Irish Year and BBC’s Wild Cuba: A Caribbean Journey) as well as feature films (Never Grow Old; Son).

Mairéad Duffy

LMEP Support Manager

Mairéad Duffy graduated from the University of Ulster with a BMus Hons and a PGCE in Music Education. During her university years in Belfast she was a member of the Belfast Harp Orchestra, who recorded and toured with The Chieftains. She was the featured vocalist in many of these performances, performing at Milwaukee Irish Fest and Carnegie Hall. She won the Nancy Calthorpe Memorial Prize for Irish Harp and Voice at Dublin Feis Ceoil.

Mairéad has studied choral conducting with Dr Doreen Rao, holding an Artist Teacher Diploma in Choral Music Education with Choral Music Experience. She returned to Carnegie Hall in January 2016 with members of the Senior Choir of St. Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon to perform in Karl Jenkins’ The Peacemakers. She is a past chair of TOSINI-Teachers of Singing in Ireland and is in great demand as a vocal coach/leader and musical director. She is artistic and musical director of Gathered Voices, a community choir based in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone.

Following a successful fundit campaign and support from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland she released her debut album ‘Silver Tin House’ as a singer songwriter in 2016. Mairéad is currently on a career break from St. Patrick’s Academy where she has been Head of Music for the past twenty-four years. This career break has enabled her to become the Music Development Officer for Music Generation Cavan/Monaghan from January 2019 to December 2020. She has extended her career break to pursue the role of LMEP Support Manager with Music Generation National Development Office.