Deirdre is a writer/director and dance historian, who holds an honours BA in English and French; a first class honours MA, and a PhD in Modern Drama, from UCD.  Reclaiming the body in Irish cultural history, Deirdre’s film documentaries about forgotten Irish-German modern dance pioneer Erina Brady  “Damhsa na hÉigeandála” (TG4 Splanc!  2015), and “1943 – A Dance Odyssey” (RTE One, 2014), developed out of her book “Irish Moves, an illustrated history of dance and physical theatre in Ireland” (Dublin: The Liffey Press, 2006) and five-part RTE Radio One radio series “Nice Moves”.   Deirdre has made many low budget indie films with her own production company “Out There Productions” including the 2015 short documentary “In the Studio with Sculptor Danny Osborne” (DCC Arts Office/ Dept of Parks) which is available via QR code at the Oscar Wilde Memorial Statue Merrion Square. Among many other festival selections, at RHIFF 2019 her short documentary about her family connection with the Ojibway of remote North Ontario, “TRUE NORTH: Paud Mulrooney’s Irish-Canadian Adventures in Super 8” was nominated for best documentary; and Evanna Lynch was nominated for best actor in a female role in her short dance film “Lucia Joyce: Full Capacity”.

Deirdre directed an episode of TG4 series Finné on Ireland’s first homegrown male ballet dancer Roy Galvin, (broadcast in 2022), made an experimental short film “Goodbye Marian Avenue”, and was delighted to finally find the time during the pandemic to do Arteist Gaeilge Ardleibhéal.

Deirdre’s audio-visual essays “Georgie’s Vision” about the extraordinary Mrs. WB Yeats, and  “Journey to Yu”, evolved out of her many feature radio documentaries (mostly BAI-funded, broadcast on RTE Lyric FM and Newstalk 106 – 108fm).  Deirdre’s films have been selected for Galway Film Fleadh, Guth Gafa International Documentary Festival, Lincoln Center NYC Dance on Camera Festival, Light Moves Festival of Screendance, Belgrade-Irish Festival, Sarajevo-Irish Festival, Kerry International Film Festival, Richard Harris International Film Festival;  Irish Film Festival Ottawa; Canadian Independent Film Festival, PhotoIreland Festival, Dublin Festival of History; experimental film festivals including Irish Artists Film Index “Displacements”, and Bloomsday Film Festival at the IFI, among many others.

Alongside Arts journalism in top publications, including contributing to Film Ireland Magazine, Deirdre served as Assistant Director and Production Co-Ordinator on many Irish shorts, trainee AD on bigger films, and was a featured extra in In the Name of the Father.  Deirdre has written and directed Theatre, and curated Art exhibitions.  She has contributed to radio Arts shows from BBC Front Row and RTE Arena to The History Show, RTE World Report, Sunday Miscellany, and BBC Gaeilge, as well as to TV Arts Show The View.   Deirdre co-founded and ran award-winning indie Arts Blog www.VULGO.ie (2010 – 2016), and hosted Dance Ireland’s 30^th anniversary podcasts.  Her interest in social justice and the developing world brought her to Africa several times.  She was awarded two Simon Cumbers Media Awards to report on Irish Aid in Ethiopia, and Malawi, where she made “Off the Grid in Malawi” with TCD Engineering. An educator herself, and a big believer in lifelong learning, Deirdre’s training ranges from ‘basic television production’ and ‘directing for the screen’ courses at Ryerson Polytechnic, Toronto, to UCD/NYU Scriptwriting Summerschool; Irish Law Society Entertainment Law MOOC; Final Cut Pro X with Eoin McDonagh (funded by the Arts Council); and SDGI’s “Exploring Reality”.  She is a founding committee member of #Ulysses80, (www.ulysses80.ie) – though her main Joycean focus is reclaiming Lucia Joyce as an artist.  Deirdre loves languages, and welcomes opportunities to use her French, German, school Irish, English, and few words of Ojibway.

Deirdre is currently developing several documentary and film projects.  For more info see www.deirdremulrooney.com