Colm Croffy - Associate Director Ireland

Colm is Executive Director of the Association of Irish Festivals and Events (AOIFE). He serves as a Director of the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA) and serves as the Hon. Treasurer of International Festivals and Events – Europe. Formerly Co-coordinator for Ballinasloe Fair and Festival - one of the largest festival and heritage events in the West of Ireland, he now is involved with The Rose of Tralee – one of Ireland’s longest running televised festivals based in Kerry in the South West.

Colm started his career as an Arts Officer for the University of Limerick, went on to be the Director of the Mary from Dungloe Festival in Donegal and then the Chief Executive of Ballinasloe Chamber of Commerce. Since 2001 he has been a consultant specialising in media, marketing and event management.

He was elected Chair of AOIFE in 2001 and subsequently took on executive roles leading to him becoming Operations Director in 2003 and Executive Director in May 2008. He has been involved in the strategic growth of the Association as an all island network of community and professional festival events which enjoys one the highest active memberships of any European Festival network. AOIFE partners the Government and other stakeholders in developing world class festivals and events in Ireland. He was involved with the Irish Government‘s Task Force on the Tourism Industry and has been key in championing the role of the Festival and Cultural Events Sector within Irish Tourism, Arts and Community policies. He also serves on the board of the Voluntary Arts Network (V.A.N.) which supports voluntary participation in arts and cultural activities across the U.K. and Ireland. In 2003 he was awarded the Industry’s highest honour - the IFEA Miller Hall of Fame.

Colm Croffy has spent over 12 years working in events and festival management crossing the educational, arts, business and cultural sectors and toured and lectured extensively in Irish, British and European Festival and Tourism industry circuits. He has been engaged by the International Network of Event Professionals, the British Arts Festivals Association, the Festivals of Wales, and the National Outdoor Events Association as well as participating in the Draft Working Party for a European Code of Safety and Practice.