Announcing a New Appointment to the Board of Music Generation

The Board of Music Generation has announced the appointment of its most recent member, Chief Executive of Offaly County Council, Anna Marie Delaney. Anna Marie takes up the role as nominee of the County and City Management Association (CCMA), succeeding Jackie Maguire (Chief Executive, Meath County Council).

Chairperson of Music Generation Leo Blennerhassett welcomed the announcement: ‘The Board is delighted to welcome Anna Marie as a member. She brings a wealth of experience to Music Generation, spanning the breadth of local government management. Her knowledge and expertise will be invaluable at this next phase of our programme’s development, as we continue to build and strengthen the local partnerships that will ultimately enable access to music tuition for many more children and young people in Ireland.’

‘It’s a great pleasure to join the national Board of Music Generation as CCMA nominee’, said Anna Marie, commenting on her appointment. ‘I have long championed music, culture and the arts throughout the agencies and counties in which I’ve served, and I am a strong advocate for the value of nurturing young people’s creative potential. Music Generation has already made great strides in both areas and I look forward to collaborating with my fellow Board members to progress its ambitious vision for the future.’

Appointed Chief Executive of Offaly County Council in February 2016, Anna Marie Delaney has more than 30 years’ service in Local Government. She commenced her career with Offaly County Council and subsequently worked with Galway County Council, Midland Regional Authority, Kildare County Council and Laois County Council in a variety of roles. Anna Marie served as Director of Services in Laois County Council from April 2006, covering areas including HR, ICT, Planning, Housing, Economic Development, Community, Libraries, Tourism and the Arts.

Music Generation is Ireland’s national music education programme, initiated by Music Network and co-funded by U2, The Ireland Funds, the Department of Education and Skills and Local Music Education Partnerships. ‘Phase 1’ of Music Generation established the programme in 11 areas of Ireland (Louth, Mayo, Sligo, Cork City, Laois, Wicklow, Carlow, Limerick City, Offaly/Westmeath, Clare and South Dublin) and in September 2017 a further nine areas were selected for participation as part of ‘Phase 2’ (Galway County, Waterford, Wexford, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Leitrim, Kilkenny, Cavan/Monaghan, Galway City and Roscommon). In addition, in December 2017 Government announced its commitment to support expansion of the programme nationwide by 2022. Currently the programme creates more than 48,500 opportunities each year for children and young people to engage in high-quality, subsidised performance music education across more than 150 different programmes in all musical genres and styles – from trad to jazz, rock, pop and hip-hop, samba drumming, brass band, choral and orchestral initiatives, composers clubs and much more.

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