Elaine O’Connor
Co-Founder, Event Industry Association of Ireland (EIAI)
Managing Director & Founder, Magnum Events
Elaine O’Connor is Co-Founder of the Event Industry Association of Ireland (EIAI), Managing Director and Founder of Magnum Events, and an experienced event professional working across event delivery, policy, regulation, safety and governance in Ireland.
Through EIAI, Elaine represents the interests of Ireland’s event industry in engagement with Government, public bodies, policymakers and industry stakeholders. Her professional career spans more than 20 years and includes the delivery of major public, broadcast, cultural and international events, giving her a practical understanding of the operational, regulatory and safety conditions required to deliver events successfully.
Her work increasingly brings together this practical event-delivery experience with public policy, regulation and industry development, with a particular focus on creating a more coherent national operating environment for events in Ireland.
Event Industry Representation
As Co-Founder of EIAI, Elaine is involved in the Association’s national policy and industry engagement, representing issues affecting organisers, producers, suppliers, venues, artists, crew, event professionals and specialist member organisations.
EIAI’s work focuses on the conditions required for Ireland to support a safe, professional, sustainable and internationally competitive event industry. This includes stronger national coordination, clearer regulation and guidance, improved professional standards, appropriate workforce development and greater recognition of the industry’s economic, cultural and social contribution.
Elaine has been particularly focused on improving consistency in how events are planned, regulated and supported across Ireland, and on ensuring that national policy reflects the practical realities of event delivery.
Oireachtas and Public Policy Engagement
In February 2026, Elaine appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport as Co-Founder of the Event Industry Association of Ireland during the Committee’s examination of the development of Ireland’s live music industry.
In her evidence, she argued that successful live music policy depends on the wider event-delivery system that supports it, including safe and repeatable delivery capability, appropriate infrastructure, professional skills, effective local implementation and stronger national coordination.
Her contribution reflected EIAI’s wider position that Ireland requires a more coherent national approach to the event industry, with clearer responsibility, better coordination between Government and public bodies, and a stronger framework for supporting safe and sustainable event delivery.
Elaine also contributes to EIAI engagement with Government Departments, local government, statutory bodies and other stakeholders on matters affecting the operation and development of the event industry.
Professional Event Experience
Elaine’s policy and representative work is grounded in more than 20 years of practical event management and production experience.
As Managing Director and Founder of Magnum Events, she has led complex event programmes involving production, temporary infrastructure, logistics, transport, contractor management, safety, permitting, budget control and multi-agency coordination. Her professional experience spans public events, broadcast programmes, festivals, international competitions, exhibitions, corporate programmes and large-scale city events.
Her professional achievements have also been recognised through Ireland’s Event Industry Awards. She was named Event Producer of the Year in 2013, Event Manager of the Year and Event Production Manager of the Year in 2015, and Event Manager of the Year and Event Producer of the Year in 2016.
Selected Major Event Experience
Tall Ships, Dublin – Production Manager
Elaine served as Production Manager for Tall Ships Dublin, a four-day city-scale event attracting approximately 1.2 million attendees. The event involved around 40 ships, more than 150 traders and vendors, and over 300 crew and contractors. Her responsibilities included production, temporary infrastructure, logistics, budget management and programme control across a highly complex city-centre event environment.
RTÉ Reflecting the Rising – Event Manager
Elaine was Event Manager for RTÉ’s Reflecting the Rising, a major multi-venue public and broadcast event attracting more than 750,000 attendees. The programme was delivered across eight public spaces and more than 45 indoor venues, involving over 1,000 volunteers, crew and contractors.
Bavaria City Racing – Production Executive
Elaine worked as Production Executive on Bavaria City Racing, a large-scale branded motorsport event attracting approximately 130,000 attendees. Her responsibilities included production coordination, accreditation, budgets, statutory liaison, traffic and transport planning, signage, contractor coordination and site management.
Golden Shears World Championships – Production Manager
As Production Manager for the Golden Shears World Championships, Elaine worked on a four-day international competition, exhibition and festival attracting approximately 80,000 attendees, with around 200 exhibitors and 120 performances. Her role included full production and logistical leadership across the event.
Papal Visit Programme – Client Representative
Elaine worked as Client Representative on the Papal Visit programme, involving more than 200,000 attendees across a seven-day conference and principal event. Her responsibilities included crisis management, altar and backstage control, safety consultation and live-response leadership.
St Patrick’s Festival and Festival of World Cultures
Elaine has also held production and operational leadership roles across major multi-day, multi-venue city programmes including St Patrick’s Festival and the Festival of World Cultures, with audience scales ranging from approximately 250,000 to more than 550,000 attendees.
Across these projects, Elaine has worked at the intersection of production, temporary infrastructure, logistics, public safety, transport, contractor management, permitting and statutory coordination.
From Delivery to Industry Representation
Elaine’s current work with EIAI is grounded in direct major-event delivery experience.
Her policy and representative work draws on practical knowledge of event infrastructure, safety, logistics, licensing and permitting, transport, contractor management, event control and multi-agency coordination, helping ensure that discussions about event policy and regulation remain connected to how events are actually delivered.
This combination of operational experience and policy engagement informs her approach to industry representation, particularly where regulation or public policy has direct consequences for organisers, suppliers, venues, workers and audiences.
International Industry Engagement
In 2026, Elaine was appointed to the international jury of the Eventex Awards, joining a global panel of event-industry professionals assessing excellence in events and experience marketing.
The appointment provides an opportunity to contribute Irish event-industry expertise to an international forum while supporting greater international benchmarking of professional practice, innovation and event delivery.
Areas of Focus
Elaine’s principal areas of industry and policy interest include event safety and regulation, licensing and permitting, national event policy and governance, professional standards and competency, workforce and skills, major-event planning and infrastructure, ticketing and consumer issues, sustainability and environmental responsibility, the Night-Time Economy, festivals and live events, local-authority processes, and the wider economic and operating environment for Ireland’s event industry.
Commentary and Analysis
Elaine writes regularly for EIAI on emerging issues affecting the event industry, combining policy analysis with a practical assessment of what regulatory, economic and operational developments mean for those responsible for delivering events.
Her commentary has examined issues including ticket touting and event designation, dynamic ticket pricing, music licensing, event-industry skills and competency, fire-safety regulation, festival sustainability, climate policy, the Night-Time Economy, major-event planning and the need for greater consistency in the governance and regulation of events.
Media and Industry Comment
Elaine provides media comment, background briefing and industry analysis on issues affecting the planning, regulation and delivery of events in Ireland.
Her areas of comment include event safety, licensing and permitting, ticketing, event regulation, major-event planning, transport and infrastructure, workforce and skills, sustainability, festivals, the Night-Time Economy and national event-industry policy.
For media enquiries, interviews or background briefing, please contact EIAI through the Media & Press section of the website.
Connect
Elaine O’Connor
Co-Founder
Event Industry Association of Ireland
LinkedIn: Elaine O’Connor
Email: elaine@eiai.ie