Moya Doherty (born 1957, in Pettigo, County Donegal, Ireland) is a Dublin-raised Irish entrepreneur and the producer and co-founder of Riverdance.
Moya Doherty | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Spouse | John McColgan |
Early life
editDoherty was born in Pettigo, a village in the south-east of County Donegal in Ulster.[1][2] While most of Pettigo is in County Donegal, a small part of the village, the Tullyhommon area, is in County Fermanagh. Both of her parents, Daniel and Patricia (née Mulhern), were primary school teachers from Dungloe, a small town in The Rosses district in the west of County Donegal.[1][2][3] Her parents families, the Dohertys and the Mulherns, owned pubs in Dungloe.[3] At the age of seven, she moved from Pettigo down to Dublin with her parents; she spent the rest of her childhood and teenage years in Dublin.[1][2] Her parents later moved back to Dungloe when they retired.[3] She has two sisters, Niamh and Nuala, and two brothers, Pádraig and Seán.[2] Doherty attended Manor House School, a Catholic secondary school in Raheny.[4]
Riverdance
editRiverdance is a worldwide acclaimed theatrical phenomenon, which premiered in Dublin's Point Theatre in February 1995. Riverdance had started as a seven-minute interlude at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, commissioned by Moya Doherty, who was the show's Executive Producer.[citation needed]
Business interests
editDoherty was chair of the RTÉ Board, the board of Irish public service broadcaster RTÉ from 2014 until 2022. She was previously a director of television production company Tyrone Productions. She was a founding director of the independent national commercial radio station Radio Ireland (which later rebranded as Today FM). She is a member of the board of the Dublin Theatre Festival. She was formerly a member of the board of the Abbey Theatre.
Personal life
editDoherty is married to the co-founder of Riverdance, John McColgan, who she married in 1986,[2] and she is regarded as one of the wealthiest women in Ireland, with an estimated fortune of €45 million.[5] McColgan and Doherty have two sons[6] and lived for many years on an extensive property in the Baily area of Howth and, having sold the main property, retained a 3-bedroom house with private access.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ a b c 'Moya Doherty - The Rhythm of Irishness' (Donegal.ie, 16 September 2022). https://donegal.ie/en/latest-news/2022/September/moya-doherty-the-rhythm-of-irishness
- ^ a b c d e 'A Life In Brief: Moya Doherty' (Irish Independent, 29 September 2013). https://www.independent.ie/life/life-in-brief/29617114.html
- ^ a b c 'Huge crowds expected for Moya Doherty Donegal Person of Year award' (Derry People - Donegal News, 6 March 2015). https://donegalnews.com/huge-crowd-expected-moya-doherty-gets-donegal-person-of-year-award/
- ^ O'Toole, Aileen (9 October 2013). "My old school photo". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ Just how wealthy is Moya Doherty? - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie
- ^ "Moya Doherty, 56: 'I love people who can keep a secret'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 14 July 2022.