Heather Rose is a creative producer based in rural Sligo with a focus on work for young people. She runs Rose Producing, as well as producing for other artists including Selma Daniel Dance and Púca Puppets. Projects include Teddy Play by Ben Lucent (multisensory experience for autistic young people, Hawk’s Well Theatre), Éist! with Alison Ní Mháirtín (audio installation and workshops, Wexford libraries) and Museum of Believing (interactive play for 2-room rural schools). Heather also supports artists through consultancy and training with partners including Irish Theatre Institute, Axis Ballymun and An Grianán, and is co-founder of the Early Years Network for the Arts.

Cliodhna Noonan is an established early years artist. She founded Acting Up! Arts in 2008 to advocate for the sector and has since created, produced, performed and toured a repertoire of work developed with various supports since 2008 - all aimed at audiences aged 0-6 years. Cliodhna is 2026 artist in residence at DCU under the CYPA artist scheme from the Arts Council and is also artist in residence at Axis Theatre, Ballymun where the focus is on creating an early years hub space with regular programming for early years audiences. Cliodhna is an active member of TYAI and a board member of the Small size EU network organisation. She speaks seven languages and is founder of Grasshoppers Early Years project in Balbriggan along with co-founding the Early Years Network for the Arts in 2025.