Dr Áine de Paor is a Dublin born woman who for decades has combined high school drama teaching in Sydney with occasional work as an actor and performer. In her native Dublin as a young adult Áine appeared regularly in performances by ‘The Dublin Shakespeare Society’. Continuing her passion for theatre when she arrived in Sydney she worked with a number of independent theatre companies before joining forces with the Irish Consulate to coordinate and present cultural programs.

The Prankqueans as a collective grew from regular gatherings over many years by Áine of fellow artists to celebrate Irish Australian literature, music and drama. She has curated evenings of an Irish Australian feminist flavour at venues such as the State Library of New South Wales, Bondi Pavilion and Sydney’s Seymour Centre.

Áine’s academic credentials include an honours education degree from Trinity College Dublin, a course work Masters degree in Theatre Studies from the University of New South Wales and an honours Masters degree (Research) from Sydney University. In 2022 Áine successfully concluded her PhD studies at the Department of Performance Studies, Sydney University with a thesis entitled, ‘Staging Ireland Down Under’.

As a passionate and fluent Gaeilgeoir (Irish language speaker) Áine enjoys celebrating her native language as well as the strong bonds between Ireland and Australia through literary and cultural events that celebrate all that is Irish Australian and fabulously female.