Sharon Barry is the Director of Culture Ireland, responsible for promoting Irish arts worldwide—creating and supporting opportunities for Irish artists and companies to present and promote their work at strategic international festivals and venues, developing platforms to present outstanding Irish creative work to international audiences through showcases at key global arts events, including the Edinburgh Festival and Venice Biennale. In 2024, Culture Ireland supported over 5,500 artistic presentations in over 50 countries to audiences of almost 7 million.
Sharon is also the project lead for the Basic Income for the Arts project, a three-year programme researching the impact of a basic income on artists and creative arts workers.
Sharon is also responsible for implementing cultural elements of the Irish Government's Global Ireland strategy.