A Tribute to Our Dear Friend and Colleague Marcus Costello

We are deeply saddened by the passing of our colleague and friend Marcus Costello, and want to take this moment to pay tribute to him. 2024 marked his 19th year as Dublin Fringe Festival’s Production Manager, joining in 2006 and stepping into a consultancy role this year. Marcus leaves an indelible mark on our organisation, his colleagues and friends; a constant reminder that with vision, dedication and precision even the most expansive artistic dreams can be realised.

Marcus was a man who made the impossible possible, bringing his creativity and craft to tirelessly orchestrate the festival’s most ambitious projects over the last 20 years. From a floating island on the Liffey, to a magical lightscape at the Botanic Gardens, to circus in the treetops and ice-rinks in the Abbey - Marcus could make it happen. 

Marcus spoke often about how we could best support the artists who present at Fringe to achieve their visions, working with detail and fairness to ensure that all of the artists presenting each year were supported and that the festival infrastructure worked for artists at all career and idea stages. He was always on hand with what was needed, whether that be just the right ‘Britney-mic’, the usual weather conditions of a Saturday mid-September or an espresso at the perfect moment. There was no problem Marcus couldn’t solve, no artistic ambition he couldn’t realise.

His impact across decades of artists, crew and teams is visible across the industry, from his work as Production Manager for Dublin Fringe Festival and Bram Stoker Stoker, his time as a lighting designer, to his curation of Drogheda Arts Festival. Dublin Fringe Festival, and the industry, have lost a true sage, a stalwart champion of experimental artists. 

We will miss him dearly and celebrate him in all that we do. We will remember his kindness, diligence, compassion, humour, guidance, rigour, intelligence, encyclopaedic knowledge, and unwavering commitment to artists. Marcus, the backbone of Dublin Fringe Festival, the man that made it happen. 

Our thoughts are with his wonderful family at this time.

Shows referenced: No Man’s Land by NSpace (2011), Remnant Ecologies by Jony Easterby (2023), Behind the Dark by Loosysmokes (2015) and On Ice by Suzanne Grotenhuis (2019).