Creatives and arts/events professionals from across Ireland continue to share tributes to their colleague and friend Marcus Costello – the former Production Manager of Dublin Fringe Festival – following the sad news of his death, on Sunday, following 'a short illness.'

Earlier this year, it was announced that Marcus – "a true Dublin Fringe festival legend" – was stepping into a consultancy role, after serving as the festival's Production Manager for 19 years.

"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," the Dublin Fringe Festival team wrote in a statement shared to social media.

"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," the post continues. "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."

The DFF team go on to note that Marcus's "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 Festival, 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," they resume. "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."

Marcus had also served as Production Manager for the Bram Stoker Festival, since 2015.

"A highly respected figure in the Irish arts community, Marcus was creative, kind, reliable, funny, hard-working, level-headed, quick-thinking, methodical and passionate about making good art happen," the Bram Stoker Festival team wrote online. "He loved the challenge of solving logistical and creative problems - Marcus was the person we went to with increasingly ambitious ideas, knowing he’d find a way to make them work. There was no event, spectacle or production – on land or water – too big, too weird or too complicated for Marcus to orchestrate; he always found the solution and team to make magic happen and bring artists’ dreams to life, year after year."

 

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The Drogheda Arts Festival – which Marcus had also played a major role in for over ten years – shared its own tribute.

"He worked tirelessly to drive the festival forward, bringing new and innovative ideas to the festival and adhering to the highest production and technical standards in everything he produced," a post on the festival's social media reads. "In the best possible way, he was a quiet, unassuming man with a unique world view and quirky take on life that could be inspiring, infuriating and funny simultaneously —a beautiful, gentle soul who was a good listener and a deep thinker. We will miss our colleague and friend."

Dublin's Project Arts Centre, meanwhile, noted that its team were "at a loss for words", following the death of "the brilliant Marcus Costello."

"He was a huge part of many artists' lives here in Project," they continue, "and we want to send our condolences to his family at this moment in time."