The membership of the Board reflects the person centred ethos of the organisation, comprising members, service users, parents and business representatives. All are volunteers and, acting collectively, they must ensure the organisation delivers what it was set up to achieve, upholds its values, remains solvent and is properly managed.
Enable Ireland is delighted to confirm the election of Mr Stephen Haughey as Chairman of Enable Ireland at the Enable Ireland Board meeting held on the 20th May 2021. Stephen was first appointed to the Board of Enable Ireland in 2009 as a Stakeholder Director, representing parents and reflecting his vested interest in the organisation. Stephen is an experienced legal and finance specialist and former Chairman and Head of the Finance Department at A&L Goodbody.
Michael has 25 years of business experience as CEO of the IFA, the largest farm organisation in the country. He is currently chairman of FBD Holdings plc. He has a wealth of understanding of corporate governance, compliance and commercial company experience. Michael joined the board of Enable Ireland in 2010. He regards his directorship on the Board as a privilege and opportunity to make a small personal contribution to the betterment in quality of life for Enable Ireland services users.
Marie Breen is the proud mum of Thea. Thea is a cheeky, smiley, noisy and adventurous four and a half year old. Thea is what doctors call a 'resituated still-born' baby. She suffered a hypoxic brain injury at birth and has Cerebral Palsy and Cortical Visual Impairment. The Brennan family have attended Enable Ireland in Sandymount since February of 2013, when Thea was just six months old. Thea is now finishing up in the 'Little Pals' integrated playschool there and heading off to National school in September.
Marie says that she 'practically lived in Sandymount' for the first three years of Thea's life and the staff and parents there were incredibly good to her and the family. They are what helped them navigate their way through the most difficult years in their lives.
Marie is a Secondary School Deputy Principal with a keen interest in Special Needs Education. In 2004 she completed the Master's Degree in Special Education in UCD and was seconded from her teaching post to the newly-founded National Council for Special Education (NCSE). Marie worked in the NCSE for seven years, initially as a SENO in the South Dublin Area and then as the Dublin Area Manager. In 2011 Marie moved back into school-life and gave birth to Thea in the August of 2012!
Marie feels honoured to be elected on to the Board of Enable Ireland as a parent's representative. Empathy for parents of children with Special Needs is paramount in Marie's mind and she hopes to work to extend the network of parental support in the area.
Jim Bergin is Chief Executive of Glanbia Ireland DAC. He is currently a director of Grassland Kilkenny Ltd and Corman Miloko Ireland Ltd. He is a former Chairman of Dairy Industry Ireland and a former director of Ornua Co-operative Society Ltd. He is a member of the Institute of Directors in Ireland. He joined the Board of Enable Ireland on 8/5/2019.
Liz Barry is a professional independent non-executive director and has a background in the corporate, compliance and governance side of the aviation sector having commenced her aerospace career with the GPA Group plc, and progressed to be the COO of Airbus Financial Services. She holds an MA from Trinity College Dublin and the Higher Graduate Diploma in Corporate Governance awarded by the Michael Smurfit Business School of UCD. She was previously a board member of the Corporate Governance Association of Ireland. She has always had a strong interest in the areas of both development and not-for-profit, having worked as a graduate with the EU in Lesotho on Aid Development projects and been a founder board member of Orbis Ireland, a nonprofit organisation which fights global blindness.
As a neighbour of the Enable Ireland Cork Lavanagh Centre, Sean had long been aware of the great work which goes on there. He subsequently became involved in fundraising for Enable Ireland, and joined the board in 2006. Sean brings a wealth of business expertise to Enable Ireland through his position as Managing Director of Printing & Office Supplies company, with 30 years experience. He was also a founder member and Past-Chairman of TARA, Ireland’s largest Office Dealer Group. Sean's fundraising expertise is drawn from his roles as Past-President of Cork Round Table and Past-President of Rotary Club of Cork.
John is Professor of Applied Psychology in UCC. UCC Psychology Department has had a very strong relationship with Enable Ireland for over 40 years, thanks to the genius of Ann Moloney in connecting the two while she worked with both. She introduced Enable Ireland staff to UCC where they taught students about the practical work of applying psychology and she brought psychology graduates back to Enable Ireland to put their learning into useful practice. That warm relationship continues to grow through clinical psychology student placements, research projects that benefit both organisations, and the lovely annual Ann Moloney Bursary event that recognises the commitment of a student to working in Disability Services.
The knowledge and experience that John brings to the board of Enable Ireland include his organisational experience in Irish education, his research into the design of responsible person-centred technology for care services, and a commitment to relational autonomy for all people in his teaching, research, and practice.
Brian Murphy is a dedicated advocate and active participant in the disability community in Enable Ireland. As a service owner at Enable Ireland Sandyford centre, Brian plays a pivotal role in representing service owners on both service owner council and the Enable Ireland board, ensuring that the service owners voices are heard in decision making processes.
Brian works as ambassador for people with disabilities in the wayfinding centre. As a sports enthusiast, Brian plays tennis, has a passion for swimming, gym, and martial arts, and currently has a brown belt in jujitsu. Brian joined Enable Ireland board in 2022.
Lauren is the proud mum of Izzy, aged 6 and Amelia, aged 2. Amelia is a vibrant, cute, and hilarious little girl. She suffered a stroke when she was 3 months old and endured brain damage to her motor functions as a result. Amelia has attended Enable Ireland Tymon North since November 2022, when she was just 6 months old. The early intervention that Amelia received enabled the re-wiring of her brain. She has gone from strength to strength and is a very resilient little girl.
Lauren feels privileged to be elected on to the Board of Enable Ireland as a parent's representative. She is a Chartered Accountant working in the Insurance industry with Monument Re as a Group Performance Manager. She trained as an auditor with Deloitte and has experience analysing risks, control procedures, and process efficiencies. Lauren is an advocate for early intervention. The early intervention their family received improved their daughter's quality of life immensely.
Oonagh is the proud mother of three boys, Oscar, Jamie and Ben. Jamie is 3 years old and suffered a brain injury at birth. He has complex needs as a result, including global developmental delay, cortical visual impairment and epilepsy. Jamie receives multi-disciplinary services in the Naas CDNT.
Oonagh is an advisor to leading firms on Data & Artificial Intelligence. Previously, Oonagh was a Managing Director in Accenture’s Strategy and Consulting practice where she spent 12 years working with clients in data and analytics. She left this role in late 2023 and has more recently established an independent Data & AI consulting practice.
Oonagh is passionate about the future of technology, in particular for people living with disabilities. Oonagh was appointed to the Board of Enable Ireland in May 2024 and feels privileged to represent parents across the Enable Ireland network.
Anne Sheehan, General Manager, Western Europe Enterprise Commercial , Microsoft
Anne joined Microsoft Ireland as General Manager in October 2021, taking responsibility for the sales, marketing, and services business across the island of Ireland - with a particular focus on delivering business transformation with Microsoft’s customers and partners within the public and private sectors.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Anne was Enterprise Director at Vodafone UK, with responsibility for sales, brand, product and solution design, services, and government relations, across multiple lines of business. Before assuming her UK responsibilities, Anne ran Vodafone Ireland’s Enterprise Business in Ireland for four years. Previously, Anne worked at IBM for 16 years across a number of senior positions, including Vice President of Sales and Services for the Nordic Region, Sales and Services Director for IBM Ireland, Head of Channel, and Head of Infrastructure & Technology Services.
Anne holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Studies, specialising in Accounting and Finance, and a Graduate Diploma in Computing, both from the University of Limerick.
Anne is passionate about partnering with Irish organisations to work together towards an innovative and progressive digital world.
Elected to the Board on 18/5/2023
