Board of IRD Duhallow

Anne Maria is the current Chairperson of IRD Duhallow. She represents the INTO on the Board and held the position of company Chair from 2015- 2018. She is a former National School Principal and continues to work closely with State agencies in an
advisory capacity. She is currently the Chair of the Finance Working Group and Vice Chairperson of the Women’s Forum as well as sitting on the HR Committee. She is a keen bridge player and is a member of the Kanturk Bridge Club.

Dominic joined the Board in July 2021 representing the ICMSA. He is a dairy farmer from Boherbue and is the current Chairman of Duhallow ICMSA, as well as Vice Chairman of North and East Cork ICMSA. He is currently a Member of the ICMSA National Council,
Dairy Committee and a member of the ICOS Dairy Committee. Dominic has served as a Board member of Boherbue Co-Op since 2005 and is a member of the National Water Forum. He is a former Chairman of the National Dairy Council and currently sits on the Board of Ornua cooperative.

Breeda re-joined the Board in 2014 to represent Duhallow’s Social Enterprises and held the position of Chairperson from 2019-2022. Breeda was a member of Dáil Éireann from 1992 – 2007 and a member of Kerry Co. Council from 1999- 2003 and from 2011 -
2013. Serving her community for over 20 years, her constituency included the East Kerry area of Duhallow. She is involved in a number of voluntary and charitable organisations.

Cormac is a former Chairman of IRD Duhallow holding the role from 2012 to 2015. He is from Gneeveguilla and works as a Senior Manager in the ESB. He was appointed to the Board to represent the State sector having previously served as Community
Representative for Western Duhallow. He is the current chairman of Gneeveguilla Community Council, who developed a cultural centre in Gneeveguilla village, “Teach Failte”. He serves on the HR, Finance and Community Development Working
Groups.

Padraic is from Kanturk where he lives with his wife and two teenage daughters. He is Chairman of the IRD Duhallow Enterprise Working Group. In his work Padraic is Director of Energy Security at Gas Networks
Ireland having held senior management position there in Human Resources, Energy Policy, Commercial, PR, Marketing and Legal for over 20 years. Padraic is actively involved in various community, school board and sporting clubs in Kanturk. He is also an avid golfer and is a member of Kanturk where he is Captain for 2025 and Killarney Golf Clubs and plays a little Tennis in Lombardstown
Tennis Club.

Amanda comes from Boherbue and is a primary school teacher in Ballyclough National School. She was nominated to the Board of IRD Duhallow in 2022 as the Macra Na Feirme representative. Amanda is the
current chairperson of Banteer Macra, is the Rural Youth representative for Avondhu and she is also on the National Rural Youth sub-committee. Amanda represented Macra na Feirme on a Study Session entitled “Food as a Human Rite “in Budapest last year. Amanda has previously been the PRO for her club.

Barry represents Inland Fisheries Ireland and joined the Board of IRD Duhallow in 2024. He is the Director of Inland Fisheries Ireland’s Development Programme where he oversees the administration of funding schemes, the restoration of damaged river habitats and the stock of angling access infrastructure. Barry is a Chartered Civil Engineer with over 20 years’ experience in river engineering and flood risk management.

Paul is a member of An Garda Síochána holding the rank of Inspector. He is employed as a Community engagement Inspector attached to the Cork North West Policing area which incorporates the entire IRD
Duhallow region. He is currently attached to Mallow Garda Station. He previously served as the Sergeant in charge of Kanturk Garda station from 2011-2019. He has 27 years’ experience in Policing both rural and
urban environments. Paul holds a BSc in Police Leadership & Governance from UCD. He is a native of Co. Clare and has resided in Kanturk since 2006 with his wife and two daughters. He is actively involved in
both Banteer Camogie club and Kanturk ladies
Football club as an underage coach.

Geraldine is the Administrator of the Lee Valley Enterprise Board that promotes business and all aspects of Macroom town and the greater surrounding area of the beautiful Lee Valley. A qualified Financial Advisor and former Commercial Bank Manager, with experience in portfolio
management in the Business and Agri sector and in credit risk, Geraldine holds a TTT QQI 6 and Diploma in Specialty Food Production from UCC. Geraldine is involved in the local community as a volunteer with a number of local organisations and clubs in Macroom.

Geraldine was elected to the Board of IRD Duhallow in July 2021 representing South Eastern Duhallow. She is the current vice chair of the Enterprise Working Group. Living in Millstreet with her family, Geraldine is a volunteer on Millstreet Town Park Committee. She recently concluded a 20-year tenure with Aon Ireland to focus on family life and other commitments. During her career at Aon she progressed to the role
of Senior Retirement Consultant, managing a portfolio of multinational clients and trustee groups.

Rosie joined the board in July 2023, to represent the South Eastern Region. She is involved in various groups locally on a voluntary basis including Banteer, Lyre Nadd and Districts Community Council, Lyre School Parents Association & Lyre Pre School Board. She is from Banteer where she lives with her husband and twin boys. Rosie works with Eli Lilly where she has held various management roles over her 13 years tenure with the company

Cait was elected to the board in July, 2025
representing Mid Cork. Cait is very involved in her local community committees of both Carriganima Community Development & is the Treasurer of Carriganima Community Association - CART Rural Bus Transport. She is married to Christy ands they run their family business an Agricultural Tractor &
Machinery Business in Carriganima. Cait also works as a full time Civil Servant in the Financial Area in the Dept. Of Justice Equality & Law Reform.

Joseph is a resident of Macroom and deeply involved in community and environmental initiatives across Mid Cork. Actively working with Macroom Tidy Towns, Macroom GAA and local organisations, he has helped coordinate volunteer efforts and environment
focused projects. Jospeh is a qualified commercial pilot holding both MEI (Multi-Engine Instrument) and CFII (Certified Flight Instructor Instrument) certifications in the United States and Ireland.

Michelle Green is a native of Freemount and lives there with her husband Karol and their children, Misha and Luka. She holds a degree in Government and Public Policy, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education, and a Master’s in Public Management. With over 20 years’ experience leading environmental
projects, she has managed Cork County Council’s Environmental Awareness Office since 2019. An active member of her local community for many years, she recently co-founded the Freemount Women’s Shed and now serves as its co-chair.

Paul is from Newmarket where he lives with his wife and two children. Paul works in
Cork College of FET – Mallow Campus where he has been deputy principal since 2013. He was nominated to the Board in July 2022 to represent the communities of North Eastern Duhallow. Paul is currently involved in a number of voluntary organisations, serving as vice chairperson of Newmarket Sports & Leisure and as treasurer of the Board of Management for the local primary school.

Billy Dennehy was elected to the Board of IRD
Duhallow as a community representative for the Western Duhallow region. He is the chairperson of IRD Duhallow’s Community Development Working Group. He is an active member of the Kiskeam Community and is the current Development Officer of the Kiskeam Development Association, Treasurer of Kiskeam District and Social Action Group and member of Kiskeam GAA Club. He is working as an Area Engineer with Cork County Council. Billy is married to Emily and they have two children.

Mary Wallace is the Board's former Chairperson and sits on the Women & Childcare Working Group, she is also a member of our Finance Committee and chairs the Social Enterprise Working group and our HR committee. She was originally elected to the Board in 2015 representing the communities of our South Eastern Region. She is a retired Civil Servant having served in the Department of Employment & Social Protection. She has served on the Boards of Management of both primary and secondary schools and is an active member of Donoughmore Community Council serving as Treasurer and coordinates the Community Alert scheme for the
parish.

Judy first joined the Board of IRD Duhallow in 1997 representing women’s’groups. She Chairs the Women and Childcare Working Group and is a member of the HR Working Group. Judy is a founding member of the Duhallow Women’s Forum. She hails from Dromtariffe and is actively involved in her local community. She is a long standing member of the Irish Country Women’s Association and is a member of the Kiskeam
Guild. She has also served as Vice Chairperson of IRD Duhallow for three years.

John represents the Environment Working Group on the Board. He retired in September 2022 as Directorof Services with responsibility for Environment & Water Services, Fire and Emergency services, Civil Defence and Library services as well as Municipal District manager for the Castleisland / Corca Dhuibhne Municipal District with Kerry County Council. He has also previously served as Director of
Services in Limerick City and as Town Clerk in Tralee and Town Manager of Listowel and Killarney Town Councils. A native of Kilkenny city he presently resides in Castleisland.

James is the Blue Dot Farmer Representative on the Board. He is a fourth-generation dairy farmer from Lismire. He is Chairman of the Newmarket Charleville ICMSA and was elected to the National Council of the ICMSA in 2021. James was on Kerry co-op advisory committee from 2011 – 2021 and served as a Board member of Kerry Co-op from 2018 to 2024. He is an outdoor enthusiast who is married to Aine and they have two children.

Gobnait joined the Board of IRD Duhallow in June 2016. Gobnait was elected as a County Councillor by the people of Millstreet / Macroom Municipal District, and has been representing the people of the area since 2016. Gobnait works closely with her brother Aindrias Moynihan TD to represent the people of the area. The IRD Duhallow region was expanded to incorporate the greater Macroom, Inchigeelagh, Rylane area. Gobnait continues to build bonds between IRD Duhallow’s existing networks and communities in her own constituency.

Martin joined the Board of IRD Duhallow in 2019. He is a member of Cork County Council representing the Macroom Municipal District. Martin was previously a Town Councillor in Macroom for 20 years. Martin is a retired FAS supervisor who lives in Macroom and is an active Community worker. He is the current Chairman of the Macroom Tidy Towns group and on the Board of Directors of the Briery Gap and also works with the Enterprise Board organising the Food Festival, the St. Patricks Day parade and the erection of the Macroom town Christmas lights.

Cllr Fionnán Fitzgerald is a secondary teacher and was elected Councillor for the Castleisland Area in May 2019. He was nominated to the Board of IRD Duhallow to represent Kerry County Council. He has been a community activist for many years particularly in the field of social inclusion for our elderly, community alert groups and also the provision of sport for our youth. Fionnán is the current Leas Chathaoirleach, Kerry County Council.

Ian Doyle joined the Board in 2019. Hailing from Charleville, he was a founding member of Charleville Agricultural Show. He is a member of the St Vincent de Paul, Holy Cross Conference and was its President for many years. He is Vice Chairman of the Charleville
Heritage Society, Chairperson of the Charleville Tidy Towns Committee and he is currently a board member of Ballyhoura Development, Charleville Sheltered Housing and Community Care, Charleville Community Hall, Charleville Chamber, and Newtownshandrum Community Association. He also sits on the Board of Management of St Marys Secondary School and the CBS Primary School Charleville.

David Doyle joined the Board in July 2015, as a nominee of the Chief Executive of Kerry County Council. David holds the position of Senior Engineer in the Operations & Safety section of Kerry County Council. He is currently working on the development
of proposals for URDF projects in Killarney and Tralee, and RRDF projects in Caherciveen and Valentia Cable Station. He previously worked in Roads directorate and as Killarney Town Engineer. David lives in Beaufort, Killarney and is an active member of the local Tidy Towns.