Domain 3: List of Contributors
Dr Denise Lyons is a social care worker who lecturers on both Social Care and Creative Skills modules in the Institute of Technology Carlow. She is also a qualified art therapist. Denise served as secretary for Irish Association of Social Care Educators (IASCE) for five years, and was one of the founding members of Social Care Ireland Executive, serving as president from 2012 until 2014. Denise’s publications include Creative Studies for the Caring Professions (2010) and Social Care: Learning from Practice (2014), which she co-edited with Noel Howard. Denise’s PhD, which she completed in 2018, explored the experiences of social care workers in different settings.
Dr Teresa Brown is a social care worker currently lecturing on Social Care degree and masters’ programmes in the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest TUS. Teresa has extensive experience as a social care worker in Northern Ireland, Ireland and Romania. She has practised in the areas of residential care, secure care and child protection/family support. Teresa is currently a board member of Social Care Ireland and an active member of the Irish Association of Social Care Educators (IASCE). Her PhD, completed in 2016, focused on social care workers’ experiences of relationship-based practice.
John Balfe is a lecturer at the Wexford Campus, Institute of Technology, Carlow. John commenced his social care career working in a family therapy centre as part of a multidisciplinary team of professionals including social care workers. Having worked in areas of disability, community care and early years, John then joined the Irish Probation Service and worked with young people and in homelessness, addiction and mental health, and managed teams as a senior probation officer. John is also a Director on the Board of Management of Le Chéile youth mentoring service and a member of Tusla’s Prevention, Partnership and Family Support subcommittee. He is currently undertaking a doctorate in Social Science at University College Cork.
Claire Barry manages a large day service for men and women, many of whom have complex needs in addition to their intellectual disability. Claire’s responsibilities include managing a large staff team; developing a programme of activities, education and leisure interests; and co-ordinating the provision of clinical supports to the right people at the right time. Claire has previous experience in providing home support services to enable independent living. Claire received her BA in Social Studies in Social Care from Technological University Dublin and her MA from National University of Ireland Maynooth.
Deborah Brady is a social care leader with twenty years’ experience in the disability field. Her research for her master’s in Advanced Social Care Practice focused on ‘Supporting people with an intellectual disability to make decisions: An exploration of the South Australian Supported Decision Making Model’. Deborah is currently Chair of Social Care Ireland Disability Special Interest Group and founding member of the charity Accessibility Ballinasloe.
Fiona Brannelly is a social care Leader with over sixteen years’ experience working in the disability field. Fiona received a first class honours master’s in Advanced Social Care Practice from Athlone Institute of Technology in 2020. She completed her research on ‘An exploration of end of life care in frontline staff supporting adults with intellectual disabilities in community residential settings’.
Caroline Costello is a social care lecturer in the Institute of Technology Sligo. She is also joint Director of the Social Care Practice Programme, and lectures in professional practice. Caroline also co-ordinates social care practice student placements. She has extensive experience as a social care worker in the child and family sector, predominantly in the area of youth justice. Caroline is a certified mediator and National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) child protection trainer. She is an active member of the Irish Association of Social Care Educators (IASCE) and the Social Care Ireland (SCI) Education Advisory Group. In 2019, Caroline developed the Use your Brain Not Your Fists: Promoting Positive Social Behaviour Workbook.
Orla Dowling, an area manager in a charity organisation working with children, young people and families who are at risk within their home or community, also lectures in Sociology part-time at Athlone Institute of Technology. Orla is passionate about and has been involved in policy and programme development and delivery throughout her career in social care.
Jamie Grennan is a social care worker who began his career working in a variety of residential settings for both children and adults with Nua Healthcare and then the Muiriosa Foundation. Jamie has also worked with children internationally in the United States following the model of wilderness therapy. Jamie has worked on Tusla’s Prevention, Partnership and Family Support (PPFS) Team in County Offaly since 2018. He is a trained Parents Plus and Non-Violent Resistance (NVR) programme facilitator and also leads a number of child and youth and parental participation projects across both Offaly and Laois.
Noel Howard moved from a teaching career in 1973 to become a social care worker in residential juvenile justice until 1996, and as a manager until his retirement in 2008. He is a founder member of Social Care Ireland and edits the association’s bi-annual magazine, Curam. With Dr Denise Lyons he co-edited Social Care: Learning from Practice in 2014.
Jacqui McCann, the Person in Charge of Crannóg Nua Special Care Service, Tusla, has worked for seventeen years in Crannóg Nua as both a high support and special care service. Jacqui has a BA (Hons) in Social Care and in 2020 gained an MSc in Leadership in Healthcare. Jacqui is also a therapeutic crisis intervention (TCI) trainer and has a particular interest in the management of behaviours that challenge. In 2017, Jacqui began working closely with childcare consultant Stuart Mullholland on the implementation of the Welltree Model of Care and Outcomes Framework in Crannóg Nua. To date, Jacqui has implemented the measures for over forty young people in their progress through special care.
Michael McCarthy is an assistant lecturer in Technological University Dublin, City Campus, tutoring undergraduate and postgraduate social care students since September 2021. Prior to this, Michael worked as an aftercare manager for an NGO in conjunction with the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) in Dublin, North City. Michael has a master’s degree in Social Care Leadership and Management, a master’s Degree in Sociology and a BA Honours Degree in Social Care. Michael commenced his career working in disability services, followed by several years working in residential care. Subsequently, Michael worked as a case manager in family homeless services before moving into social care leadership roles.
Victoria McDonagh is a social care worker with over twelve years experience in both Ireland and Australia. She is currently a lecturer in Social Care and Early Childhood Studies in Waterford Institute of Technology. Victoria has worked with a wide range of service users in the areas of family support, mental health, dementia care, chronic illness and disability. She has also worked in management, leading social care teams and programmes. Following her degree in Social Care, Victoria has completed postgraduate study in Family Therapy and a master’s in Child, Youth and Family Studies. Victoria is passionate about empowering service users to reach their full ability as well as providing person-centred support. She is also active in research in social care and early childhood.
Audrey Moore qualified with an MA in Social Care Leadership and Management from Technological University Dublin in 2021. She also has a BA in Social Care Practice from Dublin Institute of Technology and a BSc in Psychology from University College Dublin. Since 2002 she has worked with young people in specialised residential care and adults with intellectual disabilities up to social care manager level. Currently a consultant with Trust Social Care Consultancy, Audrey provides mentoring and external supervision to practitioners while working to improve service delivery in various organisations. Audrey is also an associate lecturer at TU Dublin and a non-executive director of a housing charity.
Dawn Murtagh graduated from Athlone institute of Technology with a BA (Honours) in Social Care Practice and an MA in Child and Youth Studies. She has worked with young people in residential care. She is currently working for ChildVision the National Education Centre for Blind Children. She works with young people who have visual impairments and additional needs, supporting them in their education and helping them to gain the skills necessary for independent living.
Marie Nolan is a social care leader with the Muiríosa Foundation, an organisation that supports individuals (and their families) with an intellectual disability and/or autism to live self- directed, connected and fulfilling lives. Marie completed the MA programme in Advanced Social Care Practice in Athlone Institute of Technology in 2017 and based the research for her dissertation on a study on the care of people with intellectual disabilities in general hospitals in Ireland. Since then, Marie has completed practitioner training in supported self-directed living, a model of care that supports individuals to exercise choice and control over their lives and to become valued, participating members of society on a par with typical citizens.
Grace O’Flynn is a social care worker currently working for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland. Prior to this, she worked in services supporting people with intellectual disabilities. Grace is currently completely her MA in Social Care Leadership and Management. She is a member of the Disability Special Interest Group on behalf of Social Care Ireland.
Sheena O’Neill is a social care lecturer in the Institute of Technology Sligo, Joint Director of the Social Care Practice Programme, and lectures in professional practice. She also co-ordinates social care practice student placements. She has extensive experience as a social care worker, predominantly in the disability sector, working with adults with intellectual disabilities. Sheena is an active member of Irish Association of Social Care Educators (IASCE), the Disability Special Interest Group with Social Care Ireland, and the SCI Education Advisory Group. Her practice-based experience saw Sheena regularly working with service users who had a dual diagnosis with mental illness, which led her to complete her MA in Advanced Practice Mental Health in 2016.
Lorna O’Reilly is a social care worker who began her career working in several children’s residential centres with both the Midlands Health Board and the London borough of Ealing. Lorna then worked as a community childcare leader with the Midlands Health Board, then as social care leader with the HSE and then Tusla. Lorna has been a member of the Prevention, Partnership and Family Support (PPFS) team since its inception. She is now senior child and family support network co-ordinator on the Tusla PPFS team in County Offaly. Lorna was the lead on child and youth participation for a number of years in the Tusla Midlands area.
Gráinne Ridge is the Programme Manager in St John of God Liffey Services. In this role she oversees the running of community respite, residential and early intervention services for children and adults with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities in south-west Dublin and north Kildare. Prior to this role, Gráinne gained extensive experience in intellectual disability and children’s crisis intervention services. She has a particular interest in supportive and measurable outcomes for the people accessing services. As part of her MSc in Health Services Management in 2013, she undertook research delving into the quality of life that is afforded to adults with intellectual disabilities in various residential settings.
