Psychologists Registration Board - Biographies
Niall Byrne
Niall Byrne has been working in his current position as Registrar and Chief Officer of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) since July 2016. He has over 15 years senior management experience including previous positions with the Public Appointments Service (PAS), Health Information & Quality Authority (HIQA) and the charitable organisation Cheshire Ireland. Prior to serving in these positions he worked in the Civil Service for 18 years. He has extensive experience of reporting to statutory boards as well as board membership in the voluntary sector. In this regard, he is currently chairperson of the Dyslexia Association of Ireland where he is leading the process of bringing the organisation into compliance with the Code of Governance for Community and Voluntary Organisations. Other bodies of which he is a member include the Audit & Risk Committee of Scouting Ireland. Niall is also a voluntary adult literacy tutor with City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB). His academic qualifications include a Master of Business Studies from UCD.
Ann Ellis
Ann Ellis is a recently retired healthcare professional with over 20 years management experience in the HSE. She trained as a nurse in the UK before returning to work in Ireland as a midwife. She has worked for over 36 years in the health services, including 12 years as Assistant Director of Nursing and Midwifery in University Hospital Waterford (UHW), a role involving provision of high levels of professional and clinical leadership. During her time as Assistant Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Ann collaborated with the University of Limerick (UL) to establish a site for midwifery placements for the direct entry midwifery students at UHW. She was also a member of the education committee for midwifery training at UL, representing the maternity services in the South East. She has been involved for the past 12 years in the Waterford Healing Arts Trust, which brings arts experiences to the patients at UHW and other healthcare settings.
Joan Fitzgerald
Joan Fitzgerald retired in 2012 following a long career in the pharmaceutical industry where she reached executive level and has gained considerable managerial experience both in Ireland and in the US. In the 3 years following her early retirement she worked as an independent consultant with a number of pharmaceutical companies in Europe before returning to academic life where she is currently completing an MSc in Clinical Neuroscience in NUI Galway. Joan obtained a BSc (Hons) in Microbiology from UCD in 1976. In her professional career, she served in a number of positions with Allergan Inc. from 1978 to 2012, rising to Vice President of the company in 2008. In this role, she was responsible for overseeing the Worldwide QA Biologics function. Earlier positions with Allergan included Quality Assurance Director, Botox Facility, Project Manager - Pharma Facility, and Microbiology Supervisor. She had also previously worked with other pharmaceutical companies, including Travenol Laboratories Ltd. and Bimeda Chemicals.
Sinead Fitzgerald
Sinead Fitzgerald commenced her career at the former Eastern Health Board and has 25 years experience working as a Clinical Psychologist in the public health service. She has served as Principal Clinical Psychologist and Director of Clinical Practice at TCD/HSE Clinical Psychology Doctoral Training Programme for the past 15 years. She considers her greatest success in this area to be bringing the voice of service users as central stakeholders across all aspects of the training programme. As part of her HSE role Sinead has responsibility for the employment and management of 50 doctorate level clinical psychology trainees, overseeing their personal, professional and clinical development. Sinead was appointed by the Minister to membership of the Health and Social Care Professionals Council on 14 November 2016 as a representative of the profession of psychologist. Her educational qualifications include, inter alia, an MA in Clinical Psychology from UCD. She became an Honorary Adjunct Assistant Professor at TCD in 2016.
Natalie Hession
Natialie Hession is Principal Psychology Manager in Psycho-Oncology Services at St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network (SLRON). She has 13 years’ experience of working in the area of Psycho-oncology. She provides clinical assessment and therapeutic intervention for individuals and families in relation to all aspects of the psychological impact of cancer. As psychology manager, she has expanded the service through the introduction of specialised psycho-oncology therapies, multi-disciplinary training and supervision, and research.
Natalie has led many change management projects, including a project that focused on the training of the key stakeholders in SLRON in psychological skills. She sits on many committees including, amongst others, Counselling Psychology Doctoral Course Management Committee in Trinity College Dublin and she chairs the Irish Hospital Psychologist Group. Natalie has a track record for being committed to the development of psycho-oncology in Ireland and has contributed by way of policy development and media coverage. She has lectured, supervised research, made many professional presentations nationally and internationally as well as publishing widely in the area of psycho-oncology. Natalie’s academic qualifications include Doctorate in Counselling Psychology from University of Surrey; MSc Leadership and Healthcare Management from RCSI; and Post Grad Diploma in Clinical Supervision from Trinity College Dublin.
Gráinne Kirwan
Gráinne Kirwan is a Chartered Psychologist and lecturer in Psychology in Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), teaching in both their Psychological Society of Ireland accredited BSc (Hons) in Applied Psychology and the MSc in Cyberpsychology. She has eighteen years’ experience in teaching psychology in two Irish institutions (UCD and IADT) and was an Associate Professor at a university in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She has been involved in research with academics from a number of international universities and has given presentations on many occasions, including at conferences both in Ireland abroad. Gráinne’s experience in the development of the MSc in Cyberpsychology in IADT led to her recent appointment as an external advisor to the University of Wolverhampton to aid in the development of their proposed
Masters in Cyberpsychology. She is the current Chair of the Psychological Society of Ireland’s Special Interest Group in Media, the Arts and
Cyberpsychology. She has been a recipient of funding in respect of a number of projects, has supervised postgraduate student research and has published extensively in her field of expertise. Gráinne was awarded her PhD by UCD in 2006.
Paul Longmore
Paul Longmore is a social worker and systemic psychotherapist with extensive experience in the field of mental health across a range of settings, sectors and roles. He is currently serving as Clinical Governance Manager at Jigsaw, a voluntary sector organisation principally funded by the HSE that provides primary care level mental health services to young people aged 12-25 years. He previously worked as a senior mental health social worker with Mater/HSE Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Paul has lectured on postgraduate level training programmes in Psychotherapy and Social Work at UCD and TCD. He is currently undertaking healthcare management training with RCSI.
John T Malone
John T. Malone, who is a retired former Prison Governor, has served in many different penal establishments during the course of his 40-year career in the prison service. He commenced his career as a prison officer at Mountjoy Prison and St. Patrick’s Institution, rising to the positions of Assistant Governor and Deputy Governor at Arbour Hill and Midlands prisons respectively, before his appointment to the position of Governor of the latter institution in 2007. In his role as Governor of the Midlands Prison Mr. Malone was responsible for the administration of the largest prison campus in the State and the welfare and health of over a thousand inmates. He led the programme for the development and expansion of the institution, including the transfer of all the inmates from the former Curragh Prison. In his capacity as a senior manager in the prison service he has conducted many investigations into aspects of the penal system and has been closely associated with the judicial process, including representation of the prison service in the High Court in both criminal and civil cases.
Edel Moloney
Edel Moloney is a chartered Psychologist with the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) and is also a member of its division of Work and Organisational Psychologists (DWOP). She holds an MSc.in Organisational Psychology and an MSc. in Management.
She is the Change and Development Manager in Speedpak, a social enterprise with two commercial businesses, providing work experience and accredited training to long-term unemployed people living in disadvantaged communities or who experience social exclusion. She has also been a member of the Northside Partnership’s Senior Management Team since 2013. Previously, Edel worked for many years in the financial sector in both Ireland and the UK where she specialised in providing advice and training to corporate clients in relation to legal and compliance issues.
Edel is actively involved in various community and statutory organisations. She is Chair of Board of the Discovery Community Training Centre in Darndale and Vice Chair of the Board of the Northside Counselling Service. She was also a member of the Board of Breastcheck and subsequently a member of the Board of the National Cancer Screening Service (NCSS) during which time she was a member of the Audit Committee and chaired the Board’s Governance Committee.
She is a Certified Mediator and worked for a number of years as a voluntary mediator with Community Law and Mediation in Coolock. She is currently a Trustee of the Pobal Pension Schemes comprising 60 individual company schemes.
Una Doyle O'Sullivan
Una Doyle O’Sullivan is a founding partner of Doyle Solicitors in which she has extensive experience in, inter alia, medical defence law, healthcare law and employment law. Her firm is one of nine appointed nationally by the State Claims Agency to defend medical negligence claims. She originally qualified as a psychiatric nurse and has served as one of the chairpersons of the Mental Health Tribunals under the Mental Health Commission since their inception in 2006. In this capacity, Una has been involved in analysing and confronting legal issues that may arise in the course of their implementation. She has also been involved in roles as diverse as membership of the Legal Aid Board where she administered the Legal Aid Scheme and the Board of Professional Conduct of the Psychological Society of Ireland. She is a guest lecturer and course developer in both the Law Department and Psychology Department in UCC. Her educational qualifications include first class honours LLM awarded by UCC in 2012. Una is also a C.E.D.R accredited mediator.
Fiona Weldon
Fiona Weldon is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist providing clinical psychological services in the areas of assessment (adult mental health and forensic), clinical seminars, and organisational consultancy services to private/state organisations and individuals. She is currently consultant to the Department of Health regarding the Consultation Process for the National Drugs Strategy. Fiona has over 16 years’ experience across the private and public sectors, including 4 years as a Senior Psychologist in the National Forensic Psychiatric Service Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum where she worked within a multidisciplinary team with clients with enduring mental illness. She subsequently worked for 6 years as CEO/Clinical Director of the Rutland Centre, a residential and outpatient addiction treatment centre. Fiona was responsible for the executive function of the operations of the Centre, including clinical development of the therapeutic programme, and supported the organisation through a significant change management process. Her professional qualifications include a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology awarded by TCD in 2004.
Kieran Woods
Kieran Woods retired from the HSE in 2016 having worked as a clinical psychologist for thirty-five years. He was awarded his professional clinical psychology qualification from the British Psychological Society. His academic qualifications include an MA in Psychology from UCD and a Health Care Management qualification from the IPA. On completion of his training, Kieran worked for the then Eastern Health Board for nine years. He worked initially in adult mental health services before moving at its inception to the Kildare Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. He was subsequently appointed Principal Psychology Manager of the HSE Donegal Psychology Service. During that time, he was also manager of the Donegal Bereavement Service and COSC as well as, at times, acting in the role of General Manager of HSE Donegal Primary Care Services. He served on the NUIG Programme Board for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology for many years. He has also served as chairperson of the Heads of Psychology Services Ireland. Kieran has been a member of a variety of committees and working groups at national, regional and local level.
