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IN BUSINESS

irishpost.com November 2025

DR NICOLA BYRNE

The woman steering the government on using our personal data safely

PLUS Meet the Irish influencers of 2025

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INSPIRING STORIES ACROSS ALL INDUSTRIES IRISH people continue to excel in industries across the globe.

Inside your In Business magazine for 2025 we are delighted to feature a snapshot of those who have experienced significant success or made notable achievements in the year gone by.

Among them are entrepreneurs, strategic advisors, digital innovators and creative communicators who have carved a successful niche for themselves in their respective fields.

They hail from all walks of life, but they share many characteristics, regardless of their line of work.

Leadership, vision, resilience, resourcefulness and the willingness to take a risk are common threads in the stories you will read on these pages.

So too are core qualities like adaptability, discipline, reliability and having a strong work ethic.

For our cover star Dr Nicola Byrne, all of the above applies.

As the National Data Guardian for Adult Health and Social Care in England, Dr Byrne advocates for us all.

Her role requires her to ensure that the personal data contained in our public health records is managed correctly.

It is a huge responsibility, but it is one that the clinical psychiatrist, whose family roots lie in counties Sligo and Antrim, relishes.

“This role was designed to provide an independent voice for the public – someone with the authority and expertise to make sure that decisions about data are transparent, accountable, and grounded in trust,” Dr Byrne tells us in our exclusive interview.

“I was very honoured, and excited, to be asked to take it on,” she adds.

Read on for the full interview with Dr Byrne as well as 49 other inspirational accounts of Irish individuals who are leaving lasting legacies wherever they lay their hat.

Inside IN BUSINESS Pages 4-54 A-Z profile index: Artists, Changemakers, Community Champions, Leaders, Pioneers, Innovators, Trailblazers

Pages 27-29 Exclusive interview with Dr Nicola Byrne, the National Data Guardian for Adult Health and Social Care in England

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IN BUSINESS

50 influencers who have made their mark this year

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COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS ARTISTS

Aisling Bea COMEDIAN, ACTOR, SCREENWRITER

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HE entertainment powerhouse who was born Aisling Clíodhnadh O’Sullivan is much better known under her stage name Aisling Bea. Hailing from Co. Kildare, Bea’s father died when she was just three years old and she and her younger sister, Sinéad, were raised by their mother, Helen (née Moloney) - a secondary school teacher who was previously a professional jockey.

Despite working as a tour guide at the Irish National Stud in her youth, Bea preferred performing to horse racing, and after completing her studies in French and Philosophy at Trinity College Dublin, she moved to England to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Over more than 10 years based in the capital, Bea has enjoyed a steady rise in success as a comic, actor and a screenwriter.

Following early acting roles won in comedy series such as Cardinal Burns and Dead Boss, Bea decided to try stand-up.

It was a move that would change the course of her career dramatically.

In 2012 she won Gilded Balloon’s So You Think You’re Funny award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The following year she was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.

The recognition and exposure that came with these accolades marked a turning point in Bea’s career and sparked the series of events which brought her to where she stands today – as one of the most familiar faces on our screens and one of the most sought-after comedians in the business.

The Irish star is a regular guest on television panel shows including QI, Insert Name Here, 8 out of 10 Cats, Taskmaster and Last One Laughing Ireland.

In 2019 she created, wrote and starred in the comedy series This Way Up, alongside fellow Irish star Sharon Horgan.

The show aired for two series and secured Bea the Bafta Craft Award for Breakthrough Talent in 2020.

It also saw her nominated for the Bafta for Best Female Comedy Performance in 2022.

Further TV performances have included parts in Doctor Who and the emotional 2025 Channel 4 miniseries Alice & Jack, in which she starred alongside Domhnall Gleeson.

Bea’s unmistakable accent has recently become even more readily available to us all - as she partnered with Amazon to provide its virtual assistant Alexa with a crash course on Irish vernacular.

Thanks to a little training by Bea, Alexa is now fully equipped with some of the most popular Irish sayings and their meanings.

“Our pal Alexa now understands what the craic is, and I am delighted to have helped teach Alexa how to be more than a bit sound,” Bea said of the partnership.

Next on her agenda is the small matter of a British and Irish stand-up tour. Bea will bring her new show Older than Jesus to venues across the country in 2026.

Aisling Bea gives Alexa a lesson in Irish

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The Irish Post – November 2025

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JESSIE BUCKLEY

Actor

There is currently an Oscar buzz floating around Jessie Buckley, due to the actor’s critically acclaimed performance in new film Hamnet.

Based on the 2020 book by Northern Irish writer Maggie O’Farrell, the movie offers a fictional account of the relationship between William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes and the death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet in 1596.

Buckley, who hails from Killarney in Co. Kerry, but is now based in Norfolk, plays Agnes.

Shakespeare is played by fellow Irish actor Paul Mescal, who hails from Co. Kildare.

Of the many films she has now made, Buckley admits that this movie “changed her”.

“It really reminded me of how potent and powerful storytelling can be,” she said as it received its UK premiere in London last month.

“And it’s kind of set a bar, like, I only want to make films that are as brave and as human as this from now on,” she added.

Directed by the Oscar-winning Nomadland filmmaker Chloe Zhao, Hamnet won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International

Film Festival in September.

That win now puts the film firmly in Academy Award territory, as the Toronto award is widely deemed an Oscars bellwether.

It’s familiar territory for Buckley of course, who received an Academy Award nomination in 2021 for her work on the film The Lost Daughter.

Buckley starred alongside Olivia Colman in the movie, which marked Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut.

She was also nominated for a Bafta award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her work on the film.

There has been no shortage of actual award wins either for the Irish star, who picked up a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work on Cabaret in 2022 and has previously claimed three Irish Film and Television Awards for her roles in the television series Chernobyl and films The Lost Daughter and Women Talking.

Next up we will see her in horror film The Bride.

Due for release in 2026, the film, also by Maggie Gyllenhaal, draws inspiration from James Whale’s 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein.

Buckley takes the lead role as The Bride, starring alongside Christian Bale, Jake Gyllenhaal and Penélope Cruz.

Jessie Buckley

BRIDGET CHRISTIE

Comedian, Actor, Screenwriter

Fresh from the soaring success of her self-penned drama series The Change, Bridget Christie has announced she will return to her comedic roots next year.

In 2026 the second-generation Irish woman, who was born in Gloucester to parents from counties Roscommon and Leitrim, will be back on stages across the country when she kicks off her Jacket Potato Pizza show in January.

That will be her fourteenth live show, in a career in the entertainment industry which now spans more than two decades.

“I am very much looking forward to eating motorway services food again and picking my favourite roundabouts,” she said as she broke the tour news.

“Last year Plymouth won.”

The news follows the second successful series of The Change

which aired on Channel 4 earlier this year.

Christie wrote, executive produced and stars in the show, which centres on fifty-something heroine Lisa – who, after being diagnosed with the menopause, finds herself indulging in a mid-life crisis which sees her drop her home life for an adventure in the wilderness of the Forest of Dean.

The Bafta-nominated comedy saw Christie win the Debut Writer award at the New Voice Awards 2024 in recognition of the first series’ success and Best Actor at The Edinburgh TV Awards.

Later this year Christie will be back on our screens in series two of the BBC hit comedy Things You Should Have Done.

“I’ve always wanted to play a bisexual therapist in a Lucia Keskin TV show that films near the sea,” she said of her new role.

“Living the dream folks. Living the dream.”

Bridget Christie

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The Irish Post – November 2025

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

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RUAIRI CONAGHAN

Actor

You will know his face from Downtown Abbey and other television hits, but what do you know of actor Ruairi Conaghan’s story?

He has previously starred in the

ADRIAN DUNBAR

Actor

Adrian Dunbar, it seems, is never far from our screens.

The Fermanagh man, who hails from Enniskillen, is still likely best known for his role as the steely Superintendent Ted Hastings, who is head of AC-12, in BBC1’s Line of Duty.

We have not had an instalment of that hit show since series six aired in 2021. There is talk of series seven, but it’s not been confirmed.

Naturally Dunbar can’t wait around for ever and so he’s been keeping more than busy in the meantime in all manner of roles.

Last summer he enjoyed a stint on the boards, when he made his musical theatre debut in a revival of Cole Porter’s comedy masterpiece Kiss Me, Kate at the Barbican Theatre.

Starring alongside Stephanie J Block, the Irishman received critical acclaim for this performance in the show.

Since 2022 Dunbar has starred in another police drama, the ITV1 series Ridley.

His performance as the titular character, retired Detective Inspector Alex Ridley, marked his first ever leading television role.

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likes of Waking the Dead and his recent theatre productions include Hamlet at the Barbican Theatre, in which he starred alongside Benedict Cumberbatch.

But over the past year the Derry-born actor has taken some of his most personal private experiences on tour across Britain So popular was the first series that it returned for its second outing in August of this year.

Dunbar has been vocal on his desire to see a third series commissioned although that too has yet to be confirmed.

He also claims we won’t have too long to wait before Line of Duty comes knocking again.

“I do know that Jed [Mercurio, Line of Duty creator] has written lots of stuff,” Dunbar has said of the show’s return.

“I do know that the three of us have been contacted, and we’ve all said yes, and then it’s down to our friends at the BBC to make the announcement as to when we’re going to start filming,” he added.

In the meantime, the acting star will keep busy by directing a performance of TS Eliot’s 1922 poem The Waste Land at the London Jazz Festival.

Four actors will take the roles of the poem’s many characters, accompanied by a jazz quintet playing a score by British/Irish saxophonist and composer Nick Roth.

It will be staged at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of the festival in November.

The Irish Post – November 2025

and Northern Ireland in his self-penned play Lies Where it Falls.

In it, the 58-year-old, who was born in Magherafelt, revealed a personal history which is blighted by the Troubles.

In 1974, eight-year-old Conaghan lost his uncle, Judge Rory Conaghan, who was murdered by an IRA gunman disguised as a postman.

He was shot dead on his doorstep whilst holding his nine-year-old daughter’s hand.

Ten years later, in 1984, IRA man Patrick Magee attempted to assassinate Margaret Thatcher by planting a bomb in the Brighton Grand Hotel which killed five people.

In 2015, Conaghan played the role of Magee in the controversial play, The Bombing of The Grand Hotel.

Preparing for the role required him to meet Magee - an experience which would come back to haunt him.

But it wasn’t until he was performing Shakespeare’s Hamlet alongside Cumberbatch that his repressed trauma would return.

Those feelings, compounded by playing Magee a few years previously, lead to a catastrophic physical and mental breakdown for the actor.

It was that which motivated him to write Lies Where It Falls, in which he recounts the experience of meeting and playing Magee.

“You can’t just forget trauma, it grips hard,” Conaghan explains.

“There’s a generation of people still silently burning with anger and pain.

“If there will be no formal means to pursue truth and justice, then stories become everything.

“Those stories must be told. No one chooses this trauma.”

In Lies Where It Falls Conaghan aimed to demonstrate the “pervasiveness of trauma and the healing powers of theatre”.

But that is not the end of the story for the actor and writer, who has other ideas for the stage.

“I always thought there was just one play in me, and I’d written it,” he says, but admits that now other ideas are “brewing”.

“This time, I want to write a full play, not just a one-man show,” he admits.

“I want to give other actors work.”

In the meantime, he is hoping to tour Lies Where It Falls in the Republic of Ireland.

Adrian Dunbar

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

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BRENDAN GLEESON

Actor

It’s been something of a milestone year for Dublinborn actor Brendan Gleeson.

The star, who has been in the acting business for more than four decades at this stage, completed a career first in 2025.

In September he made his West End debut in a revival of Conor McPherson’s The Weir.

The award-winning actor, who has starred in the likes of The Banshees of Inisherin and Paddington 2, won rave reviews for his performance in the show, which ran at the 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin before making its way to the Harold Pinter Theatre in London.

“Conor McPherson’s The Weir is one of the rarest plays around,” Gleeson said at the time.

“I can’t wait to play in the West End for the first time, at the beautiful Pinter Theatre – and to work with Conor on his profoundly

moving, inspiring and ultimately hopeful play,” he added.

Earlier this year Gleeson was honoured in his hometown for his acting success over many years.

In May, he was one of seven people to receive an award from then Lord Mayor of Dublin, Emma Blain, which marked his “outstanding achievements in acting and social justice”.

Ms Blain presented the awards at a ceremony held at Dublin’s Mansion House.

“These awards are a chance for me to say thank you, on behalf of all the citizens of Dublin, to some people who have made a real difference to the social fabric of life in our city,” she said.

“Some of the award recipients will be well known to many of us, others not so,” she added.

“However, they are all very worthy of this award and I am delighted to be able to honour them in this way.”

Brendan Gleeson in The Weir

SIOBHÁN MCSWEENEY

Presenter, Actor

There is seemingly no stopping Siobhán McSweeney these days.

The Cork native is winning topflight television work, in both acting and presenting, at every turn – and absolutely acing whatever role she puts her hand to.

In the past 12 months, the comedy star, who first rose to fame in the BBC hit Derry Girls, has featured in some of the best shows on screen.

Amandaland, Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue and her ongoing gig as host of The Great Pottery Throwdown are among the highlights.

More recently she cemented her place as presenting royalty as the host of The Traitors Ireland.

The show proved a ratings hit with Irish viewers and McSweeney’s series of epic outfits and cutting comedic observations proved some of the main reasons viewers loved it.

That series may have finished, but there is bound to be a second one commissioned.

Next for McSweeney, however, is the exciting matter of a new stage role.

The actor has been cast among an impressive ensemble for a National Theatre revival of John Millington Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World.

McSweeney will star alongside former Derry Girls colleague Nicola Coughlan and rising Irish star Éanna Hardwicke, who will soon grace our screens as Roy Keane in Saipan.

Caitríona McLaughlin, Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, will direct the play, which runs at the Lyttleton Theatre from December.

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The Irish Post – November 2025

Siobhán McSweeney

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

FERDIA LENNON

Author

Born in Dublin to an Irish mother and Libyan father, author Ferdia Lennon grew up in Tallaght.

After completing a BA in History and Classics at University College Dublin he achieved an MA in Prose Fiction at the University of East Anglia.

He published his debut novel Glorious Exploits last year, which quickly became a bestseller.

Based in Sicily in 412 BC, following the failure of an Athenian invasion, the tale focuses on two unemployed potters, Lampo and Gelon.

The pair visit a disused quarry where Athenian soldiers are being held captive and an unlikely idea is struck – they will have these men put on a play, or two to be precise, by Euripides.

Lennon’s novel has received plaudits from across the board.

A Sunday Times bestseller, it was adapted for BBC Radio 4 and was the winner of the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2024 and the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction.

Translation rights to the book have now been sold in more than twenty languages.

Lennon, who lived in Paris for several years, now lives in Norwich with his wife and son.

RYAN TUBRIDY

Presenter

Ferdia Lennon

Ryan Tubridy has hit the ground running since

making the move from Ireland to London.

The former long-term presenter of RTÉ’s The Late Late Show arrived in the capital in 2023, where he took on a new role as a Virgin Radio host.

He continues to present his mid-morning weekday show The Ryan Tubridy Radio Show as well as a weekend show on Sundays too.

Despite now being based in the UK the Irish star, who hails from Booterstown in Dublin, makes regular trips back home.

And he is rumoured to be heading back there once more for his impending wedding.

Tubridy announced earlier this year that he had proposed to girlfriend Dr Clare Kambamettu, a clinical psychiatrist, who was the winner of the Rose of Tralee competition in 2010, and she had accepted.

The pair are thought to be planning their wedding in Co. Galway.

In November 2024 Tubridy received the Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting Award at The Irish Post Awards.

“I’m extremely honoured to accept this award from an Anglo-Irish (or rather, Irish-Anglo) institution,” he said of the accolade.

“It’s been quite the year personally and professionally in a very positive way and this is a most welcome twist in the tale.

“Thank you to The Irish Post for the warm welcome to London!”

This year he made his debut as the host of the Irish Post Awards 2025.

Ryan Tubridy

IN BUSINESS

50 influencers who have made their mark this year

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COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS CHANGEMAKERS

Dr Nicola Byrne PSYCHIATRIST

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sychiatrist Dr Nicola Byrne is the National Data Guardian for Health and Adult Social Care in England.

First appointed to the position in 2021, by then Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, Dr Byrne was reappointed to the role earlier this year for a further three years.

Established in 2014, the position was created to provide an independent advisor to the government and the NHS on the use of people’s confidential information across health and adult social care in England.

It is a role that Dr Byrne, whose grandmother hailed from Co. Sligo and grandfather was from Co. Antrim - both of whom were also doctors, is passionate about.

“The role was created in response to growing concern about how personal health and care data was being used against the backdrop of people’s medical records moving from paper to digital, and therefore potentially more widely accessible,” she told the Irish Post.

“It was designed to provide an independent voice for the public – someone with the authority and expertise to make sure that decisions about data are transparent, accountable, and grounded in trust,” she added.

“I was very honoured, and excited, to be asked to take it on.”

Dr Byrne is also a consultant psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital in London.

Read our exclusive interview with Dr Nicola Byrne on pages 27-29.

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The Irish Post – November 2025

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

Madeleine Casey

MADELEINE CASEY

Festival Coordinator

Madeleine Casey is responsible for coordinating and programming the London Breeze Film Festival.

Born in Dublin, to parents from counties Limerick and Clare, the former teacher is also a self-confessed film buff.

After twenty years working as a drama teacher in secondary schools across West London, roughly six years ago she opted for a career change and entered the film festival industry - and she hasn’t looked back since.

Having previously worked with Irish Film and TV UK, Ms Casey took on her role at Breeze in November 2023.

Founded in 2015, the festival has now been championing independent film for a decade.

Ms Casey was appointed to deliver a programme of events to further develop the festival, which is growing in size and stature year on year.

“I was brought on board to provide a yearround programme of screening events and to plan for and deliver their flagship annual film festival,” she told the Irish Post.

“What attracted me to Breeze was its grassroots beginnings as a platform for young and emerging filmmakers, and the way it has grown over ten years to becoming the BIFA accredited international film festival it is today; yet it still retains its sense of community and nurturing nature,” she added.

“Over the past two years, we have had preview screenings of Irish works such as Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s Baltimore, and Rich Peppiatt’s debut and the now award-winning film, Kneecap,” Ms Casey explains.

“Last year, we curated a special programme of Irish short films from those selected for last year’s ninth edition.

“This year’s event, which took place last month, boasted ten days of screenings online and at venues across the capital,” she added.

“It was our biggest film festival to date.”

BOBBY HEALY

Entrepreneur

Deliveries are increasingly being made by drone in Ireland.

Well, they are in a corner of Dublin at least, and that’s thanks to entrepreneur Bobby Healy, who is the man behind Manna.

Founded in 2018, the Kilmacud native has been slowly growing Manna Drone Delivery ever since.

Today Manna are one of the largest drone delivery operators in Europe, delivering anything from medicine to food and even books across the Dublin 15 area.

“In every area we’ve launched so far, our service has helped ease pressure on local businesses, reduced traffic, and cut carbon emissions by replacing car and moped trips with electric aircraft,” Healy explained of the service his drones offer.

“It’s a small but meaningful way to make everyday life more convenient, more sustainable, and more local.”

Earlier this year the firm launched partnership agreements with Just Eat and Deliveroo.

Under the agreements, Manna, which has already completed over 170,000 delivery flights in the Irish capital, will operate drones used by both takeaway food providers to deliver food orders direct to their customers.

The drones, which will be deployed from Manna’s local delivery hub, fly at speeds of up to 80 km/h.

Upon arrival, the drone hovers and gently lowers the food to the ground via a secure, biodegradable tether, ready to be picked up by the customer.

Healy has confirmed plans to expand Manna’s offering across the EU and into the US.

Manna Drone Delivery has partnered with Deliveroo this year

IN BUSINESS

50 influencers who have made their mark this year

13

Riley co-founders Áine Kilkenny and Fiona Parfrey

ÁINE KILKENNY

Entrepreneur

Áine Kilkenny is one of the co-founders of Riley, a femalefounded startup that provides eco-friendly period products.

The firm was created during the Covid-19 lockdown after Kilkenny and her friend Fiona Parfrey had a conversation about female health, reproductive rights and the damage period products must do to the environment.

They decided to do something about it.

They were living in Schull, west Cork at the time, so it was there in 2021 that Riley launched.

Now they are one of the leading eco-friendly period brands.

They only use clean, certified, organic cotton in their products, which are now being sold to thousands of customers across Europe.

Today they have branches in Dublin and in London, where Kilkenny is now based, tasked with growing the UK side of the business.

That international push is already bearing fruit.

“Our supply chain is set up to serve all of Europe, and we have clients and direct customers all throughout Europe,” the firm told the Irish Post.

“We absolutely have global ambitions,” they add.

“The beauty of this business is that periods transcend borders, cultures, and languages. It’s such a common thing for women no

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matter where they come from.”

And as the business continues to grow, so too do the aspirations of the team behind it.

Today, Riley is on a mission to “make a tangible social impact and change the way period care has always been consumed”, the firm states.

“We’re working with businesses to provide for their people,” they explain.

“Because we believe period care is a basic human need and should be provided in every bathroom just like toilet paper and hand soap.”

BLINNE NÍ GHRÁLAIGH

Barrister

Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh is an expert in human rights, crime and international law.

The barrister has an extensive practice at Matrix Chambers in London, acting for and advising individuals, states, and civil society in cases before both domestic and international courts and tribunals.

With parents hailing from counties Dublin and Mayo, Ms Ní Ghrálaigh was brought up between Ireland, London and the north of France.

Called to practise at the bar in England, Ireland and Northern Ireland, she previously worked on the Bloody Sunday Inquiry representing the wounded and the families of those killed in the Troubles atrocity.

Last year Ms Ní Ghrálaigh was a member of the legal team which

The Irish Post – November 2025

represented South Africa before the International Court of Justice in the case taken against Israel under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

She has also represented the State of Palestine in advisory proceedings concerning the activities of the United Nations in Palestine and continues to act in several Troubles-related cases in Belfast.

Earlier this year Ms Ní Ghrálaigh was appointed as an adjunct professor at the University of Galway’s Irish Centre for Human Rights.

“It is such an honour to be invited to join the University of Galway as Adjunct Professor,” Ms Ní Ghrálaigh said at the time.

“At a time when the very

fundamentals of international law are under such extreme threat globally, I look forward to working alongside such dedicated colleagues to instill in the next generation of lawyers coming through, a steadfast commitment to justice and to upholding human rights for all,” she added.

Professor Siobhán Mullally, Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, described Ms Ní Ghrálaigh as an “outstanding lawyer, who is at the frontline in legal efforts to defend human rights and uphold international law”.

She added: “She has inspired many to fight for international justice and it is an honour to have her on our adjunct faculty”.

Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

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LIAM ÓG Ó HANNAIDH

Rapper

Better known as Mo Chara, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh is one third of the Irish language rap group Kneecap.

Bandmates Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh perform as Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí respectively.

Founded in Belfast in Northern Ireland, the band merges Irish with English in their songs.

Infused with political undertones and republican themes their lyrics have courted some controversy over the years.

Earlier this year Ó hAnnaidh found himself facing a Met Police terror charge related to allegations that he displayed a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation, during a show at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London in 2024.

The rapper vowed to fight the

charges, and quickly amassed a legal team led by Guildford Four and Birmingham Six lawyer Gareth Peirce and including Belfast-based Darragh Mackin of Phoenix Law, Brenda Campbell KC, Jude Bunting KC and Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC. A series of court appearances were held in London this year relating to the charge, which was eventually thrown out of court due to a technical fault in how it was brought against him.

Following that hearing, Kneecap manager Daniel Lambert said: “We have won! Liam Óg is a free man.”

He added: “We said we would fight them and win. We did.

Kneecap has NO charges OR convictions in ANY country, EVER. “Political policing has failed.

Kneecap is on the right side of history. Britain is not.”

Throughout the year Kneecap continued to perform sellout shows across the globe, drawing record

Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh pictured arriving at court earlier this year crowds at the likes of Coachella, Glastonbury and at Wembley Arena.

This year also saw the band take top prize at the annual Celtic Media Festival for their semi-biographical

DR HELEN O’NEILL

Dr Helen O’Neill

Entrepreneur

Health tech entrepreneur Dr Helen O’Neill founded Hertility in 2019 with her twin sister Deirdre O’Neill and ovarian biologist Dr Natalie Getreu.

The women were determined to transform the world of women’s health and set about launching a business which would provide at-home fertility and hormone testing.

It’s fair to say it took off, as the firm has now helped more than 500,000 women find answers to their fertility questions.

Their service is relatively simple; they provide a diagnostic test which comes with clinical grade results and a care plan, but it has proven revolutionary for the women it serves.

For London-based Dr O’Neill, being

MARK T COX

Performer, Comedian, Podcaster

Clare-born cabaret performer Mark T Cox’s star continues to shine.

After moving to Dublin at the age of 17, where he began his cabaret career, he moved to London more than a decade ago where he has cemented himself among the most sought-after performers on the capital’s circuit.

He has since become an unofficial Irish ambassador in the capital, with regular collaborations with the London Irish Centre, Irish in Britain, and the Irish Embassy in London providing him a

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platform to promote the voice and stories of queer Irish immigrants living across the UK through comedy and cabaret.

Cox performs weekly across the east and west ends of the capital, with residencies at The Divine and The CellarDoor.

This year he has toured his new live show Paddy Daddy across Britain, in which he “explores the joys and horrors of contemporary gay life in rural Ireland”.

He also hosts the weekly podcast Your Internet Boyfriends with co-host and fellow London-based Irish comedian Denis Len.

The Irish Post – November 2024

film Kneecap.

The film, released in August 2024, was announced as the Spirit of the Festival winner at the event held in Cornwall in June. three months into her own pregnancy when the business launched made it even more personal.

“I thought, I need to create something that offers a better health future for her,” she told the Irish Post.

“The current state of women’s health is actually appalling,” the Cork-native added.

“It’s devastating that we still use language like ‘this condition is quite elusive’ or ‘there just isn’t enough data.’

“No other area of medicine has been so neglected.

“For me, the opportunity to build something in a field where there is a void of data has been an exciting way to use data for good.”

Founded in the UK, the firm has recently launched in Ireland and plans to expand further.

Mark T Cox (right) with fellow podcast host Denis Len

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

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50 influencers who have made their mark this year

17

COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS

Declan Crowley CULTURAL DIRECTOR

U

S-based Declan Crowley holds a “lifelong passion” for the Irish arts.

Hailing form Burnt Hills in New York, he was raised in a proudly Irish-American family.

An eight times regional, two times national, and an All-Ireland champion Irish dancer, he began touring internationally with Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance in 2009, where he played the principal role of ‘Don Dorcha, the Dark Lord’ until 2013.

Later, while completing a BA in English at the College of the Holy Cross, he served as a principal or featured dancer, dance captain and associate choreographer with a range of shows, including Irish Celtic, Titanic Dance, Rockin’ Road to Dublin and Celtic Fyre as they toured in Asia, Europe, Oceania, and North America.

In 2020, he founded the artists’ services company Slingshot Artists.

Through this business he has worked as an art department lead on music videos featuring Joyner Lucas, Mark Wahlberg, J. Cole, Lil Baby and George Lopez.

In 2023, Crowley was invited by Joanie Madden of Cherish the Ladies to perform for then US President Joe Biden and other dignitaries at the US Capitol building.

A champion céilí band drummer, Crowley also co-produces Irish Nights at The Dubliner in Boston, serves as a competitive and dance performance consultant, and has multiple theatrical, production, and film projects in development in the US and Ireland.

He is also the cultural programming manager at the prestigious Irish Cultural Centre of Greater Boston (ICC).

Crowley took on that role in June 2024, where he is responsible for curating a diverse lineup of Irish, Irish-American and Celtic artists to perform at the centre.

He also oversees the scheduling of a busy cultural programme which comprises activities and events that promote Irish culture and heritage.

“This opportunity allows me to merge my lifelong passion for Irish arts with my dedication to fostering community through cultural exchange,” Crowley said of his ICC role.

“As we continue to celebrate the rich tapestry of Irish heritage at the ICC, I look forward to collaborating with artists and audiences alike to propel our mission forward and keep the magic alive for generations to come.”

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The Irish Post – November 2025

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

COUNCILLOR RYAN HACK

Mayor of Brent

At 26 years old Councillor Ryan Hack became the youngest Mayor of Brent in the history of the London borough when he took on the role in May. In his maiden mayoral speech, Cllr Hack paid tribute to his Irish roots, where in 1970, his grandparents emigrated to the capital from Mallow in Co. Cork, before eventually settling in Willesden, north London.

Expressing his gratitude, “for the blessing of [his] Irish heritage,” he vowed to champion and celebrate “Brent’s diversity and community” during his mayoral term.

“It’s an honour to be the first Irish Mayor of Brent in nearly 20 years,” Cllr Hack says.

“I will always champion and celebrate Brent’s Irish community.”

He has chosen the Brent Irish Advisory Service (BIAS) as the Mayor’s charity for this year, an organisation set up in 1978 which strives to improve the health and wellbeing of the Irish community

across north London and beyond.

Cllr Hack has lived in the borough of Brent all his life, attending Preston Park Primary School and then Claremont High School.

He is the first person from his family to attend university and graduated with a master’s degree from University College London.

Cllr Hack supported his studies by working part-time for MP Moran Builders Merchants in Willesden, one of London’s leading hardware stores.

Ever since being elected as a councillor in 2022, he has used his platform to coordinate and campaign to improve residents’ access to healthy food – mostly in areas of deprivation – by opening or supporting community kitchens as well as surplus food markets.

“The issue of food hunger and child poverty is personal to him because he was raised by an incredible single mum in a council home who used to skip meals so she could afford his school uniforms,” a spokesperson for the Mayor’s office explained.

Mayor of Brent, Councillor Ryan Hack

SONJA HYLAND

Deputy Secretary General, Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs

Sonja Hyland

DANNY MAHER CEO, Ashford Place

Danny Maher has led the Ashford Place charity as CEO for nearly three decades.

Founded in 1983 as Cricklewood Homeless Concern, the organisation serves some of London’s most vulnerable residents.

In 2013 it underwent a name change, becoming Ashford Place.

Maher joined the charity in 1996, having left Ireland for London more

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than two decades earlier in 1975.

He has continued to lead the organisation ever since, from its base in Cricklewood, north London, where the social inclusion charity offers vital services for the Irish community and the wider population.

In 2022 Shout London - The Ashford Place Mental Health Film & Arts Festival was launched.

Designed to promote positive mental health and wellbeing, the event proved so popular that it has continued every year since, with

The Irish Post – November 2025

Hailing from Dublin, Sonja Hyland has been a career diplomat since 1996.

Currently Deputy Secretary General for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) Ireland, UK & Americas Division, in 2026 she will take up the role of Irish Ambassador to the UK. Ms Hyland will relocate to London to replace current Ambassador Martin Fraser, who will in turn move to the US to become the next Ambassador to the United Nations in New York.

Prior to her Deputy Secretary General role, Ms Hyland was extensions also taking place in Liverpool and Wales.

Maher worked closely with festival

Political Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

From 2017 to 2019 she was the Irish Ambassador to Ethiopia, South Sudan, Djibouti, the African Union and IGAD, and from 2013 to 2017 Ms Hyland was the Irish Ambassador to Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru.

Previous posts have included Director for Trade Promotion and Economic Messaging at DFAT, Deputy Director for Multilateral Affairs at DFAT, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassies of Ireland in Stockholm and Madrid and Ireland’s Representative to the Political Military Group at the Perm Rep in Brussels.

Ashford Place CEO Danny Maher

coordinator Carey Fitzgerald in developing Shout London.

“By engaging with communities, the festival celebrates the artistic expression of people with experience of mental health issues, exploring the relationship between creativity and the mind, while promoting positive mental health and wellbeing,” he said of the project.

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50 influencers who have made their mark this year

21

Catherine McKenna

CATHERINE MCKENNA

President, Unison

Belfast native Catherine McKenna has been a union activist for the past 18 years.

Her journey began when she took up a job in a school meals kitchen in her home city.

She was encouraged to join Unison, which is the largest union in the UK, by her colleagues and quickly went on to become a rep for her other workplace in education transport.

Since then, she has ascended through the ranks of the union – going from shop steward, to branch secretary, to co-chair of its Belfast education branch.

For the past four years she has served as a member of its National Executive Council (NEC).

In 2023 McKenna led Northern Ireland’s education workers in their first strike in 15 years, which brought about change to the pay and grading infrastructure.

CILLIAN O’KELLY

Consul General of Ireland for the North of England

Cillian O’Kelly is the Consul General of Ireland for the North of England.

The Sligo native, who was previously Deputy Director of the Strategy, Governance and Change Unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin, took up

the role from predecessor Sarah Mangan last month.

The married father-of-two said he will use the role to “enrich and strengthen the relationship between Ireland and the North of England in the years to come”.

“The decision to open a Consulate General in the North of England was a concrete expression of the Irish Government’s enduring

commitment to the British-Irish relationship, to the Irish community in Britain, and Irish businesses operating here,” he said.

“The ties between Ireland and the North of England are exceptionally deep – the north of England is also home to over 135,000 people who were born on the island of Ireland, and many thousands more who claim Irish descent – and I look

In June she was announced as the new Unison president, a role she will hold for a year.

“I’m excited to be elected president,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to winning for public sector workers everywhere, especially the lowest paid,” she added.

“Coming from west Belfast and working in a low-paid role, I know what it means to feel unseen, unheard, and undervalued,” McKenna explained.

“That’s why I’ve never been more determined to ensure our union is a home for every public service worker, no matter their job title or background.

“It’s a huge honour to take on this role, not because of the title, but the people.

“I come from the same workplaces, the same struggles, and I carry that with me in every decision.

“I’m ready to give it my all, because our strength lies in how we listen, how we care, and how we stand together.”

forward to further contributing to the development these links in the years ahead,” he added.

First opened in July 2021, the Consulate General of Ireland for the North of England is based in Manchester.

It is responsible for representing Irish interests in the northeast, the northwest, and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Cillian O’Kelly joined the team in Manchester earlier this year

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The Irish Post – November 2025

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

IN

50

NEALE RICHMOND

Minister of State for the Diaspora

Neale Richmond was appointed Ireland’s Minister of State for International Development and the Diaspora in January of this year.

Since then, he has spent much of his time travelling the globe, engaging with members of the Irish community abroad.

In February he made his first formal visit to Britain in the role.

During the trip, which saw him visit London, Coventry and Birmingham, he paid tribute to the community resident here.

“A key pillar of the British-Irish relationship is the depth of our community and people-to-people connections,” he said.

“Like so many, I have dozens of close friends and family members who have chosen to make Britain their home,” he added.

“I look forward to working with the Irish community across Britain to further strengthen these vital political, trade, business, education and cultural links.”

Minister Richmond has consistently confirmed the Irish Government’s commitment to “deepening” its engagement with the diaspora.

“The new Programme for Government includes a number of commitments to deepen our engagement with the diaspora,” he said.

“We will develop a new diaspora strategy; one that ensures our future relationship with the global Irish is a dynamic one, which meets their needs and is adaptable to evolving circumstances.”

He added: “I look forward to hearing how we can best support the evolving needs of the community in Britain – from those who have recently arrived, to longer term residents and to second, third and later generations.”

ROSALIND SCANLON

Playwright, Producer, Cultural Director

For decades, Rosalind Scanlon has been championing Irish culture in the UK. In 1995 she was the founding Artistic Director at the Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith.

She left in 2009 to pursue her theatrical career but has since returned and is now in place as the venue’s Cultural Director.

Scanlon, whose parents hail from

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The Irish Post – November 2025

Diaspora Minister Neale Richmond

Donegal, also has her own theatre company.

Under her Irish Theatre and Film Co she has scripted and directed many new Irish plays including the hit show Dance Hall Days at The Riverside Studios.

She has also directed many plays by Ireland’s leading playwrights, including Brian Friel, J.M. Synge and John B. Keane.

Within her work championing Irish culture across London, she facilitates drama workshops for older Irish women as

well as for young aspiring Irish actors.

Last year Scanlon was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in recognition of her “remarkable contributions and influence on the cultural landscape of the city”.

This year she received a Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad from President Michael D Higgins, which “recognises the service given to this country or to Irish communities abroad by those who live outside Ireland”.

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COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS LEADERS

Samantha Barry GLOBAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, GLAMOUR

B

orn in Ballincollig, Co. Cork, Samantha Barry is the first person to hold the position of global editorial director for Glamour magazine.

The 44-year-old, who is now based in New York, is a graduate of University College Cork who went on to complete a master’s in journalism at Dublin City University.

She held positions at the BBC, RTÉ and Newstalk before heading stateside, where she served as executive producer for social and emerging media at CNN before joining the Glamour team.

She quickly rose to through the ranks there, becoming editor-in-chief in 2018 at the age of 36.

Earlier this year Glamour publishers Condé Nast confirmed Barry had been appointed their first global editorial director, under which she oversees its global content strategy across Germany, Mexico and Latin America, Spain, Britain and the US. In a statement, Anna Wintour, Condé Nast chief content officer and the former global editorial director of Vogue, said: “I can’t think of a stronger leader to become Glamour’s first-ever global editorial director.”

She added: “Sam has impeccable editorial instincts and has successfully led Glamour into its digital future.

“She is passionate and cares deeply about what matters most to women today as shown through her powerful advocacy for issues like paid family leave.

“I’m incredibly excited for Glamour’s next era under her direction.”

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The Irish Post – November 2025

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

GUARDING OUR DATA data is used “safely, ethically, and in ways that maintain public trust”.

Earlier this year she was reappointed to the role for a further three years.

She told FIONA AUDLEY why it’s a responsibility that she was “honoured” to be given…

What does your National Data Guardian role entail?

Dr Nicola Byrne

A

S National Data Guardian for Adult Health and Social Care in England, Dr Nicola Byrne advocates for us all.

The position, which she has held since 2021, was created in 2014 to ensure that the personal data contained in our public health records is managed correctly.

For Dr Byrne, a clinical psychiatrist whose family roots lies in counties Sligo and Antrim, it is vital that this

IN BUSINESS

My role is about advocating for people at a national policy level – making sure their interests are represented whenever big decisions are made about how health and care data is used.

I advise government and the wider health and care system on using data safely, ethically, and in ways that maintain public trust.

I am a great believer in the power of data and want to see it used responsibly to improve care, plan services, and support research.

The benefits of using data are huge, but they rely entirely on the public having confidence that their information is handled properly.

How did you feel about being selected to take it on?

What has been the biggest challenge so far?

The role was created in response to growing concern about how personal health and care data was being used against the backdrop of people’s medical records moving from paper to digital, and therefore potentially more widely accessible.

It was designed to provide an independent voice for the public – someone with the authority and expertise to make sure that decisions about data are transparent, accountable, and grounded in trust.

I was very honoured, and excited, to be asked to take it on, especially following in the footsteps of Dame Fiona Caldicott, who had been a pioneer in this field since 1997.

I wanted to uphold the legacy she created while also making the role my own, ensuring it continues to evolve in response to the new challenges and opportunities that data brings today.

Shortly after I started, NHS England launched a programme called GP Data for Planning and Research.

It hoped to establish a central GP collection, with a view to using it, safely, for research and NHS service planning.

The intentions were good, but not enough was done to inform professionals and the public about this plan.

Things may have been different if people understood the benefits and strong protections in place to keep it safe and private.

This led to a huge storm of protest after the programme was announced – not helped by disinformation on social media.

As a result, the percentage of people opting out from their data being used for all NHS research and planning doubled, and the programme was indefinitely paused.

This was a real blow to public trust that could have been avoided.

Crucially this experience brought

50 influencers who have made their mark this year

27

home to me, right at the start of my tenure, that when it comes to new data initiatives, transparency and engagement with professionals and the public are essential for success, rather than optional ‘nice to haves’.

It also reinforced how deeply many people care about their healthcare data – not just in terms of confidentiality, but how it is used, by whom, and why.

What would you like to achieve in this role?

When I leave this role in 2027, I hope my legacy will be that, with the support of my wonderful team and panel of experts, we’ve kept the role of National Data Guardian not just alive, but thriving.

It may not sound exciting but getting things right for the public with their data and advising on various national programmes and initiatives, is steady, day-to-day work, rather than something exciting that grabs headlines.

My current focus will be advising the government on its main digital transformation programmes, like the Single Patient Record and UK’s Health Data Research Service.

How does your role benefit the public?

My role is not public facing, so most people are unlikely to have heard of it.

I am not a regulator who a patient might come to about data breaches, for example. Rather, my job is to

advise the government and health and social care on national data policy.

Ultimately, I help the public from behind the scenes, by helping ensure their confidential health and care information is only used in ways people would expect, with their privacy always respected.

It’s vital that people can trust that this is the case; otherwise, they may not feel able to share sensitive information that is essential for their care and treatment.

And if people don’t trust how their data is used beyond their care – such as for research to improve treatments and services – we all lose out.

Supporting a health and care system to be demonstrably trustworthy to both patients and professionals benefits not only our own care, but also wider society and future generations.

You also work as a consultant psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital in London. How do you manage both roles?

Well, it’s definitely a challenge. But continuing to work as a doctor has been invaluable. Not only does it support my credibility when speaking from a clinical perspective, but it also ensures I stay connected to the realities of frontline care.

I’ve been fortunate to have supportive colleagues and management in my Trust, and I see the NDG role as an extension of my vocation as a doctor.

Dr Byrne is responsible for advising government on how to use the personal data found in our public health records safely and ethically

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The Irish Post – November 2025

How has your medical experience assisted you as National Data Guardian?

More than anything, my medical experience has given me a valuable perspective on how complex and messy healthcare can be.

From the outside, it’s easy to think in the abstract – to outsiders, problems may appear simple and suggested solutions often start with ‘if only people could just…’.

But healthcare involves the painful realities of life: illness, suffering and death.

As clinicians, we often face problems that don’t always fit neatly into boxes.

Every patient is unique, sometimes there isn’t a ‘right’ answer, and some problems can be difficult or impossible to fix.

And it’s easy to lose sight of that. I no longer work full time clinically, but witnessing colleagues who continue to, despite the stress, responsibility and rising demand, gives me enormous respect for their resilience and commitment to patients.

My background in psychiatry has been particularly helpful.

In mental health, we handle some of the most sensitive health data, constantly reminding me why managing confidential information correctly really matters to patients and staff. Understanding how people and organisations function – through a psychodynamic lens – has also been valuable in shaping my thinking about policy at a

national level.

Can you tell us about your career path to this point?

I went straight into studying medicine after leaving school, and after qualifying I specialised in psychiatry.

Along the way, I gained a BSc in the History of Medicine, and a Masters in Psychiatric Research and Theory – both fascinating in very different ways.

Gaining a historical perspective on healthcare has been invaluable: the things we accept as true or right today when it comes to diagnoses and treatments may look very different in a 100 years’ time.

After qualifying as a psychiatrist, I worked as a consultant in a community mental health team in Brixton and on a women’s inpatient ward, where I stayed for ten years.

I then moved into leadership roles, including deputy medical director, Caldicott Guardian, joint patient safety-lead and chief clinical information officer.

I always think working in a mental health trust is a bit like Rathlin island - as they are smaller than acute trusts, it gave me the chance to learn from working in a wide variety of roles.

I’ve been very lucky in my career – both to have had the right opportunities at the right time, and to have worked with so many fantastic people from whom I’ve learned along the way.

Why did you choose to go into mental health?

I’ve wanted to be a doctor from a young age, perhaps because there were doctors in my family.

My Irish grandparents were both doctors, which was particularly unusual for my grandmother at a time when women doctors were rare.

I still have a picture of her above my desk, looking rather fierce, which I glance at when I’m needing inspiration.

Interestingly, my grandmother had planned to be a psychiatrist, but at the time it wasn’t compatible with having a family, so she became a GP instead.

I’ve always been drawn to psychiatry. I remember learning as a child that psychiatrists existed and thinking, “what could be more interesting than that?”.

And given mental illness can be so painful and isolating, despite the fact most of us, even if we’re lucky not to suffer any problems ourselves, will have loved ones who

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

do, has always made it feel an important area to work in.

Having had a fortunate start in life myself, I’ve also always been instinctively drawn to work in the public sector.

Over the years, I’ve learnt that illness is often the more straightforward part, understanding all of us as human beings – staff, patients and their families – can be far more complex and challenging.

Have you seen an increase in people presenting with mental health conditions over your years in practice?

I work at the acute end of mental health services, on admission units and inpatient wards where people are generally very unwell and sometimes at high risk to themselves, or even others.

In my area, I haven’t necessarily seen a clear increase in demand, but trends and new challenges do emerge over time – sometimes in response to the same fundamental problems we have as people.

For example, in South London we now see people presenting in psychotic and vulnerable states after using substances such as crystal meth and GHB, and the heavier, more normalised use of strong cannabis strains, which can precipitate psychosis, is also a problem.

But underlying everything, humans are still humans.

People will always struggle with

illness, anxiety, loneliness and loss, sometimes coping in ways that harm them or others, such as through drinking alcohol to excess, using drugs or forming unhealthy relationships.

And when it comes to our data, digital health innovations and AI, whilst I think there is huge potential for benefit in mental health, like all of healthcare, I think it’s really important we remember what it means to be human, and the importance of human relationships when we are unwell or struggling in our lives, for whatever reason.

Can you tell us a bit about your Irish roots?

My grandmother was from Ballymote in Sligo, her mother a National School teacher who carried on working with a family, and believed in equal pay for women, and her father was a clerk at Dublin Castle.

My grandfather was from Waterfoot in county Antrim, where his father ran a pub and his mother was also a National School teacher, who also worked with a family.

Both of my grandparents’ households were bilingual, reading and writing both Irish and English.

Both grandparents qualified as doctors at University College Dublin around 1915, with grandma then working in a hospital in Glasgow treating soldiers with shell shock, and granddad joining the RAMC during WW1, serving in India.

After the war they returned to Dublin, grandma working in the Coombe Hospital, granddad in the Rotunda, before leaving for Wales, where granddad worked with the miners’ insurance scheme.

They later settled in south London to raise a family, whilst continuing their work as doctors.

Interestingly, my older cousin, who was close to them, told me they rarely talked about Ireland or the past.

This was perhaps just a generational tendency, but I’ve also wondered whether political events or complex family allegiances played a role.

Do you spend much time visiting Ireland?

I’ve visited the family graves in Sligo and Antrim with my siblings, and both are places I’d like to explore further.

And my ex-husband was from Dublin, so I’ve spent quite a lot of time there and in other very different parts of the country, including Mayo, Clare and county Cork.

Our children are also proud of their Irish passports and heritage.

We’ve loved all the places we’ve visited and have met some wonderful people.

Westport stands out as a favourite, with its fantastic pubs and a memorable family visit to a sheep farm in the pouring rain.

I was a very happy tourist and came home with a lot of woollen

souvenirs.

Visits to Clonmacnoise and the Blasket Islands were also very special.

I’ve my copy of Peig Sayers autobiography but wish I could read it in the original Irish.

Is your Irish heritage important to you?

Yes, it is. As I get older, as for many people, I think.

I’ve a growing desire to connect with the people and places I come from.

A few years ago, my cousins and I applied for Irish citizenship and passports, which felt important not just for an Irish identity, but also as part of a broader European identity alongside my cherished British one.

We can all be many things.

For me, the most tangible legacy is inheriting my father’s Roman Catholic faith.

My experience of the Catholic church growing up in England – where our church life revolved around the wonderful Benedictine monks at Worth Abbey – was, I’d guess, quite different to that of many in Ireland, but I still see this as a meaningful connection stretching back across the sea.

And one day I’d love to learn Irish.

It’s such a beautiful language.

My grandmother learnt Russian and Mandarin when she retired, so perhaps I’ll make Irish my challenge.

The Blasket Islands are located off the west coast of Co. Kerry

IN BUSINESS

50 influencers who have made their mark this year

29

John Collison pictured with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Stripe’s Chief Revenue Officer Eileen O’Mara at their new Dublin offices

PATRICK AND JOHN COLLISON

Entrepreneurs

Patrick Collison

CATHERINE CONNOLLY

President of Ireland

Galway native Catherine Connolly is the newly inaugurated President of Ireland.

The 68-year-old, who hails from Galway city, was elected to the role last month, which she takes on from former president Michael D Higgins.

Following her inauguration on November 11, Connolly is now Ireland’s tenth president.

An Independent candidate, she had served as TD for Galway West since 2016, and in 2020 was the first woman elected as Deputy Speaker of Dáil Éireann.

Following her election, Connolly pledged to be “an inclusive president for all”.

“We can shape a new republic together,” she said in her acceptance speech.

“From day one, I emphasised that I was an independent candidate with an independent mind and for all who voted for me, thank you very much, it will be an absolute privilege

30

Billionaires Patrick and John Collison are the Limerick-born brothers behind the global online payments firm Stripe.

The entrepreneurial pair, who founded the firm in San Francisco in 2010, continue to run the international operation, with Patrick in place as CEO and John as president.

They have a headquarters in San Francisco as well as in Dublin.

Earlier this year the brothers launched a new site in the Irish capital, which is three times the to serve you,” she added.

“For those who didn’t vote for me and those who spoiled their votes, let me tell you I will be an inclusive president to listen to all of you - I will be making no distinction on the basis of votes,” she added.

“I will be a president who listens and who reflects and who speaks when it’s necessary.

“Together we can shape a new republic that values everybody, that values and champions diversity and that takes confidence in our own identity, our Irish language, our English language and the new people who have come to our country.

“I will be an inclusive president for all of you, and I regard it as an absolute honour the vote I have been given.

“I will represent you nationally and internationally to the best of my ability and as professionally and as humanely as possible.”

Before entering politics, Connolly earned a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of

The Irish Post – November 2025

size of their old office in the city.

Their online payment product now serves 70,000 Irish businesses and solopreneurs, with 2,000 more joining every month, the company confirmed this year.

The platform processed $1.4tn in total global payment volume in 2024.

Their new Dublin offices were officially opened in October by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, alongside Stripe co-founder John Collison and Chief Revenue Officer Eileen O’Mara.

“Stripe is a true Irish success story, powering the growth of millions of businesses at home

and abroad,” the Taoiseach said.

“I wish them every success in their new, state-of-the-art Dublin headquarters,” he added.

“We are committed to ensuring Ireland remains competitive on a global stage and an attractive home for businesses like Stripe to thrive in the long term.”

John Collison said the firm remains “proudly Irish” adding that the brothers were “thrilled to double down on our global operations here”.

“The Irish internet economy is sucking diesel, and this new headquarters will help us support growth for businesses all across Europe,” he added.

President Catherine Connolly Leeds in 1981 and a Law degree from the University of Galway in 1989, later practising as a barrister.

In 1999, she was elected to Galway City Council for Labour and five years later became mayor of

Galway.

She left Labour in 2006 but continued to serve on Galway City Council as an Independent until 2016, when she was elected the TD for Galway West.

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

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50 influencers who have made their mark this year

31

ROISIN CURRIE

CEO, Greggs

Roisin Currie has led the Greggs bakery chain for the past 15 years.

The businesswoman, who was brought up in Glasgow with family roots in Dublin, is widely deemed to have transformed the fortunes of the high street store, which is on track to double its sales figures by 2026, following record-breaking results reported in 2024.

Currie joined the business in 2010 as group people director and became retail and property director before taking on her current role as CEO of the business in 2022.

Her success at the firm was formally recognised this year when she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours List.

“I am delighted and honoured to receive this recognition,” Currie said of the honour.

“I would like to thank the amazing teams I have worked with throughout my career, particularly the 33,000 colleagues across Greggs who work together to serve our customers so brilliantly, day in and day out and truly champion the hospitality sector.”

Currie is chair of the Ministry of Justice’s Employers Forum for Reducing Reoffending - a voluntary role which sees her work with the New Futures Network to encourage employers to give offenders a second chance.

She has also been instrumental in the conception of Greggs’ Fresh Start employability programme – which is designed to encourage and support people leaving prison into paid employment within Greggs.

Currie, who lives in Newcastle, is also a trustee of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.

In 2024 she was awarded the STELAR Leadership award from Strathclyde University, her alma mater, and an Honorary Doctorate in Civil Law by Northumbria University, Newcastle, in recognition of her “outstanding contribution to business and her commitment to diversity in the workplace”.

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The Irish Post – November 2025

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

A Place to Build Together Áit le Tógáil le Chéile

Celebrate your Irish identity.

Grow your business.

Strengthen your network.

MIC connects construction professionals with Irish roots across the Midlands - helping you grow your business, expand your network, and celebrate your heritage at the heart of the UK’s construction industry.

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Industry insights

Build meaningful connections at networking events

Open doors to new projects and partnerships

Stay informed with the latest updates and trends

£1 from every member at each event will be donated to our chosen charity

Join MIC today info@mic-network.co.uk www.midlandsirishconstruction.co.uk

RONAN DUNNE

Chairman, Strategic Advisor

Born and raised in Dublin, Ronan Dunne is one of the Ireland’s most successful international business leaders.

After leaving Blackrock College in 1981, he studied accountancy before moving to London in 1987, where he took up a job with BNP Paribas.

He was a chief accountant at the firm by the age of 26 and would go on to become chief financial officer at the telecommunications giant O2, before being appointed chief executive of the group in 2008, a position he would hold until 2016.

His 15-year tenure made him the longest serving CEO in the British telecom industry.

In August 2016 he became CEO of the Verizon Consumer Group.

He stayed with the US-based firm until 2021, when he stepped down and was quickly appointed chairman of Six Nations Rugby, a position he continues to hold.

He is also a non-executive director at Marks and Spencer, and a non-

executive chairman of KoreLabs Ltd. Last month it was confirmed that Dunne had been appointed as chairman of ufurnish.com.

The British-based home furnishings platform was founded in 2019 by Sligo native Deirdre McGettrick and her husband Ray Wright.

On October 31 the company confirmed Dunne’s appointment. He takes over from retiring chairman Pat McCann.

“Having spent most of my career harnessing technology to deliver outstanding customer experiences at scale, I am delighted to join ufurnish.com at such a pivotal time for the business,” Dunne said of his new role.

“The cofounders, Deirdre and Ray, have built a fantastic technology platform that is truly innovating furniture search for consumers,” he added.

“I am really looking forward to working with this great team and helping deliver the full potential of what ufurnish.com can achieve.”

Ronan Dunne

ALBERT MANIFOLD

Albert Manifold

Chairman, BP

After spending nearly three decades at the Irish-founded global cement firm CRH, Albert Manifold has moved into the role of chairman at British oil giant BP. The Dubliner, who first joined CRH in 1998, steadily rose through the ranks of the firm, until he was appointed CEO in 2014.

He held that position until December 2024, when he left the business, and took up the leadership role at BP in October 2025.

The London-based firm said

CONOR O’SULLIVAN

UK Market Manager, Bord Bia

Conor O’Sullivan is the newly appointed UK market manager for Bord Bia. Having most recently served as Bord Bia’s China market manager, the University College Cork graduate brings more than a decade’s worth of international experience to the role.

He is now responsible for leading global business initiatives across the UK, which remains Ireland’s largest export destination for food and drink.

Accounting for more than 30 per cent of the nation’s total exports – which was worth €5.6bn in 2024 – the UK continues to be a strategic priority market for Irish producers.

O’Sullivan was selected for the role due to the “exceptional leadership and strategic insight” during his time in China, while “navigating one of the most complex markets

34

through the historically disruptive period of Covid-19 and its aftermath,” Shane Hamill, director of global business development at Bord Bia, confirmed.

“Over the past five years in Shanghai, Conor has consistently leveraged his strong relationships skills and strategic insight to keep Bord Bia relevant and impactful in a famously fast-moving and complex market,” he added.

O’Sullivan said he is “thrilled” with his new UK role, which he took up last month.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Bord Bia team in London at such a critical time for Irish food and drink exports,” he explained.

“Over the last decade, it has been immensely rewarding to play a part in the growth of Ireland’s incredible food and drink industry in Asia.

“I’m excited to continue doing so in Ireland’s largest export market.”

The Irish Post – November 2025

one of the first tasks Manifold will oversee is a review of their entire portfolio, as BP seeks to cut costs beyond its current targets.

“It is an honour to be appointed chair of one of the world’s great energy companies, and to have the opportunity to help the company reach its full potential,” Manifold said of his new post.

With a master’s in business administration and a master’s in business studies, both from Dublin City University, Manifold is also a certified public accountant and a chartered accountant.

Conor O’Sullivan

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

Seamus Shields founded the Advance Construction Group in 1999

SEAMUS SHIELDS

Founder, Advance Construction Group

Founded in 1999 in Greater Glasgow, Donegal native Seamus Shields’ construction firm has been one of the key players in the industry for more than 25 years.

Today his Advance Construction Group is in operation on more than 200 live construction sites at any one time.

The group, which boasts 14 associated companies, is one of Scotland’s leading civil engineering and construction specialists, delivering a complete spectrum of land development and infrastructure services – from initial groundworks and remediation through to specialist utilities, piling, flooring, and structural solutions.

Mr Shields told us how he grew the business to this point…

What led you to create the Advance Construction Group?

I started out as a qualified groundworker, or as I like to call myself ‘a digger driver’, in my hometown in Ireland.

I moved to London to work in construction and eventually found myself in Glasgow, working as part of a squad on a social housing development.

When the main contractor went into administration, I offered my services directly to the client, built on the existing squad, and from there the business was born.

From that moment, Advance has grown organically through sheer hard work, determination, and tenacity – but most importantly by surrounding myself with the right people.

IN BUSINESS

Who are your clients and where are they based?

Our clients include many of the UK’s top housebuilders, developers, and blue-chip organisations, as well as public sector partners. While our primary base is Scotland, our reputation means we are increasingly involved in projects across the wider UK. What sets your firm apart from others in your industry?

Scale and capability, as we are uniquely positioned with 14 associated companies to offer clients an integrated, full-service approach.

Our people. Our directly employed workforce of thousands ensures quality, consistency, and reliability.

And our track record. With over 25 years of growth, Advance is the contractor of choice in Scotland for civil engineering and groundworks.

Have the services you provide changed at all since your foundation?

Yes, massively. We began as a groundworks contractor and have grown into a multi-disciplinary group.

We now deliver services across construction, utilities, training, transport, quarries, piling, flooring, and land regeneration.

The business has evolved to meet the needs of our clients and the changing landscape of the industry.

We have grown from a small squad of groundworkers in 1999 to a c.£400m turnover group, employing thousands of people and operating one of the most diverse construction businesses in Scotland.

What were the highlights of the past year?

Expanding our land regeneration portfolio with major new developments.

Strengthening our data centre and energy transition projects, aligning with future infrastructure needs.

Continued investment in training and apprenticeships, ensuring we are building the workforce of tomorrow.

What’s been your biggest success so far?

The biggest success is undoubtedly the growth of the Advance Group itself – from a one-man operation to Scotland’s leading contractor.

Personally, I take pride in the fact that we have been able to create secure employment for thousands of people, many of whom have been with us for decades.

What are your business goals for 2026?

To expand further into energy, data centre, and infrastructure projects.

To continue growing our land regeneration division and to

maintain our position as Scotland’s leading civil engineering contractor while exploring new UK and international opportunities.

Many Irish people have achieved great things in business. What is the secret to your success?

I believe the Irish are known for their resilience, adaptability, and work ethic.

For me personally, it has always been about hard work, loyalty to the people around me, and the courage to take opportunities when they arise.

How important is your Irish heritage to you?

I was born and raised in Carrigart, Letterkenny in county Donegal.

My Irish heritage is a huge part of who I am.

It has shaped my values, work ethic, and sense of community.

I celebrate it by staying connected to Donegal, supporting Irish causes and events in Scotland, and instilling that same sense of pride and resilience into the business.

50 influencers who have made their mark this year

35

COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS PIONEERS

Joan Bergin DESIGNER

A

ward-winning costumer designer Joan Bergin has worked on a host of landmark films over her decades in the business.

A three-time Emmy Award winner, she provided the costumes for the likes of My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father and Dancing at Lughnasa, as well as TV shows like The Tudors.

Having begun her career as the in-house designer for Focus Theatre, the Dubliner’s work has taken her from the war-torn 1940s to the tumultuous court of Henry VIII and even to a 9th century Viking village.

So ubiquitous is her work you are already likely to be a major fan although you may not know it.

Bergin’s first film credit came with the Oscar-winning Irish drama My Left Foot, which was directed by Jim Sheridan.

She worked with Sheridan again on In the Name of the Father and The Boxer, and she worked with Pat O’ Connor on 1998’s Dancing at Lughnasa.

She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2001 for her contributions on the US adaptation of the Charles Dickens tale David Copperfield, which was shot in Dublin, and was nominated for an IFTA award in 2003 for her work on the film Veronica Guerin.

She was nominated for two more IFTA’s in 2004 and 2007 for Laws of Attraction and The Prestige respectively, before winning in 2008 and 2009 for the acclaimed television series The Tudors.

Bergin scooped Primetime Emmy Awards in 2007, 2008 and 2010 for her work on 33 episodes of The Tudors, which aired from 2007 to 2010.

The designer also pickied up another IFTA award in 2011 for her work on the series.

In 2014, she designed the costumes for the UK drama A Little Chaos, which was directed by Alan Rickman and starred Kate Winslet.

More recently, in 2022, Bergin worked on the Enchanted sequel Disenchanted, which starred Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey and James Marsden.

This saw her nominated for another IFTA in 2023.

Earlier this year Bergin worked on the film adaptation of Long Day’s Journey Into Night, which stars Ed Harris and Jessica Lange.

The film premiered at the Dublin International Film Festival in February but has yet to go on general release.

36

The Irish Post – November 2025

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

JENNIFER DEENEY

Campaigner

Jennifer Deeney

EVE MCMAHON

Sailor

Eve McMahon is Ireland’s youngest ever Olympic sailor.

Earlier this year the student, who is an Ad Astra Elite Sport Scholar at University College Dublin, was ranked the number one sailor in the world in her class of boat the ILCA6.

The milestone added to the numerous achievements the 22-year-old has already secured as she blazes a trail on the water.

A member of the Howth Yacht Club, McMahon won a ‘triple crown’ of major youth titles - two Worlds and one European - in 2022, before she’d even sat her Leaving Cert.

After qualifying for the Paris

For more than two decades Jennifer Deeney has advocated for mental health, safety and wellbeing within the construction industry.

The Mayo woman married her husband, Donegal native Kieron Deeney on May 8, 2004.

Thirteen weeks later he died in an industrial accident while working at the Canary Wharf site in London.

Following his death, the Lighthouse Charity, which provides services to construction industry workers and their families, showed Deeney unwavering support.

Since then, she has been an avid campaigner for the charity, lending her voice and telling her personal story in order to highlight the issue of safety in the workplace and the importance of the work the not-for-profit organisation does.

Now based in Liverpool, where she works as a director of nursing, her construction industry campaigning continues.

Earlier this year, as the 21st anniversary of her husband’s death approached, Deeney launched a special campaign for the Lighthouse Charity.

Over the course of the summer she undertook a UK-wide mission to visit 50 lighthouses to raise further awareness and funds for their cause.

“I promised I would never forget the kindness and support I received when Kieron died,” Deeney said.

“I vowed to pay it forward and I have been advocating positive wellbeing and safety in our industry for 21 years,” she added.

“This is my latest challenge and anyone that knows me, also knows that I have big ambitions.

“I want to let every construction worker and their family know I’m still their biggest champion.”

Deeney’s challenge finished in August on the 21st anniversary of her husband’s death.

“We are always amazed at some of the challenges our supporters undertake to raise funds for us,” Sarah Bolton, CEO of the Lighthouse Charity, said.

“Jen’s very personal story and unique Lighthouse Challenge highlights her passion and dedication for supporting the Lighthouse Charity and our whole community,” she added.

“Jen’s motivation and commitment to make a difference is truly inspirational.”

2024 Olympics in January of that year, she competed in the ILCA6 World Championships in Argentina, where she finished 20th overall.

In May of this year, she won bronze at the ILCA6 World Championships in China, marking her as the first ever Irish female sailor to medal at a senior world championship.

“I finished off my youth career with a lot of medals and to start my senior career with a bronze medal at the World Championships makes me really happy,” she said.

McMahon has been shortlisted for the Rising Star Award at the 2025 Team Ireland Olympic Sport Awards, which are due to be announced on December 6.

Eve McMahon

IN BUSINESS

50 influencers who have made their mark this year

37

CONOR MCPHERSON

Playwright

It’s been a busy year for Conor McPherson.

The Dubliner, who is widely deemed one of Ireland’s best contemporary playwrights, launched two major new pieces of work in 2025.

His new play The Brightening Air premiered at the Old Vic in April.

Set in Co. Sligo in 1981, the story centres on three siblings as they reunite in their family home, where uncomfortable conversations are due to be had.

McPherson, who wrote and directed the play, assembled an epic cast for its world premiere with Chris O’Dowd, Rosie Sheehy and Brian Gleeson among them.

The play is McPherson’s first since Girl from the North County premiered at the Old Vic in 2017.

And that production – a musical set to songs

by Bob Dylan – enjoyed something of a revival itself this year, with a limited run at the Old Vic from June to August.

Another McPherson classic, his 1997 play The Weir, has also returned to the boards in a critically acclaimed revival.

Brendan Gleeson made his West End debut in the production, which is directed by McPherson and ran at the 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin from August to September, before transferring to the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End. Seán McGinley, Kate Phillips and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor also feature in the play, which runs in London until December.

Elsewhere McPherson has been busy working on a stage adaptation of The Hunger Games.

The much-anticipated production opened at the Troubadour Theatre in London’s Canary Wharf in October.

McPherson adapted Suzanne Collins’s first book for the show, which is directed by Matthew Dunster.

Mia Carragher, daughter of former Liverpool FC footballer Jamie Carragher, plays Katniss Everdeen, while John Malkovich is President Snow.

KATE O’CONNOR

Heptathlete

History-maker Kate O’Connor is the first Irish heptathlete to compete at an Olympics.

The 24-year-old finished 14th at the Paris 2024 competition, making her only the second ever Irish female athletics multieventer, after Margaret Murphy’s 1972 pentathlon.

Born in Newry, Co. Down, but now living in Dundalk, Co. Louth, O’Connor’s international career began when she won a European Junior (U20) silver medal in 2019 at the age of 18.

In that competition she became the first Irish woman to surpass 6000 heptathlon points.

She earned another silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and placed

38

13th in her 2023 World Championship debut.

In March 2025, O’Connor won a bronze medal at the European Indoor Championships in the Netherlands.

Two weeks later she went one better at the World Championships, winning silver and recording a series of personal bests along the way.

The medal was Ireland’s first at an indoor World Championships in almost 20 years, since Derval O’Rourke secured the 60m hurdles gold in 2006.

Alongside her athletics achievements, O’Connor continues to pursue her academic career.

She holds a degree from Sheffield Hallam University and is working toward a master’s in communications and PR at Ulster University.

The Irish Post – November 2025

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

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CIARA SHINE

Director, Shines Seafood

Ciara Shine is on a mission to get more people eating seafood.

The Donegal native runs the family business Shines Seafood in Killybegs with her parents.

Prior to opening that firm, they ran a successful fish and chip shop in the town for more than 20 years.

They continue to be keen advocates for the seafood industry.

40

Earlier this year Shine, who lives in Leitrim with her husband and two children, published her first book, Ciara’s Catch, to share the delights of eating seafood.

In it she brings together recipes from her family kitchen, those of her friends and a some from fellow seafood producers.

It also provides some background to the family business, which has been selling premium canned tuna, mackerel and sardines across Ireland and in the UK too for ten years.

The Irish Post – November 2025

“People in Ireland don’t eat a lot of fish,” she told the Irish Post.

“We have a huge farming culture, and lots of people, lots of families work on farms, or are connected to farms in other ways, so farming is definitely very very big,” Shine explained.

“Even though we are an island nation, seafood still isn’t that big a deal.

“It’s a smaller industry, a smaller sector.”

Slowly, Shine claims, they are starting to see a shift towards

seafood.

“I know a lot of people are scared of cooking seafood…but slowly we are seeing change,” she says.

“So, there is definitely a generational shift.

“We are seeing a lot of people in their 30s who are like ‘yeah, we eat fish two or three times a week’.

“And even if it is frozen fish, it does not matter.

“It’s just such an underutilised resource and it’s beautiful.”

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

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50 influencers who have made their mark this year

41

COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS INNOVATORS

Simon and Warren Atkins

TELEVISION PRODUCERS

S

iblings Simon and Warren Atkins are the producers behind some of the most popular reality television series currently on our screens.

The Mayo-born brothers won an Emmy Award in 2024 for their work on the US version of The

42

Traitors.

Prior to that the Castlebar natives have worked on some of the biggest shows in the UK and in the US, including Strictly Come Dancing, Married At First Sight, The Voice, First Dates, The Bachelor, Celebs Go Dating and I Kissed A Boy. “Growing up, we did a lot of extracurricular

The Irish Post – November 2025

activities, we did speech and drama, so a lot of acting, music, and performing,” Simon says of their path to the bright lights of the entertainment industry.

“It was just a natural thing that we were always going to do something like this,” he added.

The brothers currently live in London.

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

ControlSoft co-founder and operations director, Peter McGinnity, NI Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald, ControlSoft managing director and co-founder Dermot Carragher and Invest NI director of trade Elaine Curran pictured at the opening of their new office in Belfast

DERMOT CARRAGHER

Co-founder, ControlSoft

Dermot Carragher is the co-founder and managing director at Co. Louth-based tech firm ControlSoft Automation Systems.

Founded in 2017 in Dundalk, the company offers industrial automation and system integration services for customers across Ireland, the UK and the US. Widely deemed a leader in their field, what began as a one-room operation with a vision to revolutionise automation is now

IN BUSINESS

a rapidly growing company with plans to expand even further.

Earlier this year, ControlSoft opened a new software engineering, mechanical and electrical hub in East Belfast The move will bring 27 new jobs to the local area over the course of the next three years and is set to further their expansion into Britain.

“Over the next five years we aim to extend our market leading position in control systems for high technology

projects in semiconductor manufacturing, AI and data centres by quadrupling our employees and turnover,” Carragher said at the time.

“Our new office in Belfast will be pivotal to this, with the team servicing current and future clients in Great Britain,” he added.

“The presence of a highly skilled workforce, excellent universities and the strong tech and business environment in Northern Ireland made it a very easy decision to invest in the region.”

50 influencers who have made their mark this year

43

remember you’re forever a student, you’re always learning.

Who has influenced you most in your career?

That would be Anthony Puharich, the owner of Victor Churchill who I worked for in Sydney. I admired him for his work ethic, his attention to detail, but above all, I admired his passion and his humility.

Lynsey Coughlan (left) with INIS head chef Craig Johnson and co-founder Lindsay Lewis

LYNSEY COUGHLAN

Co-founder, INIS

Dubliner Lynsey Coughlan’s first role in the food industry was working at a local deli in the Irish capital.

From there she headed to Australia for a stint, before finding her way to London.

For a decade she worked with high-end butchers The Ginger Pig, before deciding to set out on her own.

In 2023, Coughlan opened her restaurant INIS with her partner Lindsay Lewis, out of a “love for the community” they live within.

Based in Hackney Wick, where the pair have lived for the past ten years, it serves up seasonal British and Irish food.

Coughlan told us the story so far…

When did your culinary career begin?

My interest was first sparked as a teenager when I worked in a deli, but I only really started to take it seriously when I moved to Australia in my early 20’s and worked in a deli where everything was made on site or from small, local producers.

It really started an obsession for me in understanding provenance and where our food comes from, how many miles its travelled, but also how to make healthy and locally sourced food affordable.

Understanding this means we can help to protect the countryside and give this generation a chance to eat better.

What inspired you to found INIS? INIS came out of a love for the community that we live in and our

44

desire to have somewhere that was very community-centric, where we could also be really proud of the food.

It was somewhere for us to put our roots down even further.

INIS means ‘island’ in Irish, and it really is our own little island, on Hackney’s ‘Fish Island’.

Is it a family business?

We’ve got 12 people in total across the kitchen and front of house and it’s definitely a family business.

We’ve seen births, marriages and deaths all in the past year, which we see as a privilege to experience together.

My partner Lindsay is co-founder with me, and we have a fantastic kitchen team led by our Head Chef Craig Johnson.

We all work closely together to make sure our menu is everything we always wanted it to be (and is what the local community is looking for).

What sets INIS apart from other restaurants?

We just try to concentrate on our offering and what we do.

We want to create an environment that’s welcoming and unpretentious, where we can serve excellent food that’s familiar and cooked well.

What challenges have you faced since founding the restaurant?

Trying not to do everything at once.

To take a breath and to be led by what the community wants and needs from us.

It was a risk not to open in the evenings until we had been operational for six months, but we wanted to see how things went and understand what the community

The Irish Post – November 2025

needed or didn’t need first.

We also didn’t want to overwhelm our team.

Do you have any plans to open any further branches?

We do. Watch this space.

What is your favourite dish to make?

My favourite dish to make at home would be a Sunday roast.

There’s something about Sundays that feel very nostalgic to me.

The downing of tools. The chat over the table. The slow cooking.

It all feels really homely and I like that we still have these traditions of coming together and having that day reserved for these longer, delicious feasting events.

What is your favourite ingredient to cook with?

I’d say chuck steak or lamb breast.

They’re now seen as trendy cuts of meat but 20 years ago they were super cheap.

I love slow cooking. It’s patient and romantic in a way.

You can transform a forgotten cut into a nourishing meal, and it chimes with my passion for sustainability and balancing a whole carcass.

Is there anything that you don’t like to cook?

I don’t like to cook with a pressure cooker.

It brings back memories of my Nanna, who I adored, but not so much what came out of her pressure cooker.

Is there a dish that reminds you of home?

On INIS’s dinner menu we have potato scallops and a chip shop style curry sauce which we make ourselves, which reminds me of home and Friday nights when I was a kid.

I’m very lucky, I won the lottery with my family and we had a lovely time growing up. Friday nights were always chipper night (when we could afford it) and we would all sit around the table and enjoy it together.

Why do you think the Irish are so successful within the hospitality industry?

I think we work really hard. We graft and we genuinely enjoy people.

We travel, we’re curious and we love to hear about other people’s stories and their lives, which is why I think we’re so good at hospitality and break barriers quickly.

We’re also a very kind group of people. We care about the world and we’re very principled.

Ireland is a mighty little island that has seen massive transformation in the last 100 years, and our people have risen to the top, even through adversity.

The social change on our island has been immeasurable and since 2015, I feel my Ireland loves me as much as I love her, as a gay woman. That will forever bring a tear to my eye.

What’s your best piece of advice for home cooks?

Make sure you have a good set of knives and keep them sharpened, it makes all the difference.

INIS serves up Irish favourite the chicken fillet roll with a Guinness

What’s the best life lesson you’ve learnt to date?

Doing things properly and always

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

MITCHELL O’GORMAN

CEO, xWave Technologies

Founded by a team of radiologists in 2020, xWave Technologies has created software which helps radiology teams to vet test referrals more efficiently.

Their clinical decision support (CDS) tool streamlines access to medical imaging procedures.

As a result, it reduces GP waiting lists by allowing them to make the best diagnosis when selecting the appropriate imaging tests for their patients.

CEO Mitchell O’Gorman was brought on board in the early stages of the business to drive them forward in their mission to “ensure patients get the best test first”.

“As providers of CDS technology, we empower clinicians to select the most appropriate imaging tests for their patients,” O’Gorman explained.

In November 2024 the Dublinfounded firm won a lucrative contract serving eight NHS trusts across the northeast of England.

Under that contract xWave

provides its CDS software to GPs across the northeast of England, which covers three million patients.

In June 2025 they secured another substantial NHS contract.

They have partnered with three major NHS trusts to improve access to radiology services for their patients.

The trusts are all located in the Greater Manchester region.

Led by the Greater Manchester Imaging Network, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust and the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust all began rolling out the new scheme, titled GP Direct Access, in the latter part of this year.

It allows GPs to directly order CT scans of the chest, stomach and hip areas of the body and MRI scans of the brain, in addition to the x-rays and ultrasounds they can already order.

“We’re incredibly excited to work with such forward-thinking trusts to

Mitchell O’Gorman

deliver clinical decision support at scale,” O’Gorman said.

“At a time when radiology waiting lists are growing and workforce shortages are intensifying, tools like ours can help trusts deliver faster, smarter, and more equitable access to diagnostic imaging.”

He added: “The rollout of xWave’s platform comes as NHS England is making additional funding available for NHS trusts that have not yet

HUGH SHEEHY

Hugh Sheehy

CEO, Go Eve

Hugh Sheehy is CEO at the electric vehicle charging start-up Go Eve. The Irishman is one of five co-founders of the firm, which is a joint University College Dublin (UCD) and Imperial College London (Imperial) spin-out, They are determined to revolutionise the charging of electric vehicles – and they have the technology to do it.

Having completed a successful pilot installation of their product at the Imperial campus in November 2022, earlier this year the firm secured £3m in their first funding round.

“For EVs to replace fossil-fuel cars, charging needs to be faster, lower cost, more widely available and most efficiently use available grid capacity,” says Sheehy.

SIMON ZEBO

Entrepreneur

Former Ireland and Munster rugby star Simon Zebo has turned his hand to business.

The Cork-born entrepreneur, who retired from the sporting world in 2024, is one third of the trio behind a new Irish whiskey which is made to be “shared not saved’.

Their Black Emerald brand launched in Ireland for the first time last month, following its successful debut in Australia.

Zebo is in partnership with publican Ernest Cantillon and whiskey industry veteran Finian Sedgwick on the project.

They are determined to carve a new place in the whiskey industry, with a brand that stands for “a modern, confident, and global Ireland” which is built on the idea that “no one drinks alone”.

“My father always had an extensive whiskey

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collection, but for him it was never about the bottles themselves - it was about the people gathered around them,” Zebo said of his new venture.

“Whiskey has always been about connection, about bringing new friends and old friends together,” he explained.

“Black Emerald is our way of carrying that tradition forward, while also representing the Ireland of today: modern, confident, and looking to the future.”

The brand has sourced its whiskey from the Great Northern Distillery, while working closely with John Teeling, Brian Mongan and their team to select the finest Single Grain and the best barrels for its rum and cognac finishes.

Black Emerald is being distributed in Ireland by Lighthouse Drinks, and is available for retail in bars, restaurants, and bottle shops.

The Irish Post – November 2025

adopted clinical decision support solutions.

“This funding is intended to support broader adoption of CDS technologies, such as xWave CDS, to reduce unnecessary imaging, alleviate pressure on radiology services, and ensure patients receive timely and accurate diagnoses.”

The technology is set to be rolled out across Greater Manchester further into 2026.

“Our technology does all these things, which is why we see a future with rapid charging in every space.”

Earlier this year the firm turned its attention to new markets, signing partnerships with the US and Israel for the installation and service of their fast-charging DockChain system.

In September DockChain achieved certification for sale in the US market.

“Certification to North American electrical standards is a pivotal milestone for Go Eve and DockChain,” said Sheehy.

“DockChain rewrites the economics of DC fast charging, enabling more parking bays to access rapid charging from a single power source,” he added.

“That means drivers spend less time waiting, and operators can deploy infrastructure faster and at lower cost.”

Simon Zebo

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Linda Ervine LANGUAGE RIGHTS ACTIVIST

B

elfast native Linda Ervine is the founder of one of the city’s largest Irish language centres.

A long-term advocate for Ireland’s mother tongue, Ervine established Turas in 2012, which has grown into an Irish language powerhouse.

Building on that success, in 2021 she founded Scoil na Soilta, the first integrated Irish-medium school in Northern Ireland.

In that same year, Ervine received an MBE for her “services to the Irish language”.

In October 2025 she was honoured once again for her commitment to this field when she was presented with an honorary doctorate from the Open University (OU).

Ervine was recognised for her “outstanding contribution to education and cultural inclusion in Northern Ireland”.

“Born and raised in East Belfast in a political family of socialist and trade union activists, Linda left school at 15 with no qualifications,” the OU explained.

“Like many Open University students, she returned to education as an adult, balancing her studies with work and family life,” they add.

“A passionate lifelong learner, a short Irish language course with a crosscommunity women’s group proved a turning point in her life.

“Through further study, she fell in love with the language, inspired by its deep roots in Protestant communities and its ability to build bridges and friendships across communities.

“She went on to establish Turas, now one of Belfast’s largest Irish language centres, and Scoil na Soilta, the first integrated Irish-medium school in Northern Ireland.”

Ervine said receiving the honorary degree was “profoundly special to me and carries deep personal meaning”.

“I have always admired The Open University’s mission to make higher education accessible to so many, but it also touches me personally, because my late father completed his degree through the OU,” she explained.

“Like countless others, he was able to balance full-time work with his studies thanks to the flexibility The Open University provides.

“His graduation day was one of the proudest and happiest moments of his life.

“For that gift and for the memories it gave him, I will always remain deeply grateful.”

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The Irish Post – November 2025

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CLIVE HAYES

CEO and Co-Founder, Hoop Medical

Clive Hayes is the CEO and co-founder of Irish medtech firm Hoop Medical.

Founded in 2019, the company specialises in manufacturing medical device balloons.

Its unique offering has seen the firm grow exponentially since its launch, with its products now in use across the globe.

London based co-founder Terry Mudge remains in place as managing director of the firm.

Earlier this year they launched a new state-of-the-art facility in Wexford which provides a 10,000-square-foot manufacturing space at Ardcavan Business

Park.

The expansion more than triples its former footprint and created a host of new job opportunities for the local community.

“We are delighted to have reached this milestone in our journey, particularly for our customers and staff,” Hayes said.

“It is just over five years since Hoop Medical was established and since then the company has grown to a team of 40 people with a customer base across Ireland, Europe, the US, South America, Asia, and the Middle East.”

He added: “This new facility enables Hoop to meet the demand of existing projects as they mature and also allows us to continue growing our customer base internationally”.

Clive Hayes (left) with Hoop co-founder Terry Mudge

RORY MCILROY

Golfer

Rory McIlroy

GRAHAM NORTON

Comedian, Presenter

Award-winning television presenter Graham Norton has been in the entertainment business for more than three decades.

Born in Dublin but raised in Cork, Norton studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London began launching his career as a comedian in the 1990s.

He performed at the likes of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and appeared in the hit series Father Ted as the popular recurring character, Father Noel Furlong.

Over the past two decades, however, he has become a leading figure in the world of television presenting.

His chat show The Graham Norton Show has aired on the BBC since 2007 and he has been the channel’s Eurovision Song Contest presenter since 2009.

First launched on BBC Two, The Graham Norton Show quickly became a ratings winner and moved to BBC One after two series.

Its most recent series, which was series 33, averaged 2.9 million viewers per episode.

Last month, Norton confirmed that he had agreed another three-year deal with the BBC to continue the chat show.

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A leading force in the world of golf from a young age, Rory McIlroy continues to dominate competitions and headlines around the world.

With a career that began as a teenager, the Northern Irishman, who hails from Holywood in Co. Down, reached number one on the World Amateur Golf Ranking in 2007 at the age of 17.

Later that year he turned professional and it’s fair to say he hasn’t looked back since.

He quickly established himself on the European Tour, securing his first win in 2009 ad his first win on the PGA tour in 2010.

He won his first major championship at the 2011 US Open and had won three more by the age of 25.

In 2022 he became the first person to win the FedEx Cup three times, surpassing the previous record held by Tiger Woods, and he has won the Players Championship twice, in 2019 and 2025.

McIlroy has played for Europe in every edition The agreement ensures a further three series of The Graham Norton Show will air on BBC One and iPlayer.

“Getting to host my own chat show is a huge pleasure as well as a privilege,” Norton said.

“I’m thrilled that the BBC are allowing me to continue for another three years,” he added.

It was also announced last month that Norton is the newest Ambassador of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The role will see him act as Ambassador for the festival alongside previously announced Ambassadors Suzie Eddie Izzard and Brian Cox. “It’s hard to believe that my connection to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe dates back nearly 35 years,” Norton said following the announcement.

“As an emerging comedian back in the early nineties, everyone in the industry knew that you had to make the journey to Edinburgh and its Fringe for the opportunities that you have to develop your craft with a live audience, but also to meet and network with the thousands of industry that go there to look for talent,” he added.

“Through my chat show I meet and talk to those across the entertainment industry every week, and you’d be hard pressed to find someone on the sofa that hasn’t been to the Fringe either to perform or to watch shows at some point in the

The Irish Post – November 2025

of the Ryder Cup from 2010 to 2025, with his team winning six of those competitions.

Earlier this year he secured his first Masters win at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

“It feels incredible” McIlroy said after sealing the deal in the 89th Masters tournament by defeating Justin Rose in a playoff.

The win makes McIlroy one of only six golfers to have secured the coveted career Grand Slam by winning the four major golf events - namely The Open, the US Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters.

“This is my 17th time here and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” McIlroy added following his Masters success.

“The last ten years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that,” he added.

“I’m sort of wondering what we are going to talk about going into next year’s Masters.

“I’m honoured and thrilled and so proud to call myself a Masters champion.”

Graham Norton past.

“I’m delighted to be announced as an ambassador of the Edinburgh Fringe and look forward to visiting the festival next August.”

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JACQUELINE O’DONOVAN

Entrepreneur

Industry trailblazer Jacqueline O’Donovan has been a leading figure in the waste, logistics, transport and construction sectors for four decades.

The entrepreneur was at the helm of the family business O’Donovan Waste Disposal for 40 years before she stepped down from her managing director role last year to focus on other business opportunities.

O’Donovan told us what we can expect next…

What inspired your move away from the family business?

I officially stepped away on January 31, 2024. Initially, I was due to leave in June 2023, but the acquiring company wasn’t ready for my exit.

The decision to sell came when my older siblings wanted to slow down after nearly four decades of building and scaling a multimillion-pound business. As the youngest, I supported their wishes, and we began the process with Mike Hughes of Grant Thornton.

Can you tell us about your new ventures?

It’s been an exciting whirlwind. After 40 years at the helm of O’Donovan Waste, I realised I’m not just an industry leader - I’m a serial entrepreneur. Ideas pour in daily; it’s like someone’s taken the lid off a fire hydrant.

I now run ODPR, my PR and marketing company specialising in logistics, waste, and construction. We focus on helping clients shape strong, relevant messages and share positive stories across their industries.

Alongside this, I continue my campaigning work in logistics, partnering with SEC Newgate to lobby for reforms to outdated tachograph and driver regulations.

I’m also finalising my book, which reflects on my challenges, achievements, and lessons from an incredible journey in business.

On the innovation front, I have a global patent application in progress - an idea I’m keeping under wraps for now, but one that could have international potential.

Another major project is developing the UK’s first five-star luxury hotel and spa for cats and dogs, a groundbreaking concept in pet care and wellness.

My son Joseph will lead this once planning and design are complete.

In addition, I’m collaborating with a world-renowned aviation entrepreneur on a pioneering

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franchise model - details to come once negotiations are finalised.

And finally, we’re launching a production company to document these ventures. Initially focusing on the pet hotel, but the producers seem equally fascinated by our family’s story. Expect a reality series showcasing business, family, and a few surprises.

Jacqueline O’Donovan

What business are you currently focused on?

My day-to-day focus is ODPR, managing clients, developing new relationships, and expanding my public speaking work. I love sharing my journey, the highs, lows, and everything in between. The best feedback I get is when people say I’ve inspired them or that they appreciate my honesty and authenticity.

What are the highlights of your past year?

Without a doubt, receiving my OBE from King Charles III for services to recycling, safety, and industry. It came during my earn-out period, and I collected it from Windsor Castle just weeks before leaving O’Donovan Waste. It felt like a final blessing — a pat on the back from my late father, Joe. Do you have business goals for 2026?

My goals are endless; my feet won’t touch the ground until at least 2030.

I’m passionate about innovation, collaboration, and philanthropy. One key ambition is to create a new model for charitable giving, where high-net-worth individuals can invest funds that grow and continuously support their chosen causes. The charity sector needs revitalising, we must move beyond traditional fundraising and create sustainable, long-term impact.

Many Irish people have achieved great things in business. What is the secret to your success?

The Irish spirit is unstoppable, resilience, humility, and hard work are in our DNA. When you think about what our parents and grandparents overcame, it’s remarkable.

My own parents arrived in the 1950s facing discrimination and hardship, but through grit and determination, they built something extraordinary.

That drive, to prove people wrong and succeed with integrity, is the real secret.

What is your biggest success so far?

My son, Joseph. He’s my proudest achievement and my best day’s

The Irish Post – November 2025

work. I went through severe postnatal depression for three and a half years after his birth, and it was the hardest period of my life. But Joseph grew into a kind, funny, and grounded young man, with a sharp business mind and a great sense of humour. He’s everything I could have hoped for.

You received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the London Irish Centre and were also made an OBE last year. What do such accolades mean to you?

Both honours were unexpected and deeply humbling. The London Irish Centre holds a special place in my heart, it’s where my late father celebrated my brother’s wedding before he passed away. The Centre embodies everything I cherish about our community: warmth, heritage, and belonging.

I’m thrilled to see its redevelopment and look forward to supporting the teams and construction partners who’ll help shape its future.

What drives you to support organisations serving the Irish community in Britain?

Because I know firsthand the struggles of the Irish who came to Britain in the 1950s and 60s, including my parents.

They faced discrimination but persevered, working tirelessly to build the homes, roads, and landmarks of Britain.

Many sent money and parcels back home to support families in Ireland,

even when they had little themselves.

Not everyone found success, and some couldn’t face returning home.

Their contribution deserves recognition and remembrance. It’s a history I will always champion.

How important is your Irish heritage to you?

Hugely important — it’s who I am.

I’m often told I’m the most Irish person you’ll meet with an English accent.

I proudly chair the St. Patrick’s Day Ball in London, which I’ve led for the past five years. It’s a black-tie celebration of our culture, not a fundraiser, just pure Irish joy, music, and connection.

I also host the St. Patrick’s Day Ambassador’s Breakfast, welcoming the Irish Ambassador to the UK, government ministers, and parade VIPs. Chef Richard Corrigan provides the full Irish breakfast before we all head to Trafalgar Square for the parade.

This year, I’ve joined the Community Advisory Group for the GLA, helping coordinate sponsors, floats, entertainment, and community involvement for the parade, with the aim of restoring it to the world-class celebration it deserves to be.

I also aim to host several breakfast seminars advising women on how to best invest their finances – a topic close to my heart and one that is not discussed nearly enough.

THE VOICE OF THE IRISH IN BRITAIN SINCE 1970

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