Executive Management Team

From 13 March 2026, Tara has been appointed Interim CEO of St Michael's House.

Tara is a Registered Intellectual Disability Nurse (RNID) and holds a Bachelor of Nursing Degree. She is also a Registered Nurse Prescriber (RCSI), has completed a Masters in Nursing Practice at Dublin City University, and holds diplomas in First Line Management and Psychology (Maynooth University).

With over 25 years of experience in disability service provision within the Voluntary Sector, Tara has also worked in private nursing homes. Her nursing roles have included Clinical Nurse Manager 2 and Registered Nurse Prescriber, with a focus on supporting individuals with complex dual diagnoses of intellectual disability, mental health needs, and ASD.

Tara subsequently moved into Quality and Risk at St Michael’s House, becoming a key member of the Quality and Safety Department.

Since May 2022, she has served as Director of Access, Integration & Clinical Services, overseeing ICT, Adult Clinical Management Team, Project Management, Adult Residential & Day Service Waitlists, Communications, the School Leavers process, and FOI/GDPR.

Her extensive experience in strategic, organisational and clinical leadership positions her well for her new role as Interim CEO, as the organisation goes through the recruitment process for the next permanent CEO, ensuring continued focus on the organisation’s standards of care, service provision, and organisational development.

Conor has over 20 years’ work experience in a wide ranging of areas in health and social care field and he would have had both extensive frontline and managerial experience in all the sectors that he worked in. He began his frontline experience in residential childcare in the Eastern Health board and held managerial positions in high support residential centres in this area for young people with emotional and challenging behaviours.

Conor has worked in the intellectual disability sector since 2001 and was a Social Care Leader in a Dual Diagnosis Centre, supporting individuals with complex and specific support needs. He would have supported clinicians in the delivery of Positive behaviour support training through multi element behavioural support and would have designed courses with a colleague facilitating community inclusion and promoting active lifelong supports for the service users.

Conor has also held the position as Quality and Safety Advisor, ensuring that services were supported in implementing continuous quality improvement and provide advice, training and support on all matters concerning quality, regulatory compliance and risk management.

Conor joined St Michaels House in November 2015 as Service Manager in Service Area 2 and in September 2018 he became Director of Adult Services in Service Area 1. He has a MA in Advanced Social Care Practice, Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Social Science, Diploma in Social Policy and Criminology and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management of Human Services.

TBA

Tracey is a graduate of TCD and DCU. She has a post graduate qualification in legal studies and has completed courses in corporate governance and financial management with the IPA and UCD professional academy. Tracey is also a social worker and psychotherapist with many years experience across a number of services areas.

As Director of Children & Young Persons, Tracey is responsible for the governance and management of all CYP Strategic and Operational service delivery.  This also includes network clinical services, preschool services, adults and children’s respite/supports services, adult independent living and children’s residential services.

Tracey also holds responsibility for the education office supporting six special national schools under St Michael’s House patronage. 

Tracey works very closely with a number of key internal and external stakeholders to ensure safe, effective and efficient services are delivered within allocated resources. 

She is also responsible for leading the Children & Young Persons service on the implementation of our vision, mission and strategy, and integrating this with legislation and policy expectations for Children & Young Persons services in Ireland. 

Karen has worked with St. Michael's House since 1990, commencing as a frontline worker in the area of vocational training and progressing into management roles in day services prior to taking up her current post. In her early career with the Open Training College, Karen was instrumental in the development of management and social care higher education for disability service provision and retains an ongoing commitment to this area.

Prior to employment in St. Michael's House, Karen worked in frontline and managerial positions in Ireland and the USA in the areas of primary & secondary education and adult education. Karen's professional areas of interest include the professionalisation of the social care worker role and adult education & life-long learning. Karen has represented St. Michaels' House and the Open Training College in engagements with a number of national bodies and in a range of roles particularly in the area of third level education. In addition to her Doctorate in Social Science Karen is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University and the Irish Management Institute.

Having worked in disability services for over 20 years, Donnchadh has a vast amount of experience in both service management and in ensuring the provision of quality driven services. In addition to being a registered psychiatric and general nurse, Donnchadh has an MA in Health Administration, an MSc in Digital Health Transformation, and a Post Graduate qualification in Clinical Risk Management. Donnchadh is driven to ensure St. Michael’s House provides rights-based person-centred services of the highest quality in line with both Irish and international best practice.

Donnchadh was appointed Director of Quality, Safety and Risk in June 2024 and has overall responsibility for steering the quality, safety and risk strategic development of St. Michael’s House and implementing its progressive vision for individualised, rights-based, integrated service delivery in the community.

Mark Keegan joined St. Michael’s House in September 2024, bringing over 15 years of experience in enhancing organisational culture, capability, reputation, and performance in senior HR leadership roles. A graduate with a Master’s in Strategic Human Resources Management and an Associate member of CIPD, Mark combines strategic insight with a commercial mindset to deliver impactful HR solutions.

Mark’s expertise spans employment legislation, HR best practices, and the development of robust policies and procedures. He is adept at advising senior leadership while driving the execution of key HR programs that promote transformation across the organisation. As the Director of HR & Organisational Development at St. Michael’s House, Mark oversees the people directorate, fostering a positive workplace culture and leading initiatives to drive sustainable organisational growth.

Fidelma commenced her career in disability services as a healthcare assistant 25 years ago. During this time, she developed and strengthened her dedication to working with and improving the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities. With a strong commitment to upholding the rights of individuals, Fidelma emphasises the importance of identifying and removing barriers in society which prevent equity and equality. As Director of Nursing, addressing health disparities for individuals with intellectual disabilities is a priority. This includes a focus on prevention, health promotion and evidence-based approaches to individualised, person centred care and support.

Fidelma is a Registered Nurse in Intellectual Disabilities with many years’ experience in frontline staff nurse and clinical nurse manager positions. She completed a master’s degree in health services management and held several senior management roles in the disability sector. She completed her PhD study focussed on mental health and intellectual disabilities in Trinity College Dublin where she also taught on undergraduate and post graduate nursing programmes. Fidelma highlights the importance of continuous professional development and shaping nursing services to ensure they respond to the needs of individuals using St. Michael’s House services.