Appointments of Chairperson and Members to the Board of Dublin Dental Hospital

The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly T.D. has appointed/reappointed the following members to the board of the Dublin Dental Hospital.

Ms Rebecca Conlon is dual qualified as a nurse and a healthcare solicitor. She is a consultant solicitor with the State Claims Agency. She has over twenty years’ experience in clinical negligence and ten years’ experience nursing in acute hospital settings with the NHS. While continuing to nurse Rebecca studies Law at Queens University Belfast where she graduated in 1996.She regularly advises healthcare professionals on a wide variety of medico-legal issues. Rebecca has a Master’s Degree in Healthcare Ethics and Law from the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland and has sat on the Faculty of Health Science Ethics Committee of Trinity College Dublin. Rebecca is the Chair of the Strategic Oversight Committee.

Ms Rebecca Conlon is reappointed with effect from 2nd August 2023 to 23rd April 2026.

Maeve Conrick is Full Professor Emeritus of French and former Principal of the College of Arts and Humanities, University College Dublin. She has published extensively in the areas of Sociolinguistics and Applied Linguistics. Career distinctions include appointment as Specialist Advisor to a UK House of Commons Committee and The Governor General’s International Award for Canadian Studies. She has held office in many national and international organisations and is a former Deputy Chair of the Higher Education Authority. She is currently Deputy Chair of the Press Council of Ireland, member of the Governing Body of University College Cork and a member of the Judicial Conduct Committee.

Professor Maeve Conrick is reappointed with effect from 2nd August 2023 to 1st August 2027.

Dr Ronan Donelan has a background in pharmaceutical research and registration of new medicines. He has been an active member of multidisciplinary teams conducting clinical trials and delivering approvals of new medicines in various therapeutic areas. He has held senior roles in Global Pharma and a US Clinical Research Organisation. His areas of professional interest include Corporate Governance, Risk Management and organisational growth strategies. He holds an MSc in Pharmaceutical Medicine TCD and a PhD from Cardiff School of Pharmacy.

Dr Ronan Donelan is reappointed with effect from 2nd August 2023 to 22nd November 2025.

Professor Fidelma Fitzpatrick is the Head of Department of Clinical Microbiology, RCSI, Consultant Microbiologist, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin and Co-Director of Year 2, Undergraduate Medicine, RCSI. She has chaired the HSE National Sepsis Steering Group since the establishment of the national sepsis programme. In addition she is in her second term as elected chair of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Study Group for Clostridioides difficile, the RCSI representative on the board of the Dublin Dental Hospital and a member of the Community antimicrobial prescribing committee, HSE Antimicrobial Resistance Infection Control (AMRIC) and National Healthcare-associated infection (HAI) hospital point prevalence steering group, Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC). Previously Prof. Fitzpatrick worked at a national level from 2010-2014. As the first National clinical lead for the prevention of HAI and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), she established the national clinical programme, lead the national public information campaign on antibiotics, national hand hygiene and antimicrobial stewardship campaigns and oversaw the establishment of the National AMR Intersectoral Coordinating Committee between the Dept of Health and Dept of Agriculture. As consultant microbiologist in the HPSC she established C. difficile surveillance in Ireland, chaired a number of national guideline committees, was the European Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) national HAI focal point and coordinated the first national HAI prevalence studies in both hospitals and long-term care facilities.

Professor Fidelma Fitzpatrick is nominated by the Royal College of Surgeons (RSCI) and appointed with effect from 2nd August 2023 to 1st August 2027.

Una has over 30 years’ experience working in the health sector. Currently working as the Lead Clinical Safety & Risk Manager in St James’s Hospital as well as the risk register. Una is also secretary to the Board’s Quality Safety & Risk Committee. Her key area of expertise is clinical safety and risk contributing nationally on policy development. Una works with patients and staff, contributing to academic programmes and conferences. Una is a graduate of the HSE Leadership Academy, has a Fellowship in Healthcare Safety & Quality, MSc in Leadership & Management Development, BSc in Quality & Safety.

Ms Una Healy is reappointed with effect from 2nd August 2023 to 22nd November 2025.

Dr. Aislinn Joy, MB, AFRSCI, PhD(Ed), was appointed to the Dublin Dental University Hospital (DDUH) by the Minister for Health in 2017. On this board she serves as a representative of the medical profession. Dr. Joy brings her experience and expertise in health professions education, curriculum development, interprofessional learning, programme coordination and accreditation to this board. Of relevance, she has also served as a volunteer member of the Executive of the Irish Network of Healthcare Educators (INHED) and has coled the INHED Research subcommittee.

Dr Aislinn Joy is reappointed with effect from 2nd August 2023 to 22nd November 2025.

Sinéad serves as managing director of Karst, a boutique advisory firm. She leads the firm’s vision and helps shape its strategy and operations. Sinéad directs the delivery of worldwide advisory services to Karst’s clients. Having first qualified as a barrister and then cross-qualified as a solicitor, Sinéad is a graduate of the law schools of Trinity College Dublin, the Honorable Society of King’s Inns, and the Law Society of Ireland. With over ten years of professional experience advising at the interface between private business and EU/Irish rule makers, Sinéad is a specialist advisor to leading private and public companies across the health, insurance and financial services sectors, with particular expertise in health regulation. At the nomination of the Irish government, Sinéad advised the Department of Finance on the transposition into Irish law of the EU’s Solvency II framework. Appointed by the Minister for Health, Sinéad sits as an independent nonexecutive director on the board of the Dublin Dental University Hospital and is also the chairperson of the hospital’s Patient Safety and Quality Board Committee.

Ms Sinéad O’Loghlin is reappointed with effect from 2nd August 2023 to 22nd November 2025.

Mr Michal Siwiec has 22 years of experience in several internal/external auditing, accounting, and compliance & operational risk roles in financial services. He is currently a Deputy Head of Audit at the Irish entity of Bank of America and has served as a Board Member at the Dublin Dental University Hospital (DDUH) since 2019, and the Chair of the DDUH Audit and Risk Committee since 2023. He is a Chartered Internal Auditor (CMIIA) and a Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA), holds the Operational Risk Manager (ORM) and Professional Certificate in Compliance qualifications, and has a MSc. degree in Finance and Banking.

Mr Michal Siwiec is reappointed with effect from 2nd August 2023 to 1st August 2027.

Martine Smith is a Professor in Clinical Speech and Language Studies in Trinity College Dublin and is currently Dean of Graduate Studies for the university. She is a CORU-registered Speech & Language Therapist and has research and published extensively on the impact of severe speech and physical impairments on language and literacy development. She is a former President of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) and a current Deputy Chair of the AAC Committee for the International Association for Communication Sciences and Disorders (IALP).

Professor Martine Smith is nominated by Trinity College Dublin and appointed with effect from 2nd August 2023 to 1st August 2027.

Blánaid Daly is Professor of Special Care Dentistry, School of Dental Science, Trinity College Dublin (TCD) at the Dublin Dental University Hospital (DDUH). After qualifying as a dentist from TCD she worked in the public/ community dental service followed by the Dublin Dental Hospital. She joined the Dental School at King's College London (KCL) and studied for a PhD in Dental Public Health (DPH). For the last 30 years she has combined her academic interest in DPH with the clinical dental specialty of Special Care Dentistry, returning to Trinity in 2016 as Professor of Special Care Dentistry. In 2020 she was appointed to the Lancet Commission on Global Oral Health Inequalities and was joint winner of the Aubrey Sheiham award for distinguished research in dental public health, from the International Association of Dental Research (IADR). Prof Blánaid Daly was appointed Dean of Dental Affairs and Head of School at the School of Dental Science January 2022. Her overarching research interest theme is the reduction of oral health inequalities for people living with disability and vulnerable groups.

Professor Blánaid Daly is nominated by Trinity College Dublin and appointed with effect from 2nd August 2023 to 1st August 2027.

Prof Padraic Fallon was a Wellcome Trust Fellow in the University of Cambridge, UK. In 2008 he was appointed Professor of Translational Immunology in the School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin. Prof Fallon is currently TCD Associate Dean of Research. Prof Fallon research is on inflammatory diseases and he has delivered a number of seminal discoveries across the field of immunology, ranked in top 1% of scientists in the world by citations of published works. A key opinion leader in the preclinical development of new therapeutic strategies for inflammatory diseases, he is a member of Scientific Advisory Boards for national and international Pharma. Recognition for Prof Fallon’s academic achivements includes election as a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin (FTCD), awarded Membership of the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA) and a Doctor of Science (DSc) from University of Wales, UK. Prof Fallon is a panel member of a number of international grants funding agencies, including the Wellcome Trust, Royal Society and European Research Council. He serves as a board member or director of various bodies, including the Health Research Board Clinical Research Facility at St James’s Hospital and the ICAT all-Ireland PhD programme for clinician scientists in human, veterinary and dental medicine.

Professor Padraic Fallon is nominated by Trinity College Dublin and appointed with effect from 2nd August 2023 to 1st August 2027.

David is Chairperson of DDUH, appointed by the Minister of Health. A Harvard Business School alumnus, David graduated from the General Management Program (GMP) and also holds the Harvard Business School Corporate Director Certificate. David also graduated from Imperial College London with an MBA with Merit and from University College Dublin with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree. David is a Chartered Director (UK) and Member of the Institute of Directors (Ireland). He is also a Certified Investment Fund Director, Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (UK) and a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (UK).

Mr David Holohan is appointed Chairperson with effect from 27th October 2023 to 26th October 2027 following a Public Appointments Service campaign.

Mr Gerald Murray was appointed to the Board of the Dublin Dental Hospital in September 2023. He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland with over 20 years post qualification experience, leading Finance and Governance functions for International Insurers and Asset management companies. He is also a as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and holds a master’s degree in financial services with University College Dublin. Presently the Head of Finance with Fidelity International Ireland, a global asset management company that provides investment management services including mutual funds, pension management and fund platforms to private and institutional investors.

Mr Gerald Murray is appointed with effect from the 18th September 2023 to 17th September 2027 following a Public Appointments Service campaign.

Fintan’s career has been spent in medical education and training in both Ireland and overseas. He worked from 1993 – 2011 in RCSI in a number of senior posts including Project Lead for a overseas projects in the Gulf and Malaysia. From 2011 to 2017, he was CEO of the College of Anesthetists in Ireland. This was a young organsiation and within which he put in place a strong governance structure, a clear identity and established a strong overseas base. For the last 6 years he has been CEO of the Irish College of General Practitioners with the College seeing growth across all its key domains in Ireland and overseas. Fintan has completed an MBA from the Smurfit Business School in addition to a primary degree and postgraduate qualifications in HR, Accountancy, Teaching, etc. Fintan has served on the Board of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland for 8 years and is also Company Secretary of Polio Survivors Ireland. Fintan’s areas of professional interest are in Business Growth Strategies, Corporate governance and developing and empowering senior members of staff.

Mr Fintan Foy is appointed with effect from 18th September 2023 to 17th September 2027 following a Public Appointments Service campaign.