Appointments to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland

The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly T.D., has appointed the following as members of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland.

Muireann Ní Shúilleabháin

Muireann is a pharmacist and graduate of Trinity College Dublin. She has 30 years extensive experience in the pharmacy profession (hospital & community), both in Ireland and the USA, and she has been in a Chief / Superintendent role since 2001. She has a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, a law degree, and a diploma in corporate governance. Muireann has further experience in accreditation processes, clinical governance, healthcare management, project leadership and regulation. Muireann's overall remit is in medication safety, and she has been an active advocate for quality and safety in medicines management throughout her career. She has served as a Council member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) since 2015 and her term is due to end in June 2023. During her term of office, she has been a member of the advisory committee of Regulatory & Professional Policy and the statutory committee of Professional Conduct. She is currently serving as President of the Council of the PSI.

Muireann is appointed following a Public Appointments Service campaign and her appointment is from 13th Jan 2023 to 12th Jan 2027.

Ray Dolan

Ray is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants and recently retired CEO of Safefood. He also has an M.A in Public Administration and is an experienced executive coach with a Diploma in Executive Leadership Coaching. He also has completed the Leadership Challenge Programme in association with the Institute of Public Administration and Harvard University in the USA. He holds Certificates in the Hogan Assessment Recruitment Method and more recently obtained Certificates in Governance and Cyber Security. Ray has over 40 years experience in the public sector at home and abroad, working in the Comptroller and Auditor Generals Office, The European Space Agency, The Food Safety Authority of Ireland and Safefood. He is currently a member of various audit and risk committee’s and recently was elected as a vice president of the Institute of Public Administration.

Ray is appointed following a Public Appointments Service campaign and his appointment is from 13th Jan 2023 to 12th Jan 2027.

Terry McGonigal

Terry is a qualified Accountant (FCCA) and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personal and Development (FCIPD). With over 30 years’ experience working in the public sector, Terry is an experienced Director of Finance and Corporate Services, and has a strong track record of providing leadership and direction for major change initiatives to improve organisational effectiveness and to deliver sustainable public services. He also has significant experience in supporting the work of public sector Boards and Audit Committees, both in an executive and non-executive capacity, and has a breadth of experience in developing and strengthening corporate governance arrangements to ensure compliance with best practice. Terry was educated at the University of Ulster and Queens University and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a MSc in Public Sector Innovation Management.

Terry is appointed following a Public Appointments Service campaign and his appointment is from 13th of Jan 2023 until 14th of Jan 2026.

Dr Lydia Buckley

Dr Lydia Buckley is the Data Protection Officer (DPO) and Freedom of Information (FOI) Officer for the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). As the Authority’s DPO, Lydia provides advice on data protection issues and monitors the Authority’s compliance with the GDPR. Prior to joining the Authority, Lydia was an Assistant Commissioner in the Data Protection Commission (DPC) where she was Head of the DPC’s Complaint Assessment Team. She later became the Lead Investigator for Multinational Technology Inquiries. Lydia was previously an investigator in the Office of the Information Commissioner, the appeal body for FOI. Lydia has a background in legal research; she holds a PhD in Law from UCC and worked as a Judicial Researcher in the Four Courts.

Lydia is nominated by HIQA and her appointment is from 13th Jan 2023 to 12th Jan 2027.

Professor Gautam Gulati

Professor Gautam Gulati is a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist at Limerick. He trained at Oxford and holds an Adjunct Professorial appointment at the University of Limerick. He has completed an MD in Forensic Psychiatry and a PhD in Law and Medicine. He has extensive clinical experience in Ireland and the UK. His research interests lie at the interface of medicine and law. He has published extensively in international peer reviewed journals and has authored two textbooks of Psychiatry. He has provided expert advice to the Oireachtas, Governmental High Level Task Forces, and governmental and non-governmental organisations in a number of EU member states in advancing the human rights of those with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities.

Gutam is nominated by the Medical Council and his appointment is from 13th Jan 2023 to 12th Jan 2027.

Niamh Murphy

Niamh Murphy is the Physiotherapy Manager in charge in St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, the largest academic teaching hospital in Ireland. She has worked as a physiotherapist for over 25 years in Ireland, the United States of America, and Australia. She was a member and the chair of the CORU Physiotherapy Registration Board, 2018-to 2021. Niamh qualified from University College Dublin with a Bachelor in Physiotherapy and has a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from Trinity College Dublin. She has done further study in healthcare management, leadership, quality improvement, and coaching. Niamh is very interested in and passionate about operational excellence, research, quality improvement, and leadership.

Niamh is nominated by the Health and Social Care Professionals Council and her appointment is from 13th Jan 2023 to 12th Jan 2027.

Dr. Margaret M. Murphy

Dr. Margaret Murphy is a lecturer in Midwifery and BSc Midwifery Programme Lead at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, University College Cork. She is a Registered Midwife, and Registered General Nurse with over twenty years’ experience working the HSE, the final six as Clinical Midwife Manager. A member of the Pregnancy Loss Research Group, Cork University Maternity Hospital her research focus is pregnancy loss, specifically pregnancy after loss. She has contributed to thirty nine peer-review publications, national clinical guidelines, co-authored a book and several book chapters. One of two Irish Research Coordinators of the international, multi-centre, COCOON research study to understand the challenges and concerns of parents who were pregnant or gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly to understand the experiences of parents who lost their baby to stillbirth or neonatal death. She was appointed external advisor to a research study exploring the needs of partners in pregnancies after loss funded by Tommy's Stillbirth Research Centre at the University of Manchester, UK. She contributed Irish data to the Lancet’s 2016 Ending Preventable Stillbirth Series. She was elected as Treasurer and Board Member of the International Stillbirth Alliance in 2016 and is currently responsible for administering ISA’s global budget.

Margaret is nominated by the Irish University Association and her appointment is from 13th Jan 2023 to 12th Jan 2027.

John Horan

John Horan has a wide range of experiences at Senior Management and Board level including serving as Chairperson of a State Board. In NMBI he has served on a number of Committees including as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. He also serves on Committees of other professional regulatory bodies. He served for more than 20 years in a variety of roles in the Aer Lingus Group. He was Chief Executive of the Irish Hotels Federation for seven years and of Veterinary Ireland for ten years. He is now an Honorary Life Member of the national organisation for the Veterinary profession. For many years he represented these sectors at Council and Board levels in a range of National and European organisations. He has received a Master of Science Degree in Management Practice – MSc (Mgmt) - from Trinity College Dublin.

John is reappointed from 13th Jan 2023 to 12th Jan 2027.

Mark Johnston

Mark Johnston is a mental health nurse and prescriber with a Master’s Degree in CBT and a Diploma in Leadership and Management. Mark’s experience is extensive across various specialties including acute, community, and rehabilitation. In recent years he has moved into more developmental roles including CPC, Practice Development Co-ordinator and Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing. This breadth of experience has afforded him the opportunity to gain perspective from clinical, managerial, developmental, and educational perspectives. This experience has provided him with a multi-faceted view of nursing which has enabled him to be responsive to organisational, staff, and patient needs. Mark is passionate about patient-centred care and believes that all roles in nursing should operate with that goal in mind. This baseline keeps him focused on the patient experience regardless of the role he is in. Mark believes nurses have a strong role to play in the planning and delivery of healthcare from an individual professional and multi-disciplinary perspective and he is committed to supporting all processes that allow this to happen. He holds a Certificate in Leadership and Management, Masters in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing and Midwifery and a Higher Diploma in Nurse Prescribing. Mark is the PNA Branch Secretary in the Clare Mental Health Services and currently fills the position of Mid-West Regional Representative for the PNA. This region takes in Clare, Limerick, and North Tipperary.

Mark is nominated through election by the registrants of the designated profession and his appointment is from 13th January 2023 to 12th January 2027.

Mary Rose Loughnane

Mary Rose Loughnane is a registered intellectual disability nurse and works as an enhanced nurse practitioner in Brothers of Charity Services, Galway.

In her role, she delivers evidence-based practice for residents with intellectual disabilities.

Prior to this, she has worked across a range of settings in the Galway region, including day centres, respite services, dementia care and geriatric care in community residential care. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Intellectual Disability Nursing from Atlantic Technological University, Letterkenny and recently completed an MSc in Advanced Leadership from the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI). As part of her Master’s, she completed a thesis on developing staff bereavement training to support grieving adults with intellectual disabilities and she aims to implement the findings through training in her local service area.

She is also a qualified Studio III trainer, providing guidance and techniques in managing behaviors of concern, stress management, and crisis intervention in supporting people with intellectual disabilities as well as staff members.

Mary Rose Lougnnane is nominated through election by the registrants of the designated profession and her appointment is from 13th January 2023 to 12th January 2027.

Kate O’Halloran

Kate O’Halloran is a registered nurse and registered midwife with 18 years of clinical experience across a broad platform of settings. She holds additional qualifications as a registered nurse/midwife prescriber and as a Forensic Clinical Examiner (FCE).

Kate is currently a Clinical Midwife Specialist (CNS) in the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU).

Prior to her current role, Kate has worked as a Clinical Midwife Manager 1 (CMM1), Covid Drivethrough Coordinator and the clinical lead during acute cases as a Forensic Clinical Examiner. She has also worked in all areas of midwifery care, antenatal, postnatal and intrapartum before returning to education to specialise in forensic clinical examination and sexual assault care.

Kate O’Halloran is nominated through election by the registrants of the designated profession and her appointment is from 13th January 2023 to 12th January 2027.

Mary Leahy

Mary has worked in a number of roles and services across the Irish health services and abroad. A Galway native, Mary qualified as an RN and RM at University College Galway, and as a RPHN at University College Dublin, before undertaking a MSc in Healthcare Leadership through the IMI and HSE Leadership Academy.

Throughout her career, Mary has gained extensive experience in the practice of Public Health Nursing, also specialising in the area of multicultural healthcare and as an early year’s inspector in pre-school services. Mary has also held roles as a National Investigator for HSE Human Resources and has also established a national project as a coordinator for nurse and midwife health & safety representatives. In addition, Mary is a qualified mediator, regularly undertaking work placed mediations.

Mary has represented the advancement of the professions of Nursing & Midwifery both nationally and internationally in her former role as Vice President of the Irish Nurses & Midwifery Organisation, which included presentations to and debate within the Oireachtas Health Committee.

Mary is currently working in the area of Quality & Safety focusing on patient experience in relation to service provision. She is committed to advocating for service users, colleagues and the professions of Nursing & Midwifery in promoting the highest possible standard of care in the community and across the health services. Mary has a particular interest in the creation of conditions which support effective and safe training and work environments for nurses and midwives.

Mary Leahy is nominated through election by the registrants of the designated profession and her appointment is from 13th January 2023 to 12th January 2027.

Mittu Fabin Alungal

Trained in India, Mittu Fabin Alungal started her professional nursing career in Ireland in 2008. She spent almost all of her career in the care of elderly starting off as a staff nurse under Silver Stream Health Care and later promoted to the capacity of Assistant Director of Nursing. During her career in Silver Stream, Mittu completed her Masters in Gerontological Nursing under Royal College of Surgeons Ireland.

In 2018, She enjoyed a stint as a Clinical trials nurse in Institute of Cancer Research Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in the capacity of Clinical Nurse Manager 1.

Mittu Joined Health Service Executive as a CNM2 in Meath Community Unit in 2020. She went up the ladder to the position of the Director of Nursing in 2021 and currently holding the position . She also has a post Graduate Cert in Health Care Management from Dorset College, Dublin. Mittu was elected to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland in the category of care of older persons in 2022 via ballot . She has also completed a day course in ' Change Management' from University of Oxford, UK. She is a central committee member of Migrant Nurses Ireland.

Mittu Fabin Alungal is nominated through election by the registrants of the designated profession and her appointment is from 13th January 2023 to 12th January 2027.