Patricia Rickard-Clarke is a former Commissioner of the Law Reform Commission. In addition to her role as Chair of Sage Advocacy clg, Patricia chairs Safeguarding Ireland clg.
She was a member of the HSE’s National Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act Steering Group preparing for the implementation of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 and a member of the National Disability Authority’s Expert Group developing the non-health care codes of practice for the 2015 Act and is currently a member of Department of Health’s Protection of Liberty Safeguards Expert Advisory Group.
From 2012 to 2016 she was a member of the Council of the Hospice Foundation and of its Think Ahead Project Advisory Group of the Forum on End of Life. She was a member of the Council of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland from 2013 – 2017.Patricia is a Fellow of the Institute of Banking. She has received the Public Sector Lay Lawyer of the Year Award, Special Merit in the Law Award and was named Women’s Lawyer of the Year by the Irish Women’s Lawyer Association. In 2017, Patricia was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate from UCD to acknowledge her important contribution to legislative reform and healthcare practice transformation in Ireland and her collaboration with the National Centre for the Protection of Older People at UCD.
Mark Mellett Vice Adm (Rtd) DSM PhD
On retirement as Chief of the Irish Defence Forces after over forty years’ service, Admiral Mellett launched Green Compass advising on the complexities of today’s strategic environment advocating in particular for leadership in sustainability.
He is a lifetime fellow and Council member of the Irish Management Institute and Chair of the Advisory Council of the Azure Forum for Contemporary Security Strategy. Holder of a PhD in Ocean Governance and a Masters in Government and Public Policy he is an Adjunct Professor of Law at University College Cork.
He was distinguished top graduate of each of his senior command and staff courses at the US, UK and in Ireland. He is a recipient of two distinguished service medals with distinction and honour from the Irish Government.
Bríd is an IT and Business Operations leader with 29 years of experience in the Tech Sector. Bríd graduated with a BSc in Biotechnology from DCU before taking up employment with Accenture as a Management Information Consultant from 1990 to 1994. Most recently Bríd spent 24 years working at Microsoft and held a number of both Technical and Business leadership roles.
Bríd is a PMP certified member of the Project Management Institute and has completed the Professional Diploma in Strategy Development and Innovation at the UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School (results pending). She is currently enrolled in the Institute of Directors Chartered Director Programme due to complete in October 2020.
Eoin is a director of Kennelly Tax Advisors. Eoin worked with Price Waterhouse in Dublin from 1981 to 1985. In 1985 Eoin joined Coopers & Lybrand in Dublin where he was director of Personal Tax Services. Eoin left Coopers & Lybrand in 1997 when he and Kieran Twomey established Kennelly & Twomey Limited which de-merged into KTA in 2010.
From 1996 to 2002, Eoin was a member of the Technical Committee in the Irish Taxation Institute. Eoin has been asked on numerous occasions to speak at the annual conferences of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Irish Taxation Institute.
From 2004 Eoin has been the author of numerous articles in specialist taxation journals including the Irish Taxation Institute’s bi-monthly journal, The Irish Tax Review.
Helen Burke is a Senior Manager with 20 years’ experience in research & organisational management, team leadership and strategy implementation across academia and industry. She is currently Senior Research Officer in Dublin City University.
Helen has broad and deep expertise in engaging with national and international funding agencies, companies and charities. She has significant experience in strategy and policy formulation & implementation, operations & financial management, team management, mentorship, leadership and stakeholder engagement.
Helen was awarded a BSc in Applied Science with French from DIT/Trinity College Dublin in 1999 and a PhD in Physics from Dublin City University in 2006. She is a PRINCE2-qualified project manager and is Institute of Leadership & Management-certified.
Tim Dalton served as Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality from 1993 to 2004. During that time he was a member of a small team of senior civil servants who, together with their British Government counterparts and in consultation with political parties, engaged in the background work that supported the search for peace in Northern Ireland in the period leading up to and following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
In that regard he was instrumental in advancing progress on security and justice matters including in relation to decommissioning and the arrangements to address the position of paramilitary prisoners. Following his retirement from the Civil Service Mr. Dalton undertook a variety of assignments in the public and private sectors.
Doreen Shivnen is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin (with a degree in history), and after study at the Honorable Society of King's Inns, was called to the Bar in 1992.
In her practice as a barrister in civil litigation she has a particular interest in probate and estates, and issues of legal capacity.
Greg Price was Director of Advocacy and Assistant National Director in the Quality Improvement Division of the HSE with responsibility for partnering with patients, service users, families and carers prior to his retirement in 2021. Greg has a Masters in Business Administration from the Open University and an LLB from Griffith College. He qualified as a Barrister in 2010 and is also an accredited mediator.
Simonetta Ryan is a former Assistant Secretary General at the Department of Social Protection. During her career she served in various Government Departments - including Finance, Health and Social Protection. She has wide ranging experience at national and international level in public institutions, governance and policy making and implementation in the public sector particularly in social policy. She has a BA Moderatorship focused in History and political science from Trinity College Dublin. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Jigsaw.
Policy & Practice
Patricia Rickard-Clarke (Chair), Tim Dalton, Amanda Phelan, Ann Leahy, Mary Rose Day & Michael Browne
Performance, Oversight & Sustainability
Greg Price (Chair), Patricia Rickard-Clarke, Tim Dalton & Mark Mellett
Finance
Bill Lloyd (Chair), Claire Kelly & Eoin Kennelly
Risk & Audit
Bríd de Buitléar, (Chair), Eoin Kennelly, Claire Kelly, The Hon Mary Laffoy, Colm O'Nolan & Ita Mangan
Sage has a core of paid staff who are supported by trained volunteers. Our key task is to develop regional teams of people capable of tackling everything from the most simple support tasks to the most complex advocacy challenges in every care setting.
We collaborate where possible and challenge where necessary.
All of our email addresses are formatted as follows: firstname.lastname@sageadvocacy.ie
01 536 7330
Mervyn Taylor is providing management support to Sage Advocacy. He has been centrally involved in the development of a range of innovative projects, programmes and organisations in the voluntary, public and private sectors over many decades. One such programme won the Taoiseach’s award for Public Service Innovation.
He has at various times been Director of MS Ireland, CEO of the MS Care Foundation, Manager of Planning & Organisation with the National Social Service Board (now Citizens Information Board), Director of Pathfinder Projects, Programme Manager of Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme and Executive Director of Sage Advocacy. He is currently a director of Safeguarding Ireland. He has studied at Trinity College Dublin, the Open University & Cranfield School of Management.
01 536 7330 / 086 027 0012
Originally from Romania, Bibiana has been living in Ireland since 2003 and is currently the Assistant Executive Director – Case Management & Support with Sage Advocacy, an organization that provides advocacy and support services to older people, vulnerable adults, and healthcare patients.
Bibiana has social work, sociology, business studies, and advocacy qualifications and also holds a Master of Social Science (Human Rights & Social Policy) from Maynooth University. She completed additional training in Leading Strategic Projects Programme with Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and DIPEx International Accreditation with Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford.
Bibiana is a Patient & Public Interest (PPI) Representative on a number of national forums such as the Irish Hip Fracture Governance Committee in the National Office for Clinical Audit, HSE Patient & Service User Forum, and the Emergency Department Taskforce. She is also a member of the HSE Mental Health Engagement & Recovery Subgroup for Sharing the Vision Recommendation 65 Project, the Irish Gerontological Society Executive Committee, and the UCD PPI Ignite Executive Committee.
At a local level, Bibiana was a Secretariat member on the social inclusion pillar of the South Dublin Public Participation Network (SDCPPN) for six years and is currently representing SDCPPN on the Local Community Development Committee.
01 536 7330 / 086 174 5130
As service administrator Mary is responsible for overseeing administrative systems for Sage. Prior to joining the organisation, Mary worked for Lisney in Property Management and Fixed Charge Receivership. She was also the Executive Assistant to the Managing Director.
Mary previously worked in financial services and has several years’ customer service and administration experience. She has participated in a number of mentor programmes and in research of the use of precision teaching in schools.
01 536 7330 / 086 183 1428
Thérèse McKenna has a professional background in visual communications; in copywriting for non-profit campaigning, positioning, outreach and fundraising; and in newspaper journalism. Her primary degree is in Law. She has voluntary experience in an advice and advocacy role with the NI Refugee Support Service in Barnardos and the Marsh Trust awarded her as NI Volunteer of the Year 2022 for this work.
01 536 7330
Mary Condell BCL, Solicitor, MA (Mediation and Conflict Intervention), is a practicing solicitor and mediator. Before becoming legal advisor to Sage Advocacy, a support an advocacy service for vulnerable adults older people and healthcare patients she spent many years in private practice advising vulnerable adults. She is co-founder and former chair of Solicitors for the Elderly in Ireland and a member of the NDA expert group preparing draft Codes for the Decision Support Service. She is also a member of Disability Lawyers Rights Network. She teaches at MA level in NUI Maynooth, and for Sage and the Law Society on, inter alia, the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015 and its practical application for professionals and others dealing with vulnerable adults.
01 536 7330
01 536 7335 / 086 142 7897
Lara has worked in the voluntary and community sector for almost 20 years as a Project Worker with Tallaght Intercultural Action, Dublin AIDS Alliance and then the SAOL Project. Her work focused on social inclusion, improving access to services, advocacy and support, and community development.
Becoming an accredited psychotherapist in 2013, Lara held a Clinical Coordinator position in Living Life Counselling Centre where she carried out initial assessments with clients and managed volunteer counsellors.
Lara holds a BA (Hons) Psychology from UCD, HDip Community & Youth Work from NUI Maynooth and MSc Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy from DCU.
01 536 7330 / 087 365 4997
01 536 7335 / 086 130 2712
Since joining Sage in 2014, Helen has held several roles, and currently is the Information & Support Service Manager. Prior to this Helen worked as Regional Coordinator, Recruitment, Information and Compliance, and Administrator.
Before joining Sage, Helen worked as service coordinator with Crosscare services for older people in Dublin North, coordinating the befriending, plate pals, the league, and appointment companions services.
Helen holds an MSc in Applied Psychology from Dublin Business School, a BA in Psychology from NUI Maynooth, and has qualifications in Information, Advice and Advocacy Practice and Community & Health Services.
01 536 7330 / 087 055 3254
Ciara has worked in the area of care provision services for over 30 years.
Prior to joining Sage, Ciara worked for the Irish Advocacy Network providing advocacy services in Acute Psychiatric Units in the Dublin, Meath and Louth area.
Ciara has worked as a social care worker for Three Steps Assessment and Therapeutic Residential Services for Children and Adolescents.
Ciara has also worked as an assistant programme coordinator on the Special Care Programme, a 48-week training programme providing theoretical training and work placement in the field of Intellectual Disability within in The Daughters of Charity – Disability Support Services.
Ciara holds a BA in Applied Social Studies (Disabilities) from the Open Training College.
01 536 7330
Ruby is working as an intern with Sage Advocacy as part of her BA in English and Equality studies.
Ruby began her journey towards Elderly-centered human rights while working in a community pharmacy. During covid, realising the older members of the community were isolated. After three years in the pharmacy setting, she began working as a carer in the home. Learning first hand about the experiences and challenges that the older generation face, providing care to those with various forms of dementia, parkinson's disease, acquired disabilities, hearing and visual loss and reduced mobility. She has since worked city-wide, in both home care and the nursing home.
While working in these roles, her college course looked at subjects such as human rights, social justice, psychology and law, leading Ruby to her own passion of human rights for those in the older communities and those with disabilities. She hopes to learn more about how to protect the rights of those in more vulnerable communities and how to achieve justice for people deprived of their rights during her time with Sage.
Sage Advocacy is planning for the emergence of Regional Health Authorities as envisaged by Sláintecare. Management and deployment of Regional Advocates will, in so far as is possible, match these emerging structures.
01 536 7330 / 087 971 9634
Prior to being appointed as Regional Manager for the North, Ana Reynolds had worked with Sage Advocacy as a Regional Coordinator for Dublin South East and Wicklow.
Before joining Sage Advocacy, Ana had previously worked as a Service Coordinator and Transition Coordinator with Cheshire Ireland, overseeing the decongregation of a residential unit and developing the services of individuals living with brain injuries and physical disabilities of moving from residential care to living in local communities.
Earlier in her career Ana had also worked in HSE Older Person services as frontline healthcare staff and was a team lead on an award winning Focus on Dementia project in St. Mary’s Hospital, Phoenix Park.
Ana holds a B.Soc Science degree in Sociology and Social Policy from NUI Maynooth, and is a qualified as a psychotherapist, completing her studies in the Institute of Integrative Counselling and Psychology.
01 536 7330 / 086 183 1427
Prior to joining Sage, Maureen was a Development Officer with Age Action in Meath. She was responsible for implementing the National Advocacy Programme (later to become the Third Age National Advocacy Programme). Maureen was responsible for managing and providing supervision and support to advocates placed in nursing homes across Meath and Louth. In addition, she developed the first befriending programme for Meath nursing homes, recruiting and training a new team of befrienders.
Prior to this, Maureen worked for nine years for the Citizen’s Information Service, initially as an Information Officer and later as an Advocacy Resource Officer for the North East.
As a trained advocate, Maureen represented clients at Employment Appeals Tribunals, the Labour Court, HSE/Social Welfare and Equality Appeals and the Family Law Court.
01 536 7330 / 086 607 2864
Fergal graduated with a B.A (Hons) in Social Care from Waterford Institute of Technology in 2006 and has worked in different areas of social care since then.
Fergal has worked for a variety of organisations including Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, Focus Ireland and Caranua in the areas of residential childcare, supporting family carers, adult disability, housing support and institutional abuse.
01 536 7330 / 087 054 5005
Prior to joining Sage, Ann was actively engaged with the Third Age National Advocacy Programme since 2010. Ann was responsible for hands-on delivery of advocacy services and the management of a team of volunteer advocates in Leitrim, Longford, Roscommon, and Sligo. Ann was office manager of a Care in the Community facility which involved assessing the needs of clients in their own homes to develop and provide appropriate care packages.
Anne also held the post of Welfare Director of a sheltered employment facility providing advocacy and support services to thirty clients with intellectual and physical disability.
Ann has completed a Certificate in Advocacy with the National College of Ireland, Volunteer Management Training Certificate with Volunteer Centres Ireland and a certificate in Management Skills for Managers of Advocacy Services, I.T. Blanchardstown.
01 5367330 / 087 359 6142
Prior to being appointed as the Regional Coordinator for the Midlands, Geraldine Jolley worked with the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) for more than 10 years as an inspector of social services with responsibility for the regulation of designated centres for older people.
Before this role she was the area development officer for Mental Health Ireland. This role involved the development of positive mental health promotion programmes, suicide prevention initiatives and interagency working relationships with statutory, community, voluntary and social partners to ensure the effective delivery of services and the optimum management of resources.
Geraldine also spent more than 20 years working in the UK and held varied roles in regulation with the Care Quality Commission and as a nurse manager for mental health services that included acute, rehabilitation and dementia care services.
Geraldine is a mental health nurse with a specialist qualification in community mental health nursing. She also has a Masters degree in Interprofessional Health and Welfare Studies.
01 536 7330 / 086 183 1429
Prior to joining Sage, Trish worked with a community project in inner city Galway until 2014. Trish was responsible for the provision of support services to all sections of the local population. Trish previously spent 15 years working with the Lifestart Foundation, a parent-directed child-centred learning programme; supporting parents in home, community and centre based settings.
Trish holds a BA in Community and Family Studies.
01 536 7330 / 087 784 8062
01 536 7330 / 087 273 5772
Jamie worked with The Alzheimer Society of Ireland for sixteen years holding a number of roles within Operations and Learning and Development.
Jamie began her career here as a frontline worker providing dementia specific care in the home to people living with dementia enabling them to live at home within their communities for as long as possible.
Following on from this Jamie managed the daily operations of a number of services including Home Care, Day Care, Alzheimer Cafes and Social Clubs across Dublin, Meath and Westmeath.
Alongside her service manager roles Jamie also worked as an in house Tutor with the Learning and Development team delivering dementia specific training to staff across the country from frontline to senior management.
Just prior to commencing with Sage, Jamie was the National Community Engagement Manager with The Alzheimer Society of Ireland responsible for driving the new community Engagement strategy within Ireland through education and awareness. This involved working with schools, government bodies, non profits and other organisations to deepen our communities understanding of dementia.
Jamie holds a Business Finance degree from University College Cork and The Irish Management Institute, and is a qualified Tutor.
01 536 7330 / 087 351 1421
Before being appointed as a Regional Advocate, Lisa’s role as Information and Support Assistant involved providing an information and support service to callers to Sage and to assist in the development and coordination of the support services of Sage Advocacy in relation to both general and patient advocacy.
Prior to joining Sage, Lisa worked for three years for the Dublin based charity Friends of the Elderly, working as their older persons contact coordinator. Lisa has recently completed a MSc in Occupational Therapy in Queen Margaret University Edinburgh. She also holds a BA in History and Human Development from Dublin City University.
01 536 7330 / 085 862 3585
01 536 7330
Caroline began working with Sage in June 2016.
Caroline worked for over 10 years in Boston for an Employee Assistance Program where she coordinated drug testing, mental health and substance abuse services for employees of large construction unions and their families. She also has many years’ experience as a home care worker for the elderly, both in private residences and assisted living facilities.
Since returning from Boston in 2014, Caroline worked as a Family Carer Support Officer for Family Carers Ireland in Wexford. While there she established a Volunteer Befriending program, coordinated respite care for the elderly and developed support groups and training for family carers.
Caroline completed a BA in Public and Social Policy and a Higher Diploma in Health Promotion both at NUIG and a Graduate Certificate in Forensic Services at the University of Massachusetts. Caroline became a volunteer Sage Representative in 2015.
01 536 7330 / 086 818 2405
01 536 7330 / 086 183 6208
Prior to joining Sage, Emer worked as a Development Officer with The Irish Hospice Foundation. Emer worked on ‘A Journey of Change’ programme which was designed to improve end-of-life care in nursing homes and residential settings, she worked on the ‘Hospice Friendly Hospitals’ programme which seeks to ensure that end of life, palliative and bereavement care is central to the everyday business of hospitals and the ‘Design & Dignity’ programme which transforms the way hospital spaces are designed for people at the end of life and their families.
Before joining The Irish Hospice Foundation Emer worked for a number of years with adults with physical and intellectual disabilities. She worked as independent creative arts psychotherapist for a number of organisations on a freelance bases and was responsible in supporting people to reflect on their own lives and support them self-advocate.
Emer holds a Masters of Drama-psychotherapy from NUI Maynooth, a Post Graduate Diploma in Arts in Healthcare Settings, Adult and Community Education from NUI Maynooth and a BA of Sociology & Linguistics from UCD.
01 536 7330 / 086 172 4444
01 536 7330
01 536 7330 / 087 747 9512
Prior to joining Sage, Michael was an Advocate in West Kerry Community Hospital and the Development Officer for the Third Age National Advocacy Programme in Kerry. He was responsible for the planning, development and delivery of the advocacy service to those living in residential care. Michael worked with Nursing Homes, Health Service Executive (HSE), Health Information Authority (HIQA), and other relevant agencies to ensure the successful provision of the service.
Michael has a strong background in the voluntary sector, working with volunteers in a variety of projects. Michael studied Advocacy at the National College of Ireland and at The Institute of Technology Blanchardstown, Dublin.
01 536 7330 / 087 627 5677
Anne joined Sage in October 2018 and is currently undertaking an Advanced Social Studies Course at Sallynoggin College, QQI Level 6 Information, Advice and Advocacy.
Anne has been an advocate in a personal capacity with Huntington’s Disease Association of Ireland (A neurological, hereditary, debilitating condition) for a number of years, being involved at community level, along with in hospital and Hospice settings. Anne has also worked together with the Neurological Alliance of Ireland and Mental Heath Ireland on an ongoing basis. She also worked as a Healthcare support worker in a Nursing Home in Sunbury on Thames, Middlesex in England and more recently on a voluntary basis in St Mary’s Hospital in the Phoenix Park working with vulnerable and older people.
01 536 7330 / 087 988 6738
Lorraine graduated from Carlow College in 2001 having completed Applied Social Studies in Social Care. Lorraine commenced employment in the disability sector and following this spent many years in the area of High Support Residential Care in the Carlow/Kilkenny area.
Following this, Lorraine established the childcare service of the Amber Women’s Refuge in Kilkenny for Women and children affected by Domestic Violence. Lorraine completed training in a number of areas; Addiction Studies, Parenting facilitation, Auricular Acupuncture, which led to the implementation of alternative therapies in a number of settings within which Lorraine worked.
In 2008 Lorraine went on to establish a Family Support Project in Templemore for Tipperary Regional Youth Services. In 2015 Lorraine established the Youth Justice Project in Southill, Limerick, which still continues to enhance the lives of young people who have come to the attention of the law.
Following this Lorraine worked for a time on a consultancy basis with North Tipperary Community Services in developing and delivering a variety of programmes for both teenagers and parents around challenging issues that were impacting on their lives. Prior to commencing employment with Sage as Regional Coordinator for the Midwest, Lorraine was Family Carer Support Officer for Family Carers Ireland covering North Tipperary and Clare.
01 536 7330 / 087 766 6352
Regina is a graduate of University College Cork and has past experience of working in both statutory and non-statutory settings. This includes working in the Disability Services, Family Support Services, and also the Social Work Department in a Medical Setting. Over the last 8yrs Regina has supported Survivors of Institutional Abuse & Trauma. This experience along with a passion to support the individual in a person-centered approach supports Regina’s overall approach to her work.
Research Interests: Trauma-Informed Social Work Practice: Understanding the concept of trauma and its effects on the individual throughout the lifespan.
01 536 7330 / 087 997 4399
Prior to joining Sage Patricia was an independent Public Health Nursing Consultant and managed a number of projects ranging from a national review of the public health nursing service to the preparation of fitness to practise reports for the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland and medico legal expert reports for the Courts. Patricia previously worked as a lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery University College Cork and spent 20 years working as a nurse in a variety of settings in a number of countries overseas.
Patricia is a registered general nurse, midwife, public health nurse and holds MSc Nurse Education (UCC) and a BCL (UCC).