Meet Our Board

Family Carers Ireland is governed by a voluntary board of directors reflecting a mix of family carers, specialist expertise and general management background. All directors give their time free of charge to support the mission of Family Carers Ireland.

The board of directors is responsible for oversight and governance of the charity and comprises individuals with expertise in the areas of caring, management and relevant professional skills. To support the board in the performance of its function, a number of board sub-committees have been established as follows:

Finance & Organisation Committee
Audit & Risk Committee
Member Services & Engagement Committee
Quality & Safety Committee
Research & Policy Committee
Marketing & Fundraising Committee

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Our Board

Veronica Baylon

Veronica is a carer to her 31 year old daughter who has a diagnosis of moderate learning disability and Asperger's. She has been dealing with behavioural issues, etc. since her daughter was very young. Veronica has been part of Family Carers Ireland in Monaghan/Cavan for the past 12 years and volunteers in the charity shop and drop-in centre.

Robert Anderson

Robert Anderson is recently retired Head of the Social Policies unit at Eurofound, where he has worked as research manager since 1988 on a range of topics relating to living conditions and quality of life, including several international research projects exploring aspects of family care across Europe. Prior to joining Eurofound, Rob worked as Programme Manager at the WHO European Office in Copenhagen, with responsibility for the European Regional Programme in Health Promotion. He studied human sciences at Oxford University, and sociology as applied to medicine at Bedford College, London. Rob served as President of Eurocarers from 2009 to 2012. Rob has been appointed chairperson of the new Research & Policy committee.

Triona Fortune

Triona is Managing Director of Fortune Quality Accreditation Services (FQAS) and works with governments all over the world to develop healthcare, accreditation, regulation and licensing programs. She also has over 20 years’ senior executive management experience specialising in corporate and clinical governance. Triona continues her work with the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an Expert Advisor on various patient safety and quality initiatives. She teaches on numerous Masters Programmes, specialising in healthcare quality and is currently working with Trinity College Dublin and the Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. Commencing her healthcare career as a nurse and midwife, specialising in emergency care, she obtained her MSc. from Trinity College Dublin. Triona is the main carer for her brother Ted who has Motor Neurone Disease.

Graham Knowles

Graham Knowles originally trained as a Registered Mental Health Nurse in the UK. He held a variety of operational management and strategic roles in the NHS, including Acting Director of one of the largest Health Authorities in the Country. Until recently, Graham was the Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Hospital Donnybrook. He also currently serving as Chair of the Board of the UL Hospital Group. He is involved at Board and/or Committee level with various regulatory organisations, including the Medical Council and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland. Graham has an M.Sc. in Care Policy and Management from London Guildhall University and an M.B.A (Health Executive) from Keele University.

Cora Long

Cora Long has been a carer from an early age, caring for her father who had emphysema and her mother who had a stroke. In her early married years she also cared for her mother in law who had many health issues. She also looked after her husband for 9 years and now looks after her 85 year old sister in law who has multiple health issues. Cora served on the board of Caring for Carers before and during the merger years. Presently she is chairperson of the East Clare support group and a member of the Member Services and Engagement Committee.

Antoinette Greene

Antoinette is a retired paediatric nurse. Having practiced abroad for many years, she returned to Ireland to become the full-time family carer for her mother. She has been involved with Caring for Carers at local and national level since 2003 and is the chairperson of Family Carers Ireland’s Milltown Malbay/Spanish Point carer group.

Shane McCarthy

Shane is a qualified Solicitor since 1999. Having managed his own practice for many years he has significant experience in regulation, governance, audit and risk management-all areas of particular interest to Family Carers Ireland. He is a member of the General Council of the Law Society of Ireland and a Council Member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland. Shane helped care for his father, who suffered from dementia, until he died and continues to be one of the carers for his mother who suffers from Parkinson's disease.

Barbara Kovach

Barbara is the mother and full-time carer for her beautiful son Liam who is 19. Liam was born with Down Syndrome and a heart condition. Barbara has been a family carer since the young age of 12, helping together with her sisters to care for her Grandmother who was housebound due to a fall and also had Alzheimer’s. Barbara also helped take care of their father who had terminal cancer and died in 1986. After moving back from the USA in 2009, she helped care for her mother until she passed away in 2011. Barbara is a very active member of Family Carers Ireland and helped to start a support group in Cashel.

Rosemary Kratschmar

Rosemary, mum of four, together with her husband Siegi cares for her son Sammy who has Down Syndrome. Rosemary has been a strong advocate for family carers for many years and has worked closely with Family Carers Ireland in raising awareness and lobbying on behalf of carers across the country. She is also a member of FCI’s Parents of Adults with Intellectual Disability (PAID) group.

Peter O’Connell

Peter has had a successful corporate career in sales and marketing internationally, having worked in Europe and Latin America, in addition to being accountable for leading consumer brands globally. He has been based in the U.K., Belgium, The Netherlands, Mexico and Ireland in key head of function and board positions. He currently runs his own business, Career Development Associates. Peter cared for his mother for the last three years of her life with the support of home care workers.

Michael O’Neill

Michael is a Chartered Accountant and spent much of his career in public practice. He now holds a number of roles on a pro-bono basis and in commercial operations.

Johanne Powell

Johanne was caring for her daughter Siobhan since she was born on the 9th February, 1984 to her recent passing in August 2020. Siobhan was born with a rare chromosome disorder. She was intellectually and physically disabled, requiring 24/7 care. Johanne and her husband Alan were devoted to Siobhan who was their only child and spent years lobbying on behalf of Siobhan for the provision of services to cater for her needs.

Eilish Smith

Eilish is one of the founding members of Caring for Carers Ireland and has for many years been involved with people with intellectual disabilities. Eilish has been organising respite weekends for carers for over 33 years. As a teacher, she ran a programme with transition year students in conjunction with the Mental Health Board which included a monthly social for parents and their children.

Tom Jordan

Tom Jordan has been an Executive Coach for the past decade with a long list of blue-chip public and private clients at CEO and Director level. He was a board member (2007-2010) and Chairperson (2010-2016) of CORU (the Health and Social Care Professionals Council). He led the establishment of unrelated bone marrow full testing in Ireland in 1988 – this had become world standard by 2000. Tom currently chairs NAHVI which is a National Housing Association for visually impaired with intellectual disabilities.