The board members of ASH Ireland, Council of the Irish Heart Foundation serve on a voluntary basis. The current Board Members are:
Emmet O’Brien (Chairperson)
Norma Prof Emmet O’Brien is a Consultant Respiratory Physician and an Honorary Clinical Lecturer in Medicine at RCSI. Dr O’Brien graduated in Medicine from University College Cork and was awarded a PhD from RCSI for his work in translational respiratory medicine. He completed his fellowship training in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, USA. He has a specialist clinical interest in lung cancer and lung nodule evaluation at Beaumont Hospital. Prof O’Brien’s research has explored pulmonary disease phenotypes in current and former smokers and understanding tobacco smoke susceptibility in those with COPD and emphysema.
Prof Shane Allwright
Shane Allwright is recently retired from Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, where she was Professor in Epidemiology in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, and latterly, College Registrar. She is a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin and an Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. Her research interests include health effects of active and passive smoking and of alcohol misuse; evaluation of tobacco and alcohol control policies; and prisoner health.
Professor Allwright was the lead investigator on a study of the impact of the ‘smoking ban’ on the respiratory health of bar workers. She chaired the report to the Minister for Health and Children entitled “Report on the health effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in the workplace” that was critical to the introduction of the Irish smoke-free workplace legislation. She has served in various capacities on a variety of national and European public bodies, including the Board of the Office of Tobacco Control.
Dr Angie Brown
Dr Angie Brown is a Consultant Cardiologist and Medical Director of the Irish Heart Foundation. She obtained her medical degree from Cambridge University and her Cardiology training in Kings College Hospital. After completing an MD from Cambridge University she moved to Ireland and has worked as a Consultant Cardiologist in Beaumont Hospital and St James’s Hospital before becoming Medical Director of the Irish Heart Foundation. Dr Brown has previously been Chairperson of ASH Ireland. She is a General Cardiologist with a specialist interest in imaging and set up the Irish Cardiac Echo and Imaging group (I.C.E). She also has a strong interest in prevention in particularly tobacco control.
Mr Chris Macey
Chris Macey is Director of Advocacy and Patient Support in the Irish Heart Foundation, A journalism graduate, Chris worked as a senior journalist with the Irish Press Group for 12 years, specialising in politics, health and social issues before being appointed as a Special Adviser in the Departments of the Taoiseach and Foreign Affairs in 1995. He later worked for the Sunday Independent and established a stable of quality local newspapers and magazines after working for the Rehab Group as Head of Communications. Chris has considerable experience in political strategy and policy development and in addition to his role with the Irish Heart Foundation is chairman of the Volunteer Stroke Scheme, treasurer of the Stroke Alliance for Europe which represents stroke patient organisations from over 30 countries and is a former chairman of the Neurological Alliance of Ireland.
Dr. Patrick Doorley
Dr Patrick Doorley is a specialist in Public Health Medicine and a fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of Ireland.
He graduated from UCD in 1975 and worked in various hospital specialities, including general medicine, paediatrics, geriatric medicine and psychiatry until he started training in Public Health Medicine in 1984. Dr Doorley worked as Director of Community Care and Medical Officer of Health in the former Eastern Health Board, Director of Public Health in the former Midland Health Board, National Director of Population Health and as National Director of Health and Patient Information before leaving the HSE at the end of 2013. Dr Doorley has acted as a member of the Women’s Health Council, the Office of Tobacco Control and the Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society and was more recently a member of the Special Action on Obesity Group and the Advisory Group on Plain (Standardised) packaging for Tobacco, both of which were established by the Minister for Health.
Ms Mary Hough
Mary Hough is a Solicitor and Partner in Hayes Solicitors. She represents and advises medical professionals on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious medical legal issues. She specialises in representing medical professionals in clinical negligence claims. Mary is a CEDR accredited mediator and a Partner in the Healthcare Department of Hayes Solicitors.
Ms Martina Mullen
Health Promotion Officer and Co-Chair of the Healthy Trinity Initiative,
Trinity College Dublin
Martina specialises in behaviour change at an individual, organisational and systemic level. As health promotion officer in Trinity College Dublin, she was part of the team who achieved an 83% reduction in smoking on campus through the Tobacco Free Trinity initiative. She is the co-chair of the Healthy Trinity initiative, a cross-university initiative with over 100 partners and nine working groups, each led by an academic and operational partner. In 2010, Martina designed and implemented FitLine, a peer-to-peer telephone support programme for physical activity based on the smokers quitline and now a HSE and Sport Ireland funded national programme. Before completing her Masters in Health Promotion in NUI Galway, she worked as a software engineer and although she finds human relationships central to change, is always interested in how technology can assist in designing environments and systems that support health.
Mr Mark Murphy
Mark Murphy is the Advocacy officer of the Irish Heart Foundation, specialising in the area of tobacco control and climate & health. In his work, Mark coordinates the work of the ASH Council with the chairperson. Mark graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a bachelors degree in Business and Economics before completing a masters in International Public Policy and Diplomacy from University College Cork.
He has worked in the area of European Affairs in both Brussels and Dublin before joining the Irish Heart Foundation in October 2018.
Mr Duncan Stewart
Environmentalist and TV Presenter
Duncan Stewart is a well-known TV presenter and documentary film producer in Ireland. He is an environmentalist, a sustainable energy expert and an award-winning architect. He specialises in ecological architecture and has been a pioneer of ‘green’ building design in Ireland, with a Bachelor of Architecture from UCD.
Duncan is a board member of Ash Ireland, the Dublin Civic Trust, the Micro Energy Generation Association and a founder of EASCA. Besides being a popular TV personality for over 20 years, Duncan is well recognised as programme maker and presenter of about 400 ‘factual’ TV documentaries and factual ‘lifestyle’ programmes. Topics range from climate change, biodiversity, water, resource efficiency, sustainable energy, transport, forestry and wood technology, sustainable farming and food, community resilience and home improvement. Most of these TV episodes have been broadcast on RTE One (Ireland’s Public Broadcaster) and produced by his film company, Earth Horizon Productions. Earth Horizon has produced many successful and informative, high-audience rated TV series, including ‘Eco Eye’ and ‘About the House’. These can be accessed on www.earthhorizon.ie.
Mr Wally Young
Public Relations Consultant and Media Trainer
Wally Young is the founder and head of Young Communications, Dublin. He provides a mix of Public Relations Consultancy, Advocacy and Media Interview Training to a select range of clients. He specialises in crisis media planning and execution. He is the former head of Defence Forces Media Relations, retiring in 1996 to establish Young Communications.
He was engaged as Communications Adviser to ASH Ireland for 20 years up to 2017.He was engaged as a Media Adviser (part time) to President Michael D. Higgins, having held a similar appointment with President Mary McAleese, whom he advised in the 1997 election campaign.
Ms Norma Cronin
Norma Cronin is a Tobacco Control Consultant with a particular interest in smoking cessation and training, and with over 20 years’ experience in this area. She qualified as a general nurse and midwife in Ireland and holds a Higher Diploma in Public Health. She is the former Health Promotion Manager at the Irish Cancer Society and had overall responsibility for cancer prevention and tobacco control.
In collaboration with the relevant agencies, she played a key role in ensuring the effective implementation of Ireland’s Smoke Free at Work legislation and has presented nationally and internationally on this ground-breaking initiative. Norma established and managed Ireland’s National Smokers’ Quitline which is an initiative of the Irish Cancer Society in partnership with the Health Service Executive. Norma serves on a number of national and international committees and is an Advisory Board Member of the International Network of Women against Tobacco (INWAT Europe) and regent representative for European Network for Smoking Prevention (ENSP). She is also the former Chairperson of the Board of Office of Tobacco Control (OTC).
Ms. Nicki Morley
Ms. Nicki Morley is a Health Promotion professional currently working as a Development Officer with the national charity, Mental Health Ireland, which involves promoting mental health, wellbeing, and recovery. She has a particular interest in smoking cessation and supporting people with lived experience of mental health challenges to quit smoking. She is currently a member of the organising committee for the 18th WCTOH, which is due to be held in Ireland next year .
Nicki has worked in a number of health-related areas over the last 20 years, which have included health service research, men’s health, cancer prevention and early detection, breast cancer screening and Traveller health. Her educational background is in health science, she is a graduate of the MA in Health Promotion from NUI Galway and holds an MA in Management in Community and Voluntary Services. Nicki is a qualified trainer and has completed an Advanced Diploma in Personal, Leadership and Executive Coaching.
ASH Ireland 