Áine Lynch, Vice President, NMBI and Director of Nursing and Integrated Care in Tallaght University Hospital

Áine has over 40 years’ experience in healthcare across Ireland, the UK and the Middle East. She is a key member of the Executive Management Team in Tallaght University Hospital, as Director of Nursing and Integrated Care since 2017, having worked in a variety of clinical, quality and safety leadership roles since the hospital opened in 1998.

She worked at regional level in 2016-2017 as Interim Director of the Nursing and Midwifery Planning and Development Unit, Dublin South Kildare and Wicklow, Office of the Nursing and Midwifery Services Director, HSE. In 2022 she undertook the role of Interim Chief Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Dublin Midlands Hospital Group for one year.

The Minister of Health appointed her a Board member of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland in 2021 and in 2023 she was elected as Vice President. Áine welcomes a collaborative approach in healthcare to maximise integrated care with the purpose of improving the experience and outcomes of patients, servicer users and families.

Rachel Kenna, Chief Nursing Officer and Assistant Secretary, Department of Health

Rachel Kenna is the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for Ireland and was appointed to the post in June 2020. Rachel was formerly a Deputy Chief Nursing Officer leading on nursing and midwifery policy for patient systems, safety, and governance. She is a Registered Children’s and General Nurse (RCN/RGN) and has extensive clinical and managerial experience, spanning 30 years in Ireland and the UK across a wide variety of clinical areas.

Prior to her roles in the Department of Health, Rachel was Director of Nursing in Ireland’s largest Children’s teaching hospital with national responsibility for the provision of quaternary and tertiary healthcare services.

The Chief Nursing Officer role is an important strategic leadership and influencing role providing professional policy direction and evidence-based expert advice for Government on nursing, midwifery, and general health policy development. Rachel has a real interest in health policy and brings a knowledgeable clinical practice, patient, system and governance perspective to its development and implementation. The development of flexible nursing and midwifery policy to ensure the professions are in the best position to meet population need is a particular focus for Rachel and includes a real passion about nurturing the next generation of healthcare leaders. 

As an Assistant Secretary in the Department of Health, the CNO in addition to Nursing and Midwifery policy has a wide health policy portfolio. These include professional regulation oversight (Medical Council, CORU and NMBI), strategic workforce planning across the health service, population health screening and the National Patient Safety Office.

Rachel ‘s interest in global health policy includes active membership of the WHO European region Government Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers Hub contributing to strengthening the nursing and midwifery workforce to improve health outcomes.

Carolyn Donohoe, Interim CEO, NMBI

In 2021, Carolyn took up the position of Director of Education, Policy, and Standards at the NMBI, following years of nursing experience in the fields of critical care nursing education and management, as nursing practice development coordinator, and in perioperative services management. 

With postgraduate qualifications in nursing education and business strategy, her focus is on leadership and regulation for the professions of nursing and midwifery. At NMBI, Carolyn has  spearheaded reforms in regulatory inspections and setting standards for nursing and midwifery practice. She strives to provide a roadmap for safe and effective practice, benefiting both healthcare professionals and protecting the public.

More recently Carolyn has taken on the Interim Chief Executive Officer role leading the Registration, Fitness to Practice, Education and Corporate Services teams to fulfil NMBI's comprehensive legislative mandate as a professional regulator.

Dr Geraldine Shaw, Nursing and Midwifery Services Director and Assistant National Director, (ONMSD), Office of the Chief Clinical Officer, HSE and Interim National Nursing and Midwifery Advisor to HSE, CEO

Geraldine strategically leads and manages the ONMSD to ensure the provision of professional nursing and midwifery guidance and expertise at a corporate and service level to develop the capacity and capability of nursing and midwifery professions to maximise their contribution to safe patient centred care. 

Mattie Lambden, Intellectual Disability Nurse, CNM2, Disability Services Laois Offaly and West Meath

Mattie Lambden is Clinical Nurse Manager working with disability services for almost 20 years. He initially trained in the UK as a psychiatric nurse and on returning to Ireland in 2004, he commenced work in a challenging behaviour unit with the disability services. 

He has worked in many management roles in the disability service, including in the Management of Actual Potential Aggression (MAPA). He is currently developing the supportive living model of care in the disability service.

Elena Prendergast, NMBI Student Nurse Ambassador

Elena is a 22-year-old general nursing student intern at Tallaght University Hospital attending Trinity College Dublin. She is particularly interested in gerontological nursing and was recently nominated for the undergraduate Davis Oakley award for outstanding professionalism in the care of older patients.

Elena is an NMBI Student Nurse Ambassador and is supporting NMBI to promote the profession of nursing.

Jess Sears, General Nurse, Candidate Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Inclusion Health/Epilepsy, St James’s Hospital

Jess has held various roles across community harm reduction and hospital settings, working with people experiencing homelessness for the last 15 years. She provides assertive engagement and outreach to inclusion health patients in the management of chronic conditions including epilepsy/general neurology and HIV care. She has worked closely to develop the inclusion health service since 2014, both in the community and in hospitals.

Jess and the inclusion health/epilepsy team in St James’s Hospital were recently awarded €30,000 funding from Trinity Med Day to purchase a fully electric vehicle for their street reach service, a mobile clinic bringing specialist epilepsy and HIV care to vulnerable populations.

Vandana Iqbal, Director of Nursing, Clonskeagh Community Nursing Unit, Health Service Executive

Vandana Iqbal is a nurse leader with over 25 years’ experience, spanning healthcare settings in Ireland and India. In 2024, she was awarded the Florence Nightingale Global Scholarship from the prestigious Florence Nightingale Academy for nursing leadership. She is currently the Director of Nursing in a nurse-led facility under the Health Service Executive of Ireland.

Since Covid-19, Vandana has been exploring how to support nurse leaders to make compassion central to their leadership. This journey has led her to become a certified teacher with the Centre for Compassionate Leadership. Vandana advocates for compassionate leadership at all levels of leadership and envisions compassion-empowered healthcare.

Dr Geralyn Hynes, Patient Perspective

Following a period of working as a staff nurse and midwife, Geralyn worked overseas as a volunteer with Concern. She then completed an MSc and undertook research in Zambia. These were formative experiences in learning to question what seemed to be the obvious. 

Geralyn returned to clinical practice nursing and developed a keen interest in chronic illness and the patient experience. She went on to work in academia as the first appointed lecturer practitioner in the country which took a different definition of the title and role. Geralyn completed a PhD in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and palliative care in acute hospitals and went on to work as an academic in the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland and later in Trinity College Dublin. She is now retired as a result of illness she has learned first-hand from her experiences as a patient.

Emer Shine, Midwife, Clinical Midwife Specialist, the Daisy Clinic, The Coombe Hospital

Emer qualified as a registered nurse in 2002 and has worked in general nursing and addiction services. She started her Higher Diploma in Midwifery in 2010 and has worked in all areas of the Coombe hospital since qualifying as a midwife in 2012.

Emer started working in community midwifery services in 2016 and has been leading the Daisy Clinic for almost a year, providing midwifery care to pregnant asylum-seeking women.

Sean Dowling, CMM1, Midwife Delivery Suite, Rotunda Hospital, Dublin

Sean works as a CMM1 in the labour ward at the Rotunda Maternity Hospital. He is also a qualified nurse, having completed his training at North Middlesex Hospital in London. He then went on to study midwifery in Chase Farm Hospital, Enfield in London, where he qualified as a midwife.

Sean worked as a Community Midwife in London before returning to Ireland to continue his career in Dublin. He has over 30 years’ experience as a midwife and has worked in maternity care, in the antenatal and postnatal wards as well as a preceptor in the first of the direct entry programmes into midwifery.  

Ashley Murphy - Patient Perspective - Midwifery

Ashley is a dedicated primary school teacher, drama instructor and vocal coach from Wexford. Recently, she welcomed her first child, baby Alfie, who made an early but joyful arrival at 34 weeks, just 10 weeks ago.

Alongside her teaching, she is also a talented writer, creating original plays for school children. Her work features in both the Anne-Marie Cooney Stage School and her own drama school productions.

A passionate performer, Ashley regularly graces the stage with various local musical societies. Her talent has earned her several nominations and wins for Best Actress at the Association of Irish Musical Societies annual awards. She continues to hone her vocal teaching skills as a dedicated student at the Vocal Academy College.