Profile Of Board Directors

Profile of the Board of Directors

Alan Tracey- Chairperson

A Chartered Accountant, Alan is Principal Business Advisor with Knowledge Business Systems, previously employed as Financial Controller in a number or businesses, including Not for Profit Organisations. Alan has held roles as Non-Executive Director with a number of commercial organisations and supported Voluntary and Charitable organisations in a voluntary capacity. Alan was appointed Chairperson of Daisyhouse at the AGM in September 2020.

Mark Brennock

During his time with Daisyhouse, Mark Brennock was Director of Public Affairs with the communications company Murray, and a former journalist. He has been Chairperson of Daisyhouse since 2016. He was also a member of the Boards of the autism advocacy group AsIAm and of The Wheel, the national association of community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises. Mark stepped down as Chair in September 2020 and subsequently resigned from the Board in December 2020 to take up the position of HSE Director of Communications

Deirdre Ward- Company Secretary

Deirdre has extensive administrative experience and joined the Civil Service in 2018. She previously worked in Dáil Éireann, The Honorable Society of King’s Inns, NUIM and IMMA. Deirdre has an honours Arts Degree in Sociology and English from National University of Ireland Maynooth. She also has a Diploma in Public Relations from the PRII. Deirdre resigned from the Board in January 2021 as her time on the Board was completed.

James Walsh

James has worked in the Bio-pharmaceutical area for a number of years in positions of increasing seniority. A qualified Analytical Chemist from DCU, James completed his M.Sc in Project Management at UCD Michael Smurfit Business School. James joined Daisyhouse as a board director in August 2017. James resigned from the Board in January 2020.

Aideen Hayden

Aideen has worked in the field of housing and homeless prevention for almost three decades. Aideen joined the Daisyhouse Board in August 2019 after a brief role as Interim CEO. She is best known for her work as chair of the national housing charity Threshold, the leading advice and advocacy organisation working on behalf of vulnerable families in the private rented sector in Ireland. Aideen also holds a PhD in housing policy from UCD, is a qualified Solicitor and is also a member of the boards of the Housing Finance Agency and the Property Services Regulatory Authority. Aideen resigned from the Board in July 2021

Anne Marie Dermody

Anne-Marie joined the Board in December 2018. Originally, from Galway, Anne-Marie graduated from UCD in 1992 with a BCL in Civil Law. Anne- Marie has been a practising solicitor for over twenty years, having been a managing partner of her own firm for over eight years. After a number of years in politics, she now runs her own general practice with a particular emphasise in the area of family law and mediation. Anne-Marie’s commitment to the Daisyhouse Charity is borne from her concern for women affected by domestic violence, homelessness and addiction.

Daniel Buttle

Danny has spent the last 15 years working in technical operations and service management roles, primarily dealing with government and large corporate customer segments. During this time, Danny has worked in a combination of small agile companies and some of the largest employers in the world. Danny’s current role is as Operations Manager in Amazon Web Services. In his career, he has been a keen participant in Diversity and Inclusion initiatives both in Ireland and globally. He holds a BSc. in Computer Applications from Dublin City University.

Michael Harrington

Michael is a real estate agent with over 30 years’ experience in the Irish property market. Previously a director of HWBC and CBRE Ireland, he set up Harrington Retail, a niche advisory practice in 2013. A Chartered Surveyor, Michael holds a Diploma in Property Economics from TU Dublin, a BSc in Surveying and an MBA from Trinity College Dublin. Michael was appointed as a Director in July 2020.

David McCabe

Dave is the Iarnród Éireann Company Secretary and over the past eight years has worked in a variety of corporate governance and company secretarial roles for semi-sate, private entities and publicly listed companies. Prior to this, Dave devilled as a barrister on the southern eastern circuit and provided contractual legal research services to governmental and non-governmental organisations. Dave holds a BA in Legal Studies and Business from Waterford Institute of Technology, a Barrister-at-law degree from Kings Inns and a MSC in Management and Corporate Governance from Ulster University. Dave was appointed as a Director and Company Secretary in January 2021.