Voices You Will Hear

Sean Blackwell
Senior manager for Prevention, Partnership and Family Support. Tusla Cavan Monaghan

Sean worked in many roles in residential care before taking a post in aftercare in Cavan Monaghan in 2011. As a Coru registered social worker Sean has worked as aftercare manager for Cavan Monaghan before moving back to PPFS for the second time last year. Sean still line manages the aftercare service in Cavan Monaghan and is a member of the aftercare strategy project implementation group.

John McComb
Regional Director, Include Youth

John is a professional qualified youth worker who has over 35 years experience of supporting care experienced young people. John is part of the leadership team at Include Youth and is responsible for strategic and operational management of projects that seek to improve outcomes for care experienced young people. John believes that services for care experienced young people have improved over the years but that it's important to hear from young people directly as to how we can continue to develop.

Shauna faith Kelly
Care experienced - Social Care Worker - Student Masters in Social Work - Member of CEENI

Care experience in personal life, working experience from career, big passion and interest in the field of education amongst care leavers

Joanne McCarthy
Tusla Aftercare Manager for Dublin South West /Kildare South

I have worked in Children's Residential Services for 14 years and been involved with Tusla Aftercare services for 5 years. I have worked in partnership with Include Youth, supported through Dormant Account Funding, for just over two years, supporting the personal development, employability skills and training needs of care leavers to achieve positive outcomes.

Kai Brosnan
Social Care Worker/Lived Experience Advocate

Having grown up in residential care, I bring first-hand insight into the barriers care-experienced young people often face in accessing and sustaining education. After leaving school shortly after completing my Junior Certificate, I returned to education later in life through further education pathways, and graduated from college with a first-class honours degree. Part of this journey was shaped by significant adversity, I lived in homeless accommodation for a time while still balancing Full time education and the additional challenges that come with being care experienced. But it was also shaped by the supports available, and the people motivated to help me succeed. I am passionate about using my lived experience to inform and improve educational supports, ensuring that care-experienced learners are better enabled to access, remain in, and succeed within education.

Betty Attwood
Student Advisor for Students with Care Experience at University of Galway & co-chair of CEENI (the Care Experienced Educational Network of Ireland)

Betty Attwood is a Student Advisor for Care-Experienced Students at University of Galway, which is the first dedicated role of its kind in the Republic of Ireland. With a background in social care and six years of student support in the University of Galway Access Centre, she specialises in supporting underrepresented students to succeed at third level through partnerships, advocacy, and innovative support initiatives. Betty also is co-chair of CEENI, Care Experienced Educational Network of Ireland which aims to enhance the educational access, progression, success, and overall experience of care-experienced students in further and higher education.

Siobhan Hussmann Byrne
Aftercare Manger for the Separated Children Seeking International Protection Aftercare Service, Tusla

I have been working with separated children since 2005 and have been working actively in Aftercare since 2017. Aftercare for SCSIP is extremely complex due to the challenges and needs associated with separated children, especially while undergoing the International Protection process. I can give an insight to the difficulties and strengths of the bespoke service we offer.

William O Rourke 
Assistant National Director Alternative Care - Tusla 

William O’Rourke is the Assistant National Director for Alternative Care with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. He has over 25 years’ experience across residential, special care, and alternative care services, with a strong focus on high-quality care, children’s rights, and supporting staff to deliver safe, trauma-informed services. William also represents Tusla on the Board of Oberstown Children’s Detention Campus.

Derek Byrne
CEO Way 2 Work Ireland

Cofounder of Way 2 Work Ireland. Current CEO with 15 years of experience in social care.

Helen McGeough
Social Work Team leader, Tusla, Co Mayo

I have worked in Tusla as a SW and Team Leader in Alternative Care for a number of years, working within the Children in Care Team and the Aftercare Team in Mayo. I have always been heartened by the dedication and amazing work that the aftercare workers provide and the resilience and amazing achievements of those young adults with care experiences. These young people are so inspiring and i feel that we need to embrace, listen and share their experiences, in order to better our own work and to better inform services for the future.

Phil Dillon
Owner PD Solutions Specialists Housing Services | Social Housing, Consultancy

Most of my work has been with marginalised groups, supporting people to access housing and build stable lives. I’ve worked across housing and aftercare for over 25 years, from frontline delivery to developing new accommodation models for young people leaving care. I’m interested in what actually works in practice and how we better support young people into independence.

Angela Palmer
Adjunct Research Fellow at University College Dublin

Dr Angie Palmer's research and policy impact has focused on the needs of young people when leaving care and young people adopted from the care system. She is an adjunct research fellow of UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy and currently works as a research impact specialist in Munster Technical University.

Abi mcgillen
Care experienced young person/ MC

I was a young person in care who now accesses aftercare services in Galway. I am in university of Galway studying arts/ psychology in hopes to give back to young people like us some day.

Olivia Ring
Aftercare manager in Cork working with Tusla

I have been working in the area of Aftercare for the last 29 years both with voluntary and statutory services and something that is always in my mind is the importance of asking and listening to what the young people we support have to say, and, have what they say influence the way we work. So thanks to the Dormant accounts fund we had an opportunity to do a piece of worked named by the young people as "Our Voices" where we asked the young people in Cork Aftercare- How are we doing ? and What can we do better ? and today some young people are here and are going to tell you just that.

Alex Quinn
Clinical Lead at Way 2 Work Ireland

My background is in psychotherapy & psychology (educational). I have been working with young people in the areas of mental wellbeing, youth work and career guidance across a myriad of settings. These include, in education as a teacher and researcher with Oxford University, in the community as a youth worker and multisystemic therapist, and in the hospital setting as an adolescent play specialist.

Cathal Daly
Dublin City Council - Current Role -Deputy Director, Dublin Region Homeless Executive

I have 22 years of experience working with Dublin City Council across range of areas in housing and homeless services. I currently oversee Housing Allocations, the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, and Homeless Operations with focus on prevention , protection and progression.

Betty Attwood
Student Advisor for Students with Care Experience University of Galway and CEENI (Care Experience Educational Network of Ireland ) Co-Chair

I have supported students with care experience to and through university for the last three years.

Nicola Crowley
Aftercare Manager for Tusla

I have worked with children in care for over 20 years, the last 7 in Aftercare and I am also the project lead for accommodation pathways for young people leaving care.

Michelle Morrissey
Tusla Adult Guidance Counsellor in the Cork & Kerry region

Professional Guidance Counsellor, I have previously worked in an Adult Education Guidance Service for over 16 years supporting adults of all ages to reengage or progress in education & training. In January 2024 I established a new Tusla Guidance Service in Cork & Kerry where I work one-on-one with care experienced young people aged 16 - 23 and staff from this region, providing guidance, information, advice and support around all things related to education, training and employment. I have a strong belief in the power of the right education & training options to change lives and open up opportunities for young people.

Katie O'Malley
Systemic Family Therapist, Care to Connect Counselling and Psychotherapy Service in the Family Centre, Castlebar, Co. Mayo

Several years ago before training as a family therapist I worked as a social care worker in residential settings for children and young people in the care of Tusla. At this time there was very limited support for care leavers. The Care to Connect counselling service recognizes that every young person's care journey is unique and that the transition to adulthood can be a challenging time for young care leavers. Care to Connect aims to create a service that responds to the therapeutic needs of each individual and to meet them where they are at.

Sharon Morrison
Aftercare Manager Sligo/Leitrim Tusla 

Sharon has accrued over 20 years experience working in aftercare, initially as an aftercare worker & subsequently as an aftercare manager in the West. She has been actively involved in local & national policy reviews over the years. She also sits on the National Aftercare Strategy Implementation Project Group & sub groups. She has witnessed aftercare services develop from localised delivery of service to the welcomed national expansion that has grown since 2017 to date.

Rosarii Mannion
Acting National Director Services and Integration

Lisa O Brien
Head of Youth Housing Supports, Focus Ireland

Lisa O Brien has over 20 years’ experience in the homeless sector and has managed a wide range of services including supported housing, aftercare, Housing First, Tenancy Sustainment and Education and prevention services. She currently serves as Head of Youth Housing Supports for Focus Ireland. Lisa led the development of Europe’s first Housing First for Youth Service and in partnership with Cluid is piloting Irelands first Supported Housing for Youth service under the National Youth Homelessness Strategy. She sits on the Irish Aftercare Network Committee, is a founding member of the Feantsa Youth Network, an observer member of the Feantsa Administrative Council and contributes to the European Housing Forst Hub in designing and delivering training across Europe.

Carol Duffy
Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Supervisor

Carol has over 20 years’ experience working therapeutically with children and their families and surrounding network. Carol specialises in the areas of attachment, trauma, and play. She has significant experience of working with children in care.

Leo Cassandro
Music Educator

Leo is a professional musican and educator with over 15 years experience. Leo advocates for creative music education, he focuses on active participation, confidence building and inspiring a lifelong love for music.

John Digney
National Training and Development Co-ordinator

John has worked within the Social Care arena for over 30 years, in Direct Practice (10 years), Management, (over 20 years), with much of that time involved in Clinical work, and Learning & Development (15 years).

Alan Fay
Member of the Care Experienced Expert Panel

Alan has experience of relative foster care. He is passionate about advocating for children and young people in care. He is a very proud Dublin and Manchester United supporter.

Shaunagh Cunningham
Care Experienced Expert Panel (CEEP)

Shaunagh is a member of the CEEP and brings lived experience of Relative Foster Care, Residential Care, and Aftercare. Alongside this, she currently works within Tusla, bringing both personal and professional insight to her advocacy. She is passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people in care and believes that the voices of those with lived experience must be central to meaningful systems change.

Shauna Dillon
Care Experienced Expert Panel (CEEP)

Shauna is a member of the CEEP and has experience of foster care. She is very passionate about advocating for children and young people in care. She from Limerick and currently works as a Youth Justice Worker. 

Caroline Duignan
Care Experienced Expert Panel (CEEP)

Caroline works as the facilitator of the CEEP, and is passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people in care. She is from Roscommon.