Chair
Eugene Cummins
Chairperson
Eugene has held the position of Chief Executive of Roscommon and Monaghan County Council. He has a BE in Civil Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration from Dublin City University. He is particularly interested in town centre renewal through energising surrounding communities and has been in Local Government for "a very long time".
Board Members
Mary McKenna
Mary is a serial tech entrepreneur and angel investor based in Donegal. A distinguished visiting Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Oxford, Mary works as an Innovation Expert for the EU on their flagship €9bn EIC Accelerator. She is a role model, commentator and speaker, well respected in the EU’s tech community and frequently quoted in the media. She was awarded an MBE in 2014 for services to digital technology, innovation and learning.
Sandra Divilly Nolan
Sandra is an entrepreneur with over 25 years business experience. From an initial career in industrial engineering she moved into fashion retail. In 2020, she was the EMPOWER II Programme Manager at ATU Innovation Hubs, fast tracking female entrepreneurship in the West and North West of Ireland. On completion of the EMPOWER II project, she set up her training and advisory business: SDN Consultancy. This is Sandra's second term on the WDC board.
Mary Coyne
Mary is serving her second term on the WDC Board. Is comhalta boird sí ar Údarás na Gaeltachta and she currently serves on the Board of the Health and Safety Authority. Is cuntasóir cáilithe sí agus bhí sí mar Stiúrthóir Airgeadais ar TG4 go dtí 2019. She a director of the Clifden Arts Festival and the Galway Hospice Foundation. She lives in the Connemara Gaeltacht where she breed Connemara Ponies.
Patrick Duffy
Pat is Senior Board Executive with almost 20 year’s board-level experience. Most recently as a board member for TEAGASC. Prior to joining TEAGSC, Pat served as Elected Chairman on the board of the Agribusiness and Farming Co-Operative Society (AURIVO), where he presided over a crucial long-term growth and development phase to significantly scale the business with key investments, company acquisitions and international expansion (50+ countries). Prior to that he also served as Ordinary Member on the board of AURIVO. Pat holds a Diploma in Corporate Governance from UCC.
Mícheál Heaney
Mícheál is a Development Consultant and Mentor, working in areas such as regional, enterprise, local resource, and community development. He was previously CEO, and also Director of Enterprise, with Udarás na Gaeltachta from 2015 to 2022. He was Director of Community, Planning, Culture and Economic Development with Donegal County Council from 1999 to 2015, and has also worked in community and rural development initiatives with Inishowen Rural Development Ltd., Inishowen Community Development Group, and the Department of Agriculture and Food (IRD Pilot Project). At present he is Chairperson of Donegal 2040, and of the Cuidiú Housing Association. He also serves on the boards of Irish College Leuven, Cooperative Housing Ireland, Asia Matters, Donegal Tourism, Fanad Lighthouse and Líonra Leitir Ceanainn. He is also Vice President, and an Executive Board Member of the Assembly of European Regions (AER).
Audrey Crummy
Audrey is Deputy Director of the Financial Services Ireland (FSI) Group at Ibec, a position she has held since 2022. Prior to this, Audrey oversaw regulatory and EU affairs for the group. Audrey has commercial responsibility for the FSI Group. She is also Vice-Chair of the Business Europe Financial Affairs Working Group in Brussels. Prior to Ibec, Audrey worked at the European Commission’s DG FISMA and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. She graduated from the University of Limerick in 2008 with a Bachelor of Laws in Law and European Studies and subsequently from University College Dublin with a Masters in European Law. She was called to the Bar of Ireland in 2014 and holds a professional diploma in Compliance and Risk Management from the Association of Compliance Officers in Ireland and a Diploma in Management from the Technological University of Dublin.
Eoin Motherway
Eoin has worked for Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, State Street and BNY Mellon. He co-found a digital platform called The Asset Management Exchange (AMX) and led it to $60Bn in AUM. In addition to being a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, he holds certifications in FinTech and is a Certified Investment Funds Director. He was Chair of the Financial Services Forum, a Council Member of Irish Funds and serves as a member of the Funds Advisory Board to the Institute of Bankers. Today, he is an Independent Chair and INED. He also sits on the Investor Compensation Company for the Department of Finance. He is an ardent advocate for Industry Regionalisation and known champion for diversity, equity and inclusion, notably in neurodiversity and the field of autism.
Breda Fox
Breda is the Former Head of Enterprise/CEO of the Local Enterprise Office Galway, Galway County & City Enterprise Board. Previously Breda held leadership roles in entrepreneurial start-ups, European Leadership roles in Finance, Supply Chain and Customer Services, and started her own consultancy business. She is a Chartered Accountant, holds an MBA from Trinity College Dublin, and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Galway. She currently serves as a Governor for the University of Galway, Chair of the Capital Projects Committee and the Investment committee for the University and is a member of two further subcommittees. Passionate about the Arts and the West, Breda has the ability to influence and deliver strategic goals, is progressive, always eager to learn and open to new ideas.
Aisling Meehan
Aisling is a Farmer, Entrepreneur, Solicitor and Chartered Tax Adviser. She set up her own practice Aisling Meehan Agricultural Solicitors on their award winning family dairy farm in County Clare. Her firm specialises in agricultural law and tax advice and has a nationwide client base. She takes an active part in shaping agricultural legal and tax policy. She is regularly asked to speak on national television and radio and is a regular columnist on national papers. Aisling is also a qualified young trained farmer and farms in partnership with her husband and their four young children.
Niall O’Donnellan
Niall is an independent strategy advisor/mentor and development economist. He has worked in a range of roles in economic development, including for over a decade as Divisional Manager on Enterprise Ireland’s senior leadership team as Head of Regions and as Head of Policy & Planning. Niall was Chair of IT Sligo (now part of Atlantic Technology University (ATU)) from 2016-2022. He is currently also a Board member of SOLAS the Further Education and Training Authority, and a Senior Research Associate with the Centre for Cross Border Studies (CCBS).