RIAI/DHLGH Joint Housing Conference - Activation through Collaboration, 23 to 24 February, Sligo

RIAI/DHLGH Joint Housing Conference Speakers 

RIAI President Fionnuala May FRIAI for 2026/2027
Dip. Arch., B. Arch. Sc. (Hons), MUBC, FRIAI

Fionnuala May served previously as RIAI Vice-President and is a member of the RIAI Council. Fionnuala has contributed across many areas of the RIAI, including education, conservation and governance. She has worked to strengthen the position of the Architect within the public service and private sector and to promote the role of Architecture in public policy.

Fionnuala trained as an Architect at the Dublin Institute of Technology (now TU Dublin) and graduated in 1988. She worked in private practice on mainstream and conservation projects before undertaking the Master of Urban and Building Conservation degree at University College Dublin (awarded in 1994).

Fionnuala joined the public service as an Architect for Fingal County Council in 1994 and served as a Housing Architect (1994-2000), Conservation Officer (2000-2006), and Public Buildings Architect (2006-2011). Since then, she has held the post of County Architect.

The Architects’ Department in Fingal is a practitioner across housing, public buildings, corporate offices, and heritage buildings.

Fionnuala holds accreditation as a Grade 1 Conservation Architect from the RIAI. She is a member of ICOMOS Ireland, the Heritage Contractors Registration Board, the IGS, and the Historic Building Committee of the RIAI. She serves on the Heritage Council board (2016-2025) and is a member of the Irish Architectural Archive board

David O’Brien

Chairman of the Government Contracts Committee for Construction, Senior Construction Procurement Policy Adviser in the Infrastructure Division of the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation

Since 2011, David has been the Chair of the Government Contracts Committee for Construction (GCCC) and senior adviser on public works and construction services procurement. He leads the ongoing review and reform of the Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF). Recent reforms include price variation, the introduction of liability caps, a public-sector Building Information Modelling adoption plan, and new cost and carbon reporting templates using ICMS in the CWMF. 

He is a member of the Construction Sector Group established under the National Development Plan to promote regular and open dialogue between the public sector and key segments of the construction industry.

Before his current role, he worked at the National Building Agency, where he served as a lead architect on social housing and urban regeneration projects. 

Rory Berkin, HTA Design
 

Rory is Partner for Sustainable Futures at HTA Design, a multidisciplinary practice with a worldwide reputation in designing and delivering large-scale modular residential projects.

Rory leads a team of sustainability and building physics specialists to advance excellence in sustainable design and construction, enabling HTA to become an industry leader in environmentally conscious placemaking.

In 2022, he published The Modular Housing Handbook, which delved into HTA’s innovative work in Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). Over 15 years, HTA has honed its MMC offer by working with manufacturers in a consulting capacity, continuously improving the product's sustainability, delivery, and cost. 

Husam Al Waer

M.Arch (hon), FRTPI, PhD, BREEAM AP, AoU, Design Council Expert, Recognised Practitioner in Urban Design (UDG), PlacemakingX expert, ICOMOS Syria

Husam is an urbanist with a background in architecture, urban planning, and sustainability. He is Chair of Urban Design at the University of Dundee, formerly researching and teaching at Reading and Liverpool. He has collaborated with UK and international agencies on research, training, and engagement projects, impacting both academia and practice. Husam focuses on the past and future of sustainable places, towns, and cities, including 20-minute neighbourhoods, and develops new approaches to sustainable urbanism. An award-winning author, he has published on architecture, urbanism, sustainability, and placemaking. His work intersects research, teaching, and community engagement, bridging theory and policy. Titles include: Site and Composition, Rethinking Masterplanning, and others. Husam is a leading authority, the first international scholar to win four prestigious ICE awards - the Reed Mallik and George Stephenson Medals and has gained recognition for his contributions. He is a member of the Urban Design Group Executive Committee and Honorary Chief Editor of the Urban Design and Planning journal. Invited as an observer and speaker at COP26 and the 2024 World Urban Forum in Cairo.

Deirdre Greaney MRIAI 

Architect, Urban Designer and Educator

Deirdre has worked independently and in award-winning multidisciplinary practices on projects that address placemaking, the civic realm, housing, and social and cultural infrastructure. Formerly Course Director of the Architecture Programmes at Ulster University, Deirdre’s current work centres on developing the first programme of Architecture in the ‘Creative West’ at ATU Sligo, where she lectures on Architecture and Urban Design. Deirdre was a member of the Ministerial Advisory Group for Architecture and the Built Environment, Northern Ireland, 2014-2018; the Irish Architecture Foundation’s ‘Reimagine’ Professional Panel and Sligo Collaborative Town Centre Health Check 2020 steering group. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and sits on the All-Ireland Architecture Research Group and RIAI Urban Design Committees.

Deirdre’s research, disseminated and published in Ireland and Europe, focuses on urban design and the contemporary Irish Town; urban renewal and extensions; social space and collective territories; the impact of urban space morphology at the micro level; and the design of conditions for urban social sustainability. A native of Galway, living back in the West of Ireland, Deirdre’s interests are in multi and interdisciplinary collaborative projects that engage the Arts, Design, Architecture and the Region; create conditions for openness and reimagine place and building on the Irish Atlantic Edge.

Richard McLoughlin, MRIAI

Richard McLoughlin is an RIAI Grade 1 Conservation Architect. He graduated from UCD in 1987 and spent his early career in Berlin, where he worked with Josef Paul Kleihues and Christoph Langh of Architects and graduated from the master’s programme in Built Heritage Conservation at the Technical University (TU) Berlin. Richard is a founder-director of Lotts Architecture and Urbanism, which specialises in building conservation and landscape architecture and maintains a strong focus on design. He is a member and former chair of the RIAI Historic Buildings Committee and is a lecturer and examiner in the RIAI Conservation Accreditation System. He is a board member of the Irish Georgian Society.

Claire McManus MRIAI 

RIAI Spokesperson on Housing

Claire McManus is a director of JFOC Architects, a housing practice that has assisted in delivering 10,000 dwellings since 1987. 

Claire is the RIAI Spokesperson on Housing and the RIAI Housing Committee Chair. She is a member of the DHGLH/RIAI Joint Housing Committee. Tuath Housing Association's Voluntary Board of Directors and Development Committee, and the Housing Agency's Supply & Affordability Panel. Claire holds an MBA and is involved in the research and development of RIAI policy on housing. 

TAKA is an architectural practice based in Dublin, Ireland

Founded in 2008 by directors Alice Casey and Cian Deegan, TAKA has earned international recognition through awards and publications.

TAKA has exhibited and curated at the Venice Architectural Biennale in 2008, 2010 and 2018. A practice project (Merrion Cricket Pavilion) was shortlisted for the Mies van der Rohe EU Award for contemporary architecture in 2017. TAKA was a finalist in the 2014 Young Architect of the Year Award and the 2019 Royal Academy Dorfman Award. In 2019, TAKA won the Architectural Review ‘Peter Davey’ prize for emerging architecture. Recently, four of TAKA’s house projects were featured in the March 2024 edition of A+U magazine, an edition dedicated to Irish Architecture.

Alice and Cian both hold a PhD from RMIT University (Melbourne) and have taught at several institutions, including University College Dublin and Queen's University Belfast. They currently teach Architecture at Technical University Dublin (TUD) and have given lectures internationally, most recently at Yale School of Architecture in April 2024 and at KU Leuven, Belgium, in 2025.   

Paul Hogan, Assistant Secretary – Head of the Planning Division,

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH)

Paul Hogan has been an Assistant Secretary General at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the past three years, where he is Head of the Planning Division.  A qualified Urban and Regional Planner, Paul has 33 years’ experience of working in Planning and Development.

Paul’s current responsibilities include oversight of Ireland’s planning legislative and policy framework, which includes the provision of guidance and support to local authorities, An Coimisiun Pleanála and the Office of the Planning Regulator in the delivery of their statutory functions.  In addition to implementation of the Planning and Development Act 2024, he is responsible for the €2.5bn Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) and overseeing the corporate governance of several public bodies.

Prior to joining the Department in 2015, Paul worked in Local Government for 18 years in three local authorities, including as a Senior Planner at South Dublin County Council for more than 10 years.  While there, he led a range plans, projects and initiatives, including the Adamstown Strategic Development Zone Planning Scheme and initiated the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS).

At the outset of his career, Paul worked in planning consultancy in the UK and Ireland.

Paul has a Master of Regional and Urban Planning (MRUP) and a BA in Geography and Politics, both from UCD and more recently completed a higher diploma in Organisational Change and Transformation at the UCD Smurfit Business School.

Merritt Bucholz MRIAI

Merritt Bucholz is a practicing architect and founding Professor of Architecture at the University of Limerick.  He co-founded Bucholz McEvoy Architects with Karen McEvoy FRIAI in Dublin 30 years ago.  The practice has completed civic, mixed use and large scale residential projects, following a holistically sustainable design approach.  Carefully crafted, site specific solutions seek to benefit from the natural assets of a site, fine-tuning architectural responses to particular micro-climates. Projects increasingly use mass timber, creating low carbon healthy environments. The practice has been published, and exhibited internationally and has been involved in architectural teaching, in Europe and USA.

Joan MacMahon MRIAI 

Senior Architect Advisor, Housing Advisory Unit
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Joan MacMahon is a Senior Architect Advisor in the Social Housing Delivery Division of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Since joining the Department in 2016, she has advised on the technical aspects of Social Housing Delivery.  Joan has contributed to the Department’s Design Manual for Quality Housing, the Housing Options for our Ageing Population Policy Statement, Town Centre Living design competitions and more recently on the Accelerated Delivery Programme.  

Sean Mahon FRIAI, OCMA

Past President of the RIAI, 2024-2025

Sean Mahon is a founding Director of OCMA and served as Managing Director for 17 years from 2008 to 2025. His vision and leadership have overseen the practice's sustained growth and development throughout this period. 

Sean has unrivalled experience in the design and delivery of primary healthcare facilities. He brings an understanding of contemporary clinical planning, along with a high level of design awareness, to all his projects. He continues to advise many healthcare providers and the HSE on current projects and healthcare planning strategies.

Over the course of his career, Sean has demonstrated a deep commitment to the architectural profession. He has served on Council, the Board, and numerous committees for many years. He has also served on the Board of the Irish Architectural Archive and is a former President of the Architectural Association of Ireland (AAI).

He is frequently invited to speak on current developments and trends in architecture and on the general practice of architecture.

Marian O'Callaghan MRIAI

Acting Senior Architect Sligo County Council

A native of London and a graduate from Sheffield University, Marian worked in private practice in Sheffield, Manchester and Dublin before joining the Architect's Department of Sligo County Council in 2003. Marian has a long history in public sector work, regeneration, urban realm and social housing delivery. 

Simon Leonard MRIAI

Programme Lead, National Development Finance Agency

Simon is a Programme Lead in the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA). Since joining the NDFA in 2013 Simon has been involved in the delivery of a wide range of Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Design & Build projects in the areas of education, justice, health, and housing. A key focus of Simon’s current work is the quality of project delivery with a particular consideration of the way that design to facilitate off-site construction and standardisation can be utilised to reduce costs while increasing quality.

A Registered Architect, prior to joining the NDFA Simon worked in the private sector on a range of commercial, and educational and housing projects.  Simon is a graduate of the University of Dundee and also undertaken several post-graduate diplomas in Trinity College Dublin.

Éadaoin Ní Fhearghail - Architectural Advisor MRIAI

Climate and Construction Innovation, Housing Policy and Standards Division, Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage

Éadaoin Ní Fhearghail is an Architectural Advisor with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s Climate and Construction Innovation Unit. She works on the delivery of actions under Delivering Homes, Building Communities, related to Modern Methods of Construction, construction innovation and research, and construction costs. Registered Architect, with an MSc in Town Planning and a Professional Diploma in Housing Studies. She has previously worked in private practice on the design and delivery of medium- and high-density housing schemes.

Brian Mallon

Dublin Studio of Hawkins\Brown Architects

Brian is an Associate Director in the Dublin Studio of Hawkins\Brown Architects, bringing over 15 years of experience delivering award‑winning projects across Ireland and the UK. He has worked at both urban and architectural scales, leading developments from early strategic vision through to on-site construction. His experience spans the public and private sectors, with a particular focus on housing, masterplanning, and large, complex mixed‑use schemes.

Before joining Hawkins\Brown, Brian worked at the Land Development Agency (LDA) as a Design Manager, where he led the development of the LDA Apartment Typology Booklet, establishing the LDA’s design standards for apartment buildings.

Most recently, Brian led the Standardised Design Approach Study, published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in September 2025. The study aims to promote the adoption of standardised approaches to housing design and to increase the use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to optimise housing delivery.

Brian Kennedy - CEng MIEI MBA

Managing Director – Vision Built

Brian is the President of the CIF Smart Offsite Association and Managing Director of Vision Built, a leading offsite manufacturing company based in Ireland and the UK, and part of the Sisk Group. Brian has worked in the construction industry for over 20 years, with a proven track record of delivering major projects such as Centre Parcs, Curragh Racecourse redevelopment, Bombardier Aerospace and the first volumetric ZEB-aligned school to be built in Ireland. He is a chartered engineer and holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the National University of Ireland, Galway, and an MBA from Henley Business School.  

Brian has successfully delivered projects across many sectors, including education, health, industrial, residential, retail, life sciences, hospitality, and leisure. During his years in the construction industry, Brian has held senior roles as Regional Director, Project Director and over the past 5 years, Managing Director. Brian has a passion for working collaboratively, spearheading industrialised construction, improving lean processes, and embracing innovative technologies to ensure successful, sustainable delivery.

Máire Henry MRIAI

dhbArchitects

Máire is a UCD graduate. She worked for Scott Tallon Walker and Marcel Breuer Associates before joining Pritzker Award-winning architect Renzo Piano in his Paris office.

After 10 years in Paris, Máire returned to lead the development of a new school of architecture in Waterford and became its first head of department in 2006. She is a founding partner of dhb Architects, based in Waterford City, which has won national and international awards for its conservation and town regeneration projects.

Máire was a member of the Taoiseach’s Task Force for Dublin City in 2023. She was Vice President of the RIAI from 2023 to 2025 and has served on its Public Affairs committee since 2021.

Cathal O’Boyle FRIAI

Cork City Architect

Cathal leads Cork City Council’s Architects Department, driving design initiatives that influence Ireland’s Second City. The department continues to address urban growth by creating high-quality spaces, lively streets, and public buildings that improve residents' daily lives, while also collaborating with sister cities across Ireland and Europe.

Recently, Cork City Architects have received multiple national awards for excellence in social housing, civic architecture, and library design, demonstrating their dedication to equitable, sustainable design rooted in community needs.

With more than twenty years’ private-sector experience in Dublin and Cork, Cathal has worked on a diverse range of projects in housing, healthcare, and public infrastructure. Since transitioning to the public sector in 2013, initially in Limerick and later in Cork, he has focused on social housing, urban design, and civic architecture that enhances Cork’s identity and resilience. He has also made significant contributions to architectural education, teaching sustainable design at UEL, Munster Technological University (MTU), the Cork Centre for Architectural Education (CCAE), and through the RIAI.

Aidan McLernon 

Director of Planning at Cairn Homes

Aidan McLernon is a Director of Planning at Cairn Homes and has played an integral role in delivering over 11,000 homes for the company during his 10 years with the business. He is a qualified Town Planner and, in his role, oversees the design and delivery of significant residential and mixed-use developments across Ireland, engaging with stakeholders, including local authorities, government departments, and multidisciplinary teams, to deliver high-quality new communities. Amid competing interests, the goal is to navigate the planning journey as efficiently as possible and to create sustainable neighbourhoods where people want to live. With over 25,000 people living in Cairn homes, he is proud of his role in bringing them to fruition.

Andrée Dargan FRIAI
County Architect of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (dlr)

Andrée has led dlr's Architectural Department since 2008, building a team that creates socially sustainable environments through high-quality design. The department covers housing, civic buildings, the public realm, and urban design, always driven by policy to promote sustainable architecture and urbanism.

dlr Architects focus on ‘building places for people’, emphasising quality and sustainability for lasting, attractive buildings. Recognised as leaders in sustainable practices, they've won many awards. Their work aligns with SDGs, transforming towns into inclusive, climate-resilient neighbourhoods that support walking and cycling. They prioritise energy-efficient housing and civic buildings, using a fabric-first approach to create low-energy, healthy buildings with reduced costs and emissions. Despite evolving delivery methods to boost housing, they maintain quality.

Andrée, also dlr’s Energy Performance Officer, has helped meet and exceed 2030 energy and carbon targets.

She advocates for architects in local government and low-energy building design, chairing the City and County Architects’ Association and serving on the RIAI committee.

Martin Colreavy FRIAI

Housing Policy and Standards Division | Head of Housing Market Intelligence, Strategic Reform & Research Unit
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Martin leads the Housing Market Intelligence, Strategic Reform and Research unit, whose core responsibility is the monitoring and reporting on housing market activity and delivery, developing strategic housing policy, addressing private investment and viability actions in the new national housing plan, Delivering Homes Building Communities, while providing economic research and evaluation support to the Department’s wider housing priorities.

Previously, from 2021 – 2025, as head of the Strategic Delivery, Coordination & Urban Advisory Unit, Martin’s focus was on the implementation of Housing Affordability via capital programmes as set out in Housing for All, including Croí Cónaithe Cities Scheme, Land Development Agency delivery programmes, and a review of the Department's Affordable Housing Strategy.

From 2018 – 2021, Martin was a member of the senior management team in the Planning and Urban Policy Division of DHLGH, with responsibility for EU/Urban Policy and Regeneration, including advisory to the €2 billion capital investment programme under the National Development Plan (Urban Regeneration and Development Fund) and the new Towns Centre First Programme.

From 2008 – 2018, he was the Chief Architectural Advisor/Principal Officer in the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and head of business for Built Heritage, Architectural Policy and Strategic Infrastructure.

Phelim O'Neill  

Director of Development, LDA

Phelim has been Director of Development at the Land Development Agency since its inception in September 2018, and has significantly expanded the scale and range of the Agency’s projects in that time. As part of the role, he is responsible for sourcing, acquisition, planning and pre-construction across a wide range of projects across the GDA and all the regional Cities. Phelim has over 20 years’ experience in senior property and development roles in both the public and private sectors, as well as in the delivery of large-scale infrastructure programmes. Phelim is a graduate of the University of Galway (BEng) with postgraduate qualifications in project management, construction law and corporate finance.

Triona Stack MRIAI

Triona is an Architect with over 25 years of experience across diverse architectural practices in Dublin, London, Kampala, and Berlin. Her professional background spans large-scale new-build housing and apartment developments with O’Muire Smyth, as well as award-winning, high-end design projects with Níall McLaughlin Architects.

In addition to her practice work, Triona has established and directed her own studio, focusing on sustainable domestic retrofit projects. She plays an active role in architectural education as a Tutor and Examiner for the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) Professional Practice Examinations. Since 2024, she has also served as a Research Scientist at the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin.

Triona’s professional interests centre on adaptive reuse and the sustainable regeneration of Irish towns. She has also contributed to the profession through her role as Secretary of the RIAI Urban Design Committee, a position she has held since 2021.

Ciaran O'Brien FRIAI

OBFA Architects

Ciaran O'Brien is a director and founding member of OBFA Architects. He studied at University College Dublin and has 26 years of experience in the architecture field, working in both public and private sectors.

Ciaran has a strong focus on supported housing and possesses extensive experience collaborating with Central Government Departments, Local Authorities, and Approved Housing Bodies to deliver complex housing projects nationwide. He is particularly interested in projects that involve historic buildings, urban regeneration, and repurposing vacant sites and buildings.

As a member of ICOMOS, Ciaran encourages and supports his practice members in pursuing RIAI Conservation accreditations at Grades 1, 2, and 3. This initiative aims to enhance the firm's capabilities in adapting historic buildings for public housing.

Nicola Matthews MRIAI

Senior Architect in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Senior Architect role is diverse and busy, including the development of a range of progressive national policies and actions for cultural heritage and the broader built and natural environment. Nicola participates in the EU OMC working group, which wrote the first EU architectural policy, ‘Towards a shared culture of Architecture’, which regards cultural heritage as part of a continuum of architecture. Work on the implementation of the European architectural policy and the NEB takes place under the EU Cultural Plan 2023 – 2026, and a programme of architectural policy events is currently being devised with the State Architect as part of the Irish Presidency in November 2026. Nicola is the National Contact Point for the New European Bauhaus (NEB). She serves in an advisory role on cultural heritage regeneration and on integrating the NEB approach into the ERDF THRIVE Funding programme. This programme represents the transfer of EU architectural policy, knowledge, practice, and research, with the New European Bauhaus values and principles of beauty, sustainability, and inclusiveness, to support heritage-led regeneration and climate change action in Irish Towns.

Alistair Macdonald

Director, Allies and Morrison

Alistair Macdonald is a chartered town planner and director of Allies and Morrison, specialising in placemaking, masterplanning, strategy development and engagement.  He recently led the preparation of THRIVE strategies for Galway West, Ennis, Killarney and Tralee town centres, and frameworks for Salthill in Galway and An Cheathrú Rua in Connemara.  The practice has also been involved in developing Town Centre First plans for Sixmilebridge, Moate, and Carrick-on-Shannon, and in masterplanning for the Land Development Agency. Alistair has also worked on a wide range of engagement-led strategies and masterplans in the UK, including town centres, brownfield sites, new settlements and universities.

Gráinne Shaffrey FRIAI

Urban designer (M.A. Urban Design and Regeneration) and RIAI Grade 1 Conservation Architect

Grainne is a member of the RIAI Urban Design Committee and ICOMOS International. Grainne is a Director of Shaffrey Architects, Silver Medal winner for Conservation 2024. Grainne continues to practice on towns and buildings and remains open to both new and old ideas, angles, and questions about the environment we shape.

Rose Ryall, BA (UCC)

Architectural Conservation Officer for Waterford City and County Council

Rose has a Master's in Urban and Building Conservation (UCD), and is the Architectural Conservation Officer for Waterford City and County Council. She has worked with Waterford Council since 2005. Her role includes Forward Planning, Development Management, grant administration, and promoting Waterford City and County’s rich and diverse built heritage. She is also part of in-house teams for Housing, Derelict Sites, and Economic Development URDF projects, where conservation and management of change are the basis for revitalisation and renewal. She is the Vice Chair of the Association of Architectural Conservation Officers.

Mairead Hunt

National Town Centre First Co-ordinator

Mairead Hunt was appointed National Town Centre First Coordinator in August 2022, with over 25 years in local government across four authorities. Her career spans Planning, Transportation, and Environment, giving her a strong understanding of place-based development. She joined the local government in 1997 after earning a degree in English Literature and Philosophy, later earning a Higher Diploma in Computer Studies and a Certificate in Project Management, combining experience with technical expertise. Before her national role, Mairead led a multidisciplinary team at Kildare County Council, securing funding for projects such as the Barrow Blueway, the Grand Canal Greenway, and the Shackleton Experience, resulting in transformative placemaking and economic opportunities. As National Coordinator, she has made Town Centre First a benchmark for placemaking through co-design, prioritising community input and local identity to support projects that revitalise towns.

Dr. Derry O'Connell

FRIAI RIBA MRTPI Dip Arch MRUP MSc PhD (Bartlett)

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin, previously served as head of Planning and Urban Design at the National Building Agency. 

Derry O'Connell is a qualified Architect with master's degrees in regional and urban planning and in urban design. He has been lecturing at the university since 1996. Before this, he worked for twenty years in practice as an architect, first with Liam McCormick and Partners, then with Dublin County Council, Dublin Corporation, and the National Building Agency, where he became Head of Urban Design. His work in architecture has attracted awards from the Philippe Rotthier Foundation, the Alfred Toepfer Foundation, the Irish Planning Institute, and the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. He is a former chair of the Royal Town Planning Institute in Ireland and has represented Ireland on the European Environment Bureau's urban affairs committee. He has also been a member of the advisory committee appointed to prepare the Government Policy on Architecture. He has held visiting research and lecturer positions at the universities of Eindhoven and Sofia.

Fíonnadh McGonigle MRIAI 

Fíonnadh is an architect who joined the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design at the National Disability Authority in February 2023. In her role as Senior Built Environment Design Advisor, she promotes Universal Design in the built environment. She completed a Master's in Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies at the Centre for Alternative Technology, and her keen interest in sustainability and architectural ethics led her to explore issues of social sustainability and Universal Design. Fíonnadh previously worked in architectural practice in Co. Wicklow.

Karen Kenny 

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Karen is a senior professional with extensive experience in planning and urban development. 

Since 2021, she has served as a Senior Planning Adviser in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.  Before this, Karen worked as a Senior Inspector with An Bord Pleanála and held positions in several local authorities. 

She holds degrees in economics and geography, and in regional and urban planning, from University College Dublin (1999 and 2001); a higher diploma in environmental engineering from Trinity College Dublin (2004); and a certificate in Senior Public Service Strategic Leadership from the Institute of Public Administration. 

Over the last year, Karen has led the establishment of the Housing Activation Office in the Department of Housing.  Prior to this, she was involved in developing national strategic planning policy, including the Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlement Guidelines and the updated Apartment Guidelines.    

Gareth Williams MRIAI

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Gareth is an Architect Advisor in the Social Housing Delivery Division of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage who advises on the technical aspects of Social Housing Delivery.  Gareth is a Member of the Joint Housing Committee between the RIAI and the Department, who run the biennial Housing Conference.

Gareth has contributed to the RIAI / Department’s Town Centre Living architectural design competitions along with the Department’s Design Build Programme and the current Accelerated Delivery programme. A graduate of DIT and registered Architect, Gareth worked in private practice for over fifteen years in Ireland and in the Netherlands prior to joining the Department.