Board of directors

Eoin MacCuirc is a member of the Cork Simon board for many years, serving as Chair from 2015 to 2021.

Eoin is a manager in the Central Statistics Office in Cork, with a background in IT & project management. He also serves as a director of FoodCloud.

Brendan Ryan's involvement with Cork Simon goes back to 1974 when he started as a voluntary worker in our emergency shelter. He has previously served as Chair of the board's of both Cork Simon and the Simon Communities of Ireland.

Brendan is a former president of Cork Council of Trade Unions and served as an elected member of Seanad Éireann from 1981 to 2007.

Brendan retired as a lecturer in  chemical engineering at the Cork Institute of Technology in 2010.

Ernest Cantillon joined the Cork Simon board in 2016.

Ernest works in the hospitality sector in Cork city, running a number of very successful enterprises.

Ann FitzGerald joined the Cork Simon board in 2012.  She is a former member of the Charities Regulator and former governor of University College Cork.  Ann was called to the Bar in 2010; she previously practised as a solicitor at FitzGerald Solicitors Cork, which she set-up in 1981.

Ann is a former chairman of FLAC (The Free Legal Advice Centres), co-founder of the Family Lawyers’ Association Cork, a former member of the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal and a campaigner for the introduction of divorce in Ireland. She is currently chairperson of the Right to Housing Campaign.

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John Murphy first became involved with Cork Simon in 1970; he served as the board's chair for several years in the early days.

John is a partner in Murphy Lynam Solicitors with substantial  expertise in company law. In this role he has acted for Cork Simon since its foundation.

Anthony O’Donovan joined the Cork Simon board in 2012, serving as Chair from January 2022. He served as a member of the board and chairperson of Ógra Chorcaí from October 2000 - 2013.

Anthony is a successful Cork business person; he is managing director of Masterkabin Ltd. since 1991.

Peter O’Meara joined the Cork Simon board in 2015, bringing a property expertise to the board that compliments other expertise among the group.

Peter, a native of Mallow, is a chartered surveyor working as a director of Savills Ireland. He has been in the property industry in Cork and throughout Munster for the last 25 years.

Deirdre O’Shaughnessy is News Editor of the Irish Examiner.

She has worked for and contributed to local and national media including RTÉ, the Sunday Business Post and the Herald.

Deirdre has a degree in Law & European Studies from UL and an MSc in Government and Public Policy from UCC.

Jim O’Shaughnessy joined the Cork Simon board in 2013; he is a member of the board of management of the School of the Divine Child, Levanagh Centre in Blackrock since 2014.

Jim is chief financial officer with Bon Secours Health System. He has previously worked with DKB International Ltd. – a Japanese investment bank based in London; he was financial controller at FKB International New York, and divisional finance director with Albert Fisher Group Plc. where he was responsible for operations throughout Europe.

Mary Ryan joined the Cork Simon board in 2018; she is a member of the South East Simon Community board since 2010, serving as chair since 2015.

Mary has more than 20 years' experience as a HR professional providing support to many large organisations in the public and private sectors. She is managing partner with Right Hand HR in Waterford. She previously headed-up human resources in Voxpro, managed the HR function at the TalkTalk Telecom Group office in Waterford, and worked for the Brothers of Charity Services and Johnson Financial Group, which is based in the USA.

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