Board
The Board of the Irish Refugee Council is elected by the Annual General Meeting and is responsible for the management of the organisation between AGMs. Board members can be contacted through the IRC office at info@irishrefugeecouncil.ie
IRC Board 2011/2012
Chairperson
Ciara McKenna B.Comm Int; M.Econ Sc. is a practising barrister in Ireland, specialising in asylum/ immigration and children’s law. Prior to joining the Irish Bar, Ciara worked with Front Line, the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Dublin; the Centre for Legal Action on Human Rights (“CALDH”), Guatemala; and the Jesuit Refugee Service in Brussels and Beirut. In 2007 she was called to the Bar of England and Wales, practising at Garden Court Chambers, a leading human rights set in London. In 2009 she became the sole barrister at Just for Kids Law, London, a legal charity, which represents children and young people in civil, criminal and public law proceedings. In 2010 she participated in a three-month pro bono placement at the Immigration Legal Services Department of Catholic Charities, Washington D.C.
Vice Chairperson
Patricia Brazil LL.B., M.Litt, Barrister-at-Law is the Averil Deverell Lecturer in Law at Trinity College Dublin where she teaches Refugee and Immigration Law, Family Law and Child Law. Patricia is a practising barrister specialising in asylum/immigration and child law.
Treasurer
Fleur Smyth B. Comm, ACA qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1996 and is now a Fellow of the Institute. Fleur has held a number of Financial Accounting roles in Ireland and Australia and now works as Financial Controller of a Kildare based property management company. She has held the role of Treasurer on local sports bodies and has volunteered for a number of years with the South West Inner City Network at a youth drop-in centre prior to joining the IRC Board in February 2010.
Secretary
Ángel Bello Cortés is a solicitor in Kelleher O’Doherty Solicitors and specialises in Immigration and Asylum law. Ángel qualified as a lawyer in Spain. After his qualification he pursued postgraduate studies in EU Law. He also holds a Certificate in Judicial Review and a Diploma in Commercial Litigation awarded by the Law Society of Ireland. He started practising in Ireland as a Registered European Lawyer in 2004 and entered the Roll of Solicitors in 2007. Ángel is a also member of the Immigration and Asylum Practitioner’s Network.
Members
Vukasin Nedeljkovic, born in Belgrade, sought political asylum in Ireland and was granted leave to remain in November 2009. He now works as an artist and in his art he is dealing with asylum and direct provision issues. He is also studying for an MA at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology.
Alpha Gassama, from Guinea, arrived in Ireland in 2004 when he applied for asylum. He has been living in Direct Provision accommodation since. Alpha holds a degree in sociology from Guinea where he was a teacher and trade union member and was politically active against the military dictatorship. He has engaged in both voluntary work and studies whilst living in Ireland including courses at UCC, Trinity and through various NGOs. Some of these courses are aimed at supporting minority ethnic groups. He is a volunteer for ‘Serve the City’ in Dublin.
Reza Mirfattahi is a refugee from Iran. He was an Iranian asylum seeker, living in Wexford for more than three years. In 2008, he was presented with the World Refugee Day award. His involvement in the community and local voluntary groups includes voluntary board of management of the local Community Development Project (CDP) as his number one community contribution. He was also involved with many others community groups including local credit union, civil defence, community voice group, and RAPID newsletter.
Triona Nic Giolla Choille is Director of the Galway Refugee Support Group, a community development organisation working with asylum seekers and refugees in Galway city and county. As Director, she has led the organisation in supporting the development of a just and equal society where people seeking asylum have access to a fair and transparent procedure, appropriate services, support and resources; and where those granted asylum can fully participate in Irish society. Triona has a long track record of involvement in the community and voluntary sector, having worked with local, national and European organisations where she has worked to promote principles of human rights, equality and social justice.
Malcolm Quigley established VSO in Ireland in 2004. He is a University of Limerick (UL) business studies and languages graduate and also has an MBA from the Solvay School of Business at the Free University of Brussels. After graduating from UL Malcolm took up an internship at the European Commission in Brussels. Following this Malcolm held a position in a lobby group representing the direct marketing industry, also based in Brussels. After two and a half years working as a lobbyist, Malcolm began working in internal communications for GTS, the second largest wholesale telecoms company in Europe at the time. Following this he decided to do an MBA in Belgium. In 2001, Malcolm became a VSO volunteer in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He worked for two and a half years with local refugee grassroots NGOs across former Yugoslavia. Malcolm worked on VSO’s exit strategy from the region and until recently advised on a regional volunteering programme there, that VSO instigated in partnership with United Nations Volunteers. In October 2008, Malcolm was awarded for his “outstanding contribution to humanity and society” by the University of Limerick’s Alumni Association.
