The Board of Directors of the Irish Refugee Council is elected by the Annual General Meeting and is responsible for the management and strategic direction of the organisation between AGMs. Our Board have responsibilities as Directors under the Companies Act 2014 and as Trustees under the Charities Act 2009.

The Board are currently recruiting. If you are interested in becoming involved, please contact them using the email below. The Board particularly welcome people with direct experience of the protection process in Ireland. 

Email the Board

Doireann Breathnach (Chair of the Board)

Doireann joined the Board in June 2016. She is a business strategy consultant based in the Dublin office of the global consulting firm Accenture focusing on the Products industry sector for Irish and international clients. Doireann’s background is in development and foreign policy. She studied Economics and International Relations at Johns Hopkins University, USA where she was a John F. Kennedy Leadership fellow specialising in the Middle East political economy. She completed her traineeship in the European Union’s diplomatic corps working on economic and security policy. Doireann is an Arabic speaker and lived and worked in Syria before the current conflict. 

Daniela Jurj (Secretary) 

Daniela joined the Board in November 2018. She is an accredited mediator and a graduate of IPA & UCD - Human Rights and Equality, vastly experienced in working with migrant communities and cultural diversity in building capacity and social inclusion. Throughout the years, Daniela has worked closely with Direct Provision centers in Ireland, delivering child protection training and parental supports to the residents. Daniela has extensive knowledge of senior management in the non-profit sector, with a track record of service development and building alliances with state agencies. Her background is in Community Development and she currently works as a Child and Family Support Network Coordinator with Tusla Child and Family Agency. Previously, Daniela led the NCP Migrant Family Support Service, as a national coordinator. Daniela is part of the South Dublin Migrant Integration Forum, a committed volunteer with the Romanian Community of Ireland for the past 12 years, a guest lecturer on child protection and migration and a passionate rugby fan in her spare time.

Tim Lee (Treasurer)

Tim joined the Board in 2022. He is a director at Deloitte, leading the research and insights function for the Irish Big 4 firm. He studied Economics and Finance at the University of New South Wales in Sydney and is a qualified CPA accountant.  Tim has volunteered with the National AIDS Trust of Australia, sat on the finance committee for Barnardos, and recently completed a 5-year term as treasurer for HIV Ireland.

Dr Lorcan Sirr

Lorcan joined the Board in February 2019. He is a senior lecturer in housing at the Technological University Dublin. Lorcan has written for most major Irish publications, including the Sunday Times, where he was a housing columnist, and provides housing analysis for major media outlets such as RTÉ, CBC (Canada), BBC and Bloomberg. He has an MA from the Katholiek Universiteit Leuven, and an MA and PhD in planning and development from the University of Manchester. He is the author of ‘Housing in Ireland: the A-Z guide‘ published in 2019.

Maeve Foreman

Maeve Foreman joined the Board in December 2017. She is a qualified social worker and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College, Dublin. She worked in Trinity from 2003-2017 where she was course director of the Master in Social Work and Bachelor in Social Studies.  She retired in September 2017 but retains some teaching and tutoring responsibilities. Prior to Trinity she accumulated 28 years community work and social work practice experience. She was a senior medical social worker in the HIV/STI clinic in St. James’s Hospital for 15 years, and worked in community work settings in Dublin and London, including homelessness, housing action and community law centres. She sat on the care and management sub-committee of the National AIDS Strategy Committee, was a board member of HIV Ireland for eight years and chair of their board from 2008 to 2011. Her research interests include social work and migration; refugees and asylum seekers; HIV care and prevention; sexuality and sexual health. Maeve is a member of the Irish Association of Social Workers and a co-founder of their Social Work and Migration special interest group.

Oisín O’Reilly

Oisín is the Chief Executive Officer of Outhouse LGBT+ Community Resource Centre. Prior, he was the Deputy CEO, Head of Operations, Fundraising, and Corporate Secretary to Belong To. He brings with him to Outhouse over 15 years of experience in social justice campaigns, fundraising, and nonprofit leadership, management, and governance. Oisín has also previously served on the Boards of the National Youth Council of Ireland, IGLYO, and Dublin Pride, among others. He specialises in strategy operationalisation and regularly gives training to smaller non-profits and community groups on effective fundraising. A strong believer in equality and human rights, Oisín has been at the forefront of advocating for equality for LGBTI+ individuals in Ireland over the last decade. Oisín enjoys cooking for friends and family but can also be found lost in a good auld Netflix binge.

Reuben Hambakachere

Reuben joined the Board in March 2018, however he is not a stranger to the organisation. He previously spent two years working as a volunteer with the Irish Refugee Council as a receptionist and a campaign coordinator for the End Institutionalised living campaign. He possesses in-depth understanding of the legal framework and policy issues that surround the Irish asylum process, gained from a lived experience and as a professional in the public sector. Reuben describes himself as a human rights defender and community influencer. Currently, Reuben is a Project officer with Cultur Migrants Centre, a position he has held for the past 4 years, working  directly with people seeking asylum and refugees. Reuben has sat on the Board of Cultur; he is also a co-director of Our Table, a community driven non-profit project aiming to highlight the issues faced by people living in direct provision. Reuben has a Diploma in Sociology, Project Management, Human Resources Management and a certificate in Community development. Reuben uses his lived experience to pioneer and lead social change.

Susan Whelan

Susan joined the Board in March 2015. She holds a Masters in International Human Rights Law, LLB in Law and European Studies and is qualified as an Attorney in New York. She is currently employed as a Research Assistant in the area of asylum and migration policy. Previous professional experience includes conducting legal research on migration, family and commercial law for a legal practice firm and as an Anti-Money Laundering analyst in the financial services industry. She undertook research for the Immigrant Council of Ireland on topics such as accessing European funding and trafficking. Wider experience includes referendum campaign involvement with Democracy Matters (Seanad), Yes for Children (Children’s Rights), and Generation Yes (Lisbon II).