The Team

The Director of the RDSU, Ciaran Lynch, is Head of the Sustainable Rural Development Department at Tipperary Institute. He has a background in social studies and physical planning, having worked for over twenty years as a town planner with a number of Local Authorities. Ciaran was the Chief Planner for 13 years with Clare County Council and was very involved in community planning and project development as well as strategic planning.  More recently he has been involved in a variety of projects at national, regional and local level as well as teaching on the Institute’s degree programmes. He has a particular interest in decision-making processes that use participative and collaborative methods and in strategic management within the public and community and voluntary sectors. He was the Project Manager for the first Regional Planning Guideline process in the Mid West Region and is currently involved in the SEA processes for the new guidelines. Ciaran was Director of the Irish Leader Support Unit under LEADER+.

As Project Manager Paul Keating co-ordinates the work of the unit. Paul has worked as a Manager and Community Worker with a Local Action Group and as a Rural Development Specialist within the Rural Development Department at Tipperary Institute. Paul previously managed the Irish Leader Support Unit under LEADER+. Paul holds a degree in Civil Engineering and a Masters in Agricultural Science from University College Dublin.

Paula Briody is responsible for event management within the Rural Development Support Unit. Paula has substantial experience in this area as a senior administrator with Tipperary Institute and in her work in Dublin, London and the Netherlands. With an annual conference, seminars and workshops scheduled over the coming year, Paula will become a familiar contact point for all National Rural Network participants.

John Hannafin is the teams ICT Specialist responsible for the development of web sites, databases and all things technical. John has considerable ICT experience having spent many years working as a software developer within the telecommunications sector, both in Ireland and abroad, before joining the ICT Department at Tipperary Institute.  While working at Tipperary Institute John has spent a significant amount of time working with rural businesses helping them adopt technology. John holds a Masters in Technology Management and a BSc in Software Development.

Jacqueline Humphries is responsible for the database system that will be designed to capture and track targets under the various axes.  She has considerable ICT and business consultancy experience both in Ireland and the UK.