Governance and Leadership

Kevin Madigan, trained as a Mental Health Nurse at Kings College London before joining Saint John of God Community Services in 2000 as a staff nurse. Kevin has worked across the organisation in a variety of roles in research, quality, nurse management and senior leadership. Kevin has received several prestigious awards for innovation and social entrepreneurship and has authored more than 50 peer reviewed research papers in international journals. He has attained two Master’s degrees through the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in Health Care Management and Organisational Change. Kevin is firmly committed to overseeing meaningful improvements in Mental Health and Intellectual Disability Services that directly impact on the quality of lives of the men, women and children who avail of our services.

Liam Healy is National Director of Operations at Saint John of God Community Services, leading 2,900 staff across 340 locations.
A strategic leader with expertise in financial management, change, sustainability and stakeholder engagement.
Liam holds advanced qualifications in procurement, finance, supply chain management and training.

Des North holds a degree in Social Policy & Sociology from UCD and completed a Master Programme in Health Services Management at the Department of Medicine in Trinity College Dublin. Des is a committed proponent of a rights based, social model of service provision. He has almost 30 years of experience working in the field of disability and is guided by a compassion based, partnership approach to maintaining and developing services for children and adults with intellectual disabilities in the South County Dublin region.

As Regional Director, I bring a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management and over twenty years of experience in the disability sector. My career has been shaped by a deep commitment to inclusion, dignity, and high‑quality support for individuals and families. I am fortunate to work alongside an exceptional team, and together we are privileged to support men, women, and children across County Kerry. Our focus is on empowering people to live full, meaningful lives within their communities, guided always by respect, collaboration, and person‑centred practice.

Paula Hand has worked 42 years in Intellectual Disability services, now serving as Regional Director for SJOG CS in the North East. She led the major de‑congregation initiative that moved 210 residents from campus living into the community. She holds qualifications in Nursing, Nursing Management, and Strategic Transformational Leadership, and chairs the National Directors of Intellectual Disability Association while contributing to several national nursing forums.  Paula is deeply committed to Nurse Education, supporting DKIT students, developing postgraduate pathways, and contributing to national programmes and oversight groups shaping Intellectual Disability Nursing.

Elisa Doyle’s bio to appear here.

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Sarah Donnelly’s bio to appear here.

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Brendan McCormack started his career in London’s private hospital sector, moving from support into ICT management while completing a Master’s in Information Systems Design at the University of Westminster. On returning to Ireland in 2001, he worked as a national project manager for a medical software company, implementing radiology, mental health and emergency department systems across hospitals nationwide. Since 2010, Brendan has led the ICT across Saint John of God’s shared infrastructure, prioritising practical upgrades within limited resources: adopting modern business platforms and desktop tools, establishing a central datacentre, modernising networks, and upgrading servers and laptops. Policies, security and governance have been strengthened throughout. His focus is always to deliver solutions that free up frontline teams for person‑centred care and service delivery.

Barry McKimm is the Human Resources Director with the St John of God Community Services.  He has over 30 years’ experience in Human Resources across a variety of sectors. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel & Development. Barry holds a Master’s degree in human resource Strategy in addition to a primary BBS degree from DCU and qualifications in Coaching (IMI) and IR/Employment Law. Prior to joining Community services in December 2021, he worked in the private sectors for 25 years at Director level for companies ranging from the Mater Private Network, Willis Towers Watson (formerly Coyle Hamilton Willis) & American Airlines.