One of a family of ten children, I have happy memories of my early years growing up within the walls of James Stephens Military Barracks and have lived in Kilkenny City for most of my life.
Image: Halicka Photography
I have been an elected member of Kilkenny County Council since 2004 and a member of Kilkenny Borough Council from 2004 until it was abolished in 2014. I served as Mayor of Kilkenny from 2009 to 2010; driving an ambitious policy driven agenda. Before that I had a whole other life as a community and environmental activist, a Director of Friends of the Earth Ireland and a key activist in the environmental movement in Ireland.
In 2011 I contested the leadership of the Green Party following John Gormley’s resignation as party leader.
I have held a number of portfolios within the Green Party; Spokesperson for Environment and I am currently Spokesperson for Local Government, Community and Rural Affairs.
My professional work has spanned many diverse areas; as a graphic designer, a landscape gardener, a community educator. In recent years, I worked as a project worker with a Kilkenny based suicide prevention project where I led and steered the development of the first County Suicide Prevention Plan; a template for which has now been replicated across the State.
My academic background is in graphic and industrial design and rural development and I am currently studying towards an MA in International Development at the National University of Ireland in Maynooth.
I am also a musician and artist, taking my place in the culture and arts in Kilkenny. I have had the privilege of playing in some influential bands down the years.
I am married to Jennie; a childcare practitioner in an outdoor pre-school. We have four children; Colm, Tristan, Stephen and Kitty.