Dóchas Announces New Chairperson

Dóchas – the Irish Association of Non-Governmental Development Organisations, today announced that it has elected Finola Finnan, Deputy CEO of Trócaire, as its new Chairperson.

Ms Finnan replaces the outgoing Chairperson, Sharan Kelly, Chief Executive of Tearfund Ireland, and will hold the office for three years. She has sat on the Dóchas Board since her election in 2017. 

Siobhán McGee, Vice-Chairperson of Dóchas and CEO of ActionAid Ireland, welcomed the appointment, saying: “Finola will bring an informed voice, broad perspective and a collaborative style to the Dóchas Board. As Ireland faces unprecedented challenges in climate change, poverty, and inequality, I look forward to working with Finola to continue and strengthen the important work of the network.”

Ms Finnan has worked with Trócaire for 14 years, having joined in 2005 as a HIV Adviser. Since 2015, she was appointed the Director of Strategy, Programmes and Advocacy and from 2016 assumed additional responsibility as Deputy CEO. Prior to joining Trócaire, Ms Finnan worked in Oxfam Ireland, Irish Aid and Trinity College Dublin on health strategy, policy and research, and with Ministries of Health in Zambia and Micronesia. She has chaired the Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence and the Catholic HIV and AIDS network.

Ms Finnan said: “It’s a privilege to have been elected to this new role. I look forward to strengthening Dóchas’ efforts to bring international development actors in Ireland together to work, learn and innovate collaboratively and to strive for a world where no one is left behind, a world where we reach the furthest behind first.”

“I believe that Dóchas plays a crucial role as a connector for Irish organisations committed to tackling poverty and inequality around the world. This is a critical time for the international development sector in Ireland, as we seek to work with Irish Aid’s new international development policy, “A Better World”, and adapt to increasingly complex global challenges.  Now more than ever, we need a strong, unified civil society voice, and to work collaboratively together.”

ENDS

For more information, please contact Lía Flattery, Dóchas Communications Officer, at comms@dochas.ie.

Notes for the editor:

• Dóchas is the Irish Association of Non-Governmental Development Organisations. It provides a forum for consultation and cooperation between its 58 members, and a platform for them to speak with a single voice on development issues. For more information, visit: http://dochas.ie/.
• A full list of Dóchas members can be found here.