Council

  • staff pic Mr. Rory O'Donnell Term ends: 20 June 2025

    Rory is a pharmacist graduate from Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. He also holds a degree in Natural Science (Chemistry major) from Trinity College Dublin and a diploma in Strategy and Innovation from the Irish Management Institute. Rory has a range of experience serving within the profession of pharmacy; he served as President of the Irish Pharmacy Union (2012-2014), was Chair of the Pharmintercom international conference in 2013 and President of the PSI Council (2017-2019). He is Chair of the totalhealth pharmacy group, is Deputy Chair of a nursing home and has served on several commercial boards as well as having experience in the charity sector. He has lectured on the RCSI Leadership in Pharmacy programme and on the Pharmacy Technician course in Letterkenny I.T. Rory is a patient facing pharmacist and operates a community pharmacy in Gweedore, Co. Donegal.

    Rory is a pharmacist appointee of the PSI Council.
  • staff pic Dr. Paula Barry Walsh Term ends: 15 June 2026

    Paula graduated in 1982 as a veterinary practitioner from UCD (NUI). She has completed a Masters in Applied Food Science, a Certificate in Welfare, Ethics and Law, and a Certificate in Corporate Governance. Paula was Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) from 2012 to 2021 with responsibilities spanning the One Health, One Welfare spectrum. She was a member of the Management Board of DAFM 2015-2021, and a member of the Internal Audit Committee of DAFM 2018 – 2021 and chaired the Gender Balance Committee in DAFM 2016-2020.

    Currently Paula is a board member of the Veterinary Council of Ireland and a member of the Food Safety Consultative Council of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Formerly she served on the Scientific Committee of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland 2016-2020.

    Paula has been appointed to the PSI Council as a public interest nominee.
  • staff pic Ms. Geraldine Campbell Term ends: 18 October 2025

    Geraldine Campbell is an experienced non-executive board member representing the public interest across different public bodies since 2007, having previously been a Chief Executive in the charity sector. She has extensive experience of regulating professionals, previously holding board member roles for the regulation of the social care profession in Northern Ireland and the osteopathic and dental professions across the UK. Geraldine has also been involved in the quality management of the selection, training and continuing education of doctors-in-training in Northern Ireland through a lay role with the Northern Ireland Medical Dental Training Agency, of which she is a board member.

    Geraldine has been appointed to the PSI Council as a public interest nominee.
  • staff pic Ms. Geraldine Crowley Term ends: 17 June 2027

    Geraldine is the Assistant National Director for Primary Care, Strategy & Planning  at the Health Service Executive (HSE). She studied at the University of Limerick and holds a Masters in Project Management and a B.A. (Public Administration). She has extensive experience working in the HSE, in her current role and previously, as Head of Planning, Performance and Programme Management in the Social Care Division. Recently, Geraldine has been involved in GP Contractual Reform and Service Development.

    Geraldine has been appointed to the PSI Council as the HSE nominee and is serving a second term on the Council.
  • staff pic Mr. Peter Dennehy Term ends: 15 June 2026

    Peter graduated from Trinity College, Dublin with a BA, BAI in Engineering and in his early career worked in the telecommunications industry in Ireland and the UK before working on International Standards as the Head of Conformity Assessment at the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) in Geneva, Switzerland. He has worked in senior management roles in the Road Safety Authority (RSA), the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) and the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC). Peter is a practicing Barrister (BL) at the Bar of Ireland in the areas of General Practice, Regulatory Law, Planning, Environmental & Climate Law, Company Law and Judicial Review. Peter is a Chartered Engineer and is an Accredited Mediator and Arbitrator and a Fellow of Engineers Ireland (FIEI) and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb).

    Peter has been appointed to the PSI Council as a public interest nominee.
  • staff pic Ms. Dorothy Donovan Term ends: 15 May 2026

    Dorothy, LL.B., LL.M., Barrister at law has fourteen years’ experience as a practising barrister and has spent a significant portion of this time dealing with regulatory law and professional negligence cases. She was a Council Member of CORU (The Health & Social Care Professionals Council) from 2010 to 2013. She was a Vice-Chair of the Employment Appeals Tribunal for 7 years. Dorothy is serving a second term on the Council.

    Dorothy has been appointed to the PSI Council as a public interest nominee.
  • staff pic Mr. John Given Term ends: 20 June 2025

    John has a B.Sc Biochemistry from UCG(NUIG) and a B.Sc in pharmacy from Strathclyde University ,Glasgow. He currently works as the Chief I Pharmacist in Galway University Hospital and Merlin Park Hospital. He has completed a Masters in Clinical Research and a Diploma in Public Procurement Law. John has extensive experience working in many different pharmacy sectors, including hospital and retail pharmacy both in Ireland and the UK, and as a Commercial Director and Qualified Person in the pharmaceutical industry. His special interest is drugs procurement and aseptic production. John is Adjunct Professor in the College of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences, University of Galway, since 14 April 2023

    John is a pharmacist appointee to the PSI Council.
  • staff pic Mr. Richard Hammond S.C. Term ends: 12 November 2027

    Richard is a Senior Counsel (being in the first coterie of solicitors ever to be elevated to that status by the Government of Ireland on 1st September, 2020) who practises as a solicitor with his spouse Joyce A. Good Hammond at Hammond Good LLP, Solicitors & Notaries Public, Mallow, County Cork where he is a partner. He is a self-described “succession law enthusiast” who also specialises in professional regulation, having worked in this area with the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Ireland, CORU – the Health & Social Care Professionals Council, the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority, the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, and the Society of Actuaries in Ireland. 

    Much of his professional practise involves succession law consultancy for other law firms. He is a former President of the Southern Law Association and a member of the Council of the Law Society of Ireland.  He is or has been involved in a number of committees of the Law Society of Ireland including the Education Committee (current Chairperson), the Probate, Administration & Trusts Committee (former Chairperson), the Professional Indemnity Insurance Committee (former Chairperson), and the Mental Health & Capacity Task Force (former Chairperson).  Richard teaches extensively at the Law School of the Law Society of Ireland on the Professional Practice Courses.  He is widely published and contributes regularly to CPD Conferences for Law Society Professional Training and for local Bar Associations.  Richard was previously President of the Union of Students in Ireland.

    Richard has been appointed as a public interest nominee, representative of the provision of continuing professional development in relation to pharmacy.
  • staff pic Mr. Martin Higgins Term ends: 17 June 2027

    Martin Higgins is former Chief Executive of Safefood, the cross-border body set up under the Good Friday Agreement. Prior to that, he worked in the Department of Health, in finance and later in public health regulation. He has served on the boards of the Irish Medicines Board, the Health and Social Care Professionals Council (CORU), the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, and as board chair of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. He is currently Deputy Chair of the all-island Institute of Public Health and on the board of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

    Martin is a former chair of the audit and risk committees of COMREG and An Bord Pleanála and he previously served on the Audit and Risk Committee and the Inspection and Enforcement Committees of the PSI. He is currently an extern member of the Health Research Board’s audit and risk committee. He is a professional accountant and holds qualifications in governance, regulation, and health economics, Martin is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

    Martin is appointed to the PSI Council as a public interest nominee.
  • staff pic Mr. Mark Jordan Term ends: 17 June 2027

    Mark Jordan is a community pharmacist based in Co. Mayo. He has experience in regulatory affairs and fitness to practice matters, the supplement industry and as an online educator. He has written and worked for online and print publications. Outside of his full time role in the pharmacy, Mark currently concentrates on the diversification and future scope of the profession through educating and tutoring pharmacists and pharmacy students online and in person. Mark is also an appointed member of the Nursing and Midwifery Board’s registration committee, and is an invited member of the constitutional reform committee of the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU), an elected member of the IPU’s employee committee, and appointed member of the IPU’s IT steering group and pharmacy workforce working group.

    Mark is a pharmacist appointee to the PSI Council and he is serving a second term on the Council.
  • staff pic Ms. Emily Kelly Term ends: 17 June 2027

    Emily Kelly is a pharmacist with board and senior management experience in the pharmacy sector. She obtained her first-class honours degree in pharmacy from the University of Brighton in 2000 and later earned a Diploma in Corporate Governance. Emily also completed executive management training through Hult Ashridge Business School in the UK. 

    Emily's career has taken her across Europe, with positions held in Ireland, Italy, and Belgium. She is also an experienced mentor and coach.She is currently a community pharmacist for McCauley Pharmacy in Dublin.

    Emily is a pharmacist appointee to the PSI Council.