IPRT Board of Directors

Derval McDonagh (Chairperson)

Derval is a senior leader in the not-for-profit sector with over 20 years’ of experience. Derval has held many varied roles in her career including Chief Operations officer at Cope Foundation in Cork and now CEO of Inclusion Ireland. She has a Masters in Leadership. Derval has been appointed to the Disability Stakeholders group by Minister Rabbitte and to the Regional Health Advisory Group by Minister Donnelly. Derval became chair of the board of Directors of IPRT at IPRT's AGM in September 2024.

Ashling Golden (Secretary)

Ashling is Justice Programmes Manager in Solas Project, working with young people aged 15-24 who are no longer suitable for diversion, before the courts, in prison and returning to the community post custody. She works face-to-face with these young people, while also managing the staff and the strategic development of the work. Previously, Ashling worked for eight years in a Garda Youth Diversion Project in Dublin's North Inner City, as well as with Roca in Boston, an organisation focused on young gang members. Ashling has a BA in Public Administration and Community Development from the University of Limerick, as well as a Master's in Youth and Community Work from the National University of Maynooth and a Master’s in Criminology from TU Dublin.

Noel Moloney (Treasurer)

Noel has over 18 years of experience working within the Asset Management sector spanning Dublin, Luxembourg, and London. He holds an MBA from Trinity College Dublin, is an ACCA-qualified accountant, and holds a Diploma in Investments and Securities from the Institute of Banking and a Diploma in IFRS with Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Noel is currently a Director in a leading Irish consulting firm. He assists his clients with their Governance, Operational, and Risk models to ensure best practices and alignment with regulatory expectations. Noel is also a member of the Operational Risk Committee with Irish Funds. In addition, Noel is also the Treasurer/Board member of another Irish Registered Charity.

Dr Lisa Cuthbert

Lisa is the current CEO of Mental Health Ireland. Previously, she was the CEO of PACE (Prevention Accommodation Community Enterprise) since 1999, overseeing the growth and development of PACE. In that role, Lisa developed an extensive programme of pre- and post-release services for life sentence and long-term sentence prisoners and introduced a range of accommodation services for men leaving prison. Lisa is also a member of the Parole Board.

David O'Riordan

David is a qualified ACCA accountant and QFA (Qualified Financial Advisor) working as a financial accountant in financial services. David graduated from MTU in 2018 with a Bachelor of Business in Accounting. He qualified as an accountant in 2022. He has also achieved a certificate in Sustainable Finance from Cambridge University.

Post ACCA qualification David spent two years working as an Audit Senior. He is familiar with regulation and compliance issues from his audit work. He has also held positions in the motor industry and more recently in financial services.  

David has done voluntary work with some local charities in Cork. 

Amy McArdle

Amy is a Trust and Safety professional who works to develop and enforce principles and policies that define acceptable behavior and content online. She is currently the Product Policy Transparency Manager at TikTok, and was previously Safety Policy Manager for EMEA at META. Prior to her work in the tech sector, she has more than 15 years’ experience in a variety of professional contexts including international diplomacy, national politics, criminal defense, and the NGO sector. Her academic background is in criminology, law, and international human rights law.

Dr Liam Thornton

Dr Liam Thornton is an Associate Professor in the School of Law, University College Dublin. Liam teaches and publishes in areas relating to international, European and Irish human rights law, asylum and refugee law, as well as law in the Irish welfare state. Liam previously served on the boards of the Free Legal Advice Centres (2009-2014) and Nasc, the Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre (2018-2023).

Dr Róisín Mulgrew

Dr Mulgrew is a Lecturer Above the Bar in Criminology and Criminal Justice. She is the Director of Research at the School of Law and lead for the Crime, Punishment and Rights Research Cluster. Previously, Dr Mulgrew was Assistant Professor and then Associate Professor in Law at the University of Nottingham (2010-2020). Dr Mulgrew has acted as an expert and consultant for a number of international penal policy and rights bodies and projects including as a member of the expert panel of the Office of the Inspector of Prisons

Dr Mulgrew completed a Bachelor of Corporate Law and LL.B. at the University of Galway before moving to the University of Nottingham to undertake the LL.M. in International Criminal Justice and Armed Conflict. With funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, she completed the MA in Socio-legal and Criminological Research and a PhD at the University of Nottingham School of Law.