IPRT Board of Directors

Dr Seamus Taylor (Chairperson)

Seamus is Head of Applied Social Studies in Maynooth University. He lecturers in Social Policy and undertakes reseach in the areas of hate crime and equality and diversity policy making. He has worked as Director of Equality and Diversity at the public prosecution service for England and Wales and as Director of Strategy at the Commission for Racial Equality in Britian, as well as working in local government and serving on a number of national bodies in Britain and Ireland. He is an elected member of the Governing Authority of Maynooth University. Seamus was awarded a CBE in the British Honours system in 2010 in recognition of work on equality in the UK legal system. Seamus was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) in 2007.

Dr Cormac Behan (Vice Chairperson)

Dr Cormac Behan teaches criminology at the School of Languages, Law and Social Sciences, Technological University Dublin. His research interests include penal history, prisoners’ rights, comparative penology and prison education.

Prior to taking up this position, he taught criminology at the Centre for Criminological Research, University of Sheffield. From 1997 to 2011, he taught politics and history in Irish prisons. Cormac has served on the executive boards of the Correctional Education Association and the European Prison Education Association. He is the author (with Abigail Stark) of Prisons and Imprisonment: An Introduction (Palgrave Macmillan: 2023). 

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

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 has been the CEO of PACE (Prevention Accommodation Community Enterprise) since 1999, and has overseen the growth and development of PACE. Lisa has developed an extensive programme of pre- and post-release services for life sentence and long-term sentence prisoners and has introduced a range of accommodation services for men leaving prison.

Derval McDonagh

Derval is a senior leader in the not-for-profit sector with over 20 years’ 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.

Luke Staines

Luke Staines has been working with Michael Staines Co as a Solicitor in the District Court in the Criminal Courts of Justice and Blanchardstown District Court since December 2017. Luke has experience working in the District Court, the Circuit Court, the High Court and the Supreme Court. He has dealt with many cases relating to prison conditions in Ireland and also other jurisdictions including Romania, Poland, Germany, the UK and the United States.