Our Committee

I was born in Singapore but reared in the village of Ampang which is now a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. My mother was a local from KL and my father a Yorkshireman in the British army. By the time I joined the army as a Royal Engineer aged 16, I had travelled to many countries across the world and was able to continue my travels with them.

The army gave me many skills which are as useful and applicable today as they were then. Holding rank came with responsibility, teaming, training and communicating. I worked as a specialist and became part of a select team that assesses personnel for officer training at Sandhurst Military Academy.

My team sport was rugby (centre, wing, I was a skinny lad but very fast). I had a passion for adventure training, rock climbing, mountaineering and whitewater rafting. On leaving the army my management skills led me to being recruited into British Airways where I trained as a Red Cap responsible for the aircraft once it had landed from controlling the maintenance and turnaround of the aircraft so it is ready to meet its flight schedule.

I changed career at the height of the Telecoms boom in the 90’s and qualified as a Network planner and designer in fibre optics. Using my military skills, I managed the logistics of running cohesive teams of designers and planners which included going out and physically walking and drawing the networks. I also liaised with local authorities and companies, worked to resolve way leaves and engineering challenges. My ability to negotiate and make good commercial decisions were always recognised by my employers and as a result I was headhunted a number of times.

I was diagnosed in April 2015 while living in London. We had always planned to return to Ireland, but the diagnosis changed our plans and we decided to come back sooner and settle into the community.

I first met Ted and the team in 2016 when they stopped for coffee in Innishannon Hotel en route to west Cork for their summer tour. They made me feel so welcome that I came away feeling I belonged. I joined the Cork Parkinson’s Association committee in 2017 taking on the role of group development and spearheading the campaign to get Parkinson’s nurses. I successfully completed a course with the European Patient Forum (EPF) and am a certified Patient Advocate. This enables me to lobby effectively at EU ministerial level as well as local and national level for better services for anyone living with Parkinson’s and advocate for patients to ensure their needs a met. Kate works alongside Tony in promoting new groups and raising awareness of Parkinson’s from the carer’s point of view.

I fully understand the responsibility of leadership and am privileged to follow in Ted Horgan’s footsteps with the amazing team we have built around us. The baton is in safe hands and my decisions will always be guided by what is best for our members. CPA can achieve the extraordinary, Is féidir linn!