Our Board
Sheila Nunan - Chairperson
Sheila Nunan has extensive experience in civil society organisations. She served as General Secretary of primary teachers’ union, INTO, and as President of ICTU. She is a member of the Governing Body of the National College of Ireland. Sheila is a former primary teacher and principal and a graduate of UCD and St. Patrick’s College Drumcondra. Sheila joined Early Childhood Ireland’s Audit & Risk Committee in September 2021 as an external member and subsequently became a member of the Board in February 2022. She was appointed Chairperson of the Board in November 2022.
Dónall Curtin
Dónall Curtin is an experienced accountant, Board Director and business leader with a background in Finance, Corporate Governance, Audit and Risk Management. He is highly skilled, with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. Board directorships include Green Effects Investments plc, Fáilte Ireland, Road Safety Authority, Irish College Leuven, Pallas Projects, etc. Dónall founded one of Ireland’s leading accountancy practices. He has considerable experience of serving on Audit & Risk Committees both in the private and public sectors in Ireland and the UK. He is a strong advocate of ensuring that best practice and good corporate governance exist within the boardroom and ensuring that there are relevant structures within businesses to facilitate the adoption of organisational values throughout. Providing strategic advisory services to many organisations, he brings a unique combination of business and accountancy knowledge, as well as a deep knowledge of the professional membership sector to provide solutions for many organisations.
Pádraig Fleming
Pádraig Fleming joined the Board as an independent director. He has experience in various industries in the private and public sector, with a strong national presence and recognised brands. Pádraig has contributed to high profile strategic projects such as the restructuring of a national utility, with expertise in negotiation, due diligence, regulation, stakeholder engagement and has also acted as an advisor to executive management team overseas.
Dr Harold Hislop
Dr Harold Hislop joined the Board of Early Childhood Ireland on 19 May 2023. He is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Policy and Practice at Dublin City University’s Institute of Education. Harold is Chair of the Governing Board of the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In Ireland, he is Chair of the Senior Cycle Redevelopment Programme Delivery Board, established by Minister for Education. Harold held the post of Chief Inspector and was a member of the Management Board of the Department of Education from 2010 to 2022, leading the Inspectorate’s quality assurance work and supporting educational policy development within the Department in areas such as curriculum and assessment policy, special education and teacher education. Prior to joining the Inspectorate, Harold was a teacher, school principal and university lecturer in the School of Education at Trinity College Dublin.
Liz Jackson
Liz has many years’ experience working in the Early Years Care and Education. She has worked with Tallaght Childcare Company Ltd. since 2003 and is the General Manager. Liz is ultimately responsible for the overall management of two centres (Millbrook and Fettercairn) and all aspects of the organisation’s operations, along with its continuous development as a quality sustainable community childcare business. As General Manager, she leads the development of strategies for the organisation, and implements them for the development of Tallaght Childcare Centre and achievement of its aims and objectives.
Sharon Skehill
Dr Sharon Skehill is an Early Years Educator and managing director in Newtown Kids Club Ltd (Willows and Nursery) outdoor settings. She is currently employed as an Education Officer with NCCA on the Early Childhood team updating Aistear, the early childhood curriculum framework. Sharon has lectured in early childhood studies for many years and has carried out and published research in areas such as nature pedagogy, sustainability, curriculum and inclusion.
Declan Dunne
Declan Dunne is an experienced CEO, who built a business and sold it to a US publicly quoted multinational. He recently completed nine years as CEO of Respond Housing Association. With over 8,000 homes and 3,476 in construction, Respond runs sixteen Early Years and School Age Care settings, and a range of other family support, family homeless and eldercare services. He has experience as a board member on a range of national and local, statutory and charity boards in the fields of children’s services, homelessness, housing, and the arts. He has spoken at conferences including those led by The Housing Agency, Construction Industry Federation, IUSA, OECD and USAID. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by US Ambassador Clare Cronin for his service as President of the Ireland United States Alumni Association and leadership roles in homeless, housing and charity services.
Evelyn Reilly
Evelyn has worked in the Early Childhood Care and Education sector for 39 years. She currently is owner and general manager of the setting she runs with her daughter. This is a family-run ECEC service in Maynooth, Co. Kildare. Started as a home playgroup, it has grown and developed into an Early Years and School Age Care setting. Evelyn was the chair of IPPA twice, she served on board merger committee to form Early Childhood Ireland. She has been the company Secretary of Early Childhood Ireland, along with serving as Providers representative, Kildare County Childcare Committee. In addition, she has worked as a Department of Education Early Years Inspector. She is a Lecturer, in Maynooth University on the BA Early Childhood Teaching and Learning. Her qualifications include: MA Humanities ECEC by Research, Presidential Scholarship, Institute of Technology Carlow 2015. BA (Hons) Early Childhood Education and Care, Institute of Technology Carlow: First Class Honours Degree 2011. Continues to advocate for quality ECEC with play and children’s voices central to the provision of ECEC. As a lecturer and mentor in ECEC, she sees developing relationships with children, families and communities as key and central to quality provision of early childhood education.
If you wish to contact the Board, please send your query to:[email protected]
