Board of Directors

Chair of Green Foundation Ireland, Pat Brereton has written extensively on all aspects of environmental and Irish media. He has been Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science at Dublin City University for five years, before taking on the duties of Head of School of Communication and is currently co-director of Climate and Society Research Centre.

Pat has helped to roll out a carbon calculator for the Irish media through the ScreenGreening initiative. His most recent book Essential Concepts of Environmental Communications: An A-Z Guide (2022) has numerous audio-visual case studies to illustrate a wide range of environmental concepts. Other books include Hollywood Utopia: Ecology in Contemporary American Cinema (2005); Historical Dictionary of Irish Cinema with Roddy Flynn (2007); Smart Cinema, DVD Add-ons and New Audience Pleasures (2012); Environmental Ethics and Film in (2016) and Environmental Literacy and New Digital Audiences (2019).

John Barry is Professor of Green Political Economy at the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics in Queen’s University Belfast. He has a BA and MA from University College Dublin and a PhD from the University of Glasgow. His areas of research include green political economy and green economics; economic practices and sustainability, normative aspects of sustainable development; governance for sustainable development; the greening of citizenship and civic republicanism; green politics in Ireland, North and South; the Transition Movement; the politics, ethics and economics of peak oil and climate change; the governance of science and innovation; the link between academic knowledge, political activism and policy making; trust, legitimacy and public policy; citizenship, public policy and governance; post-conflict politics and political economy in Northern Ireland and theories and practices of reconciliation in Northern Ireland.

John is a founding member of two think tanks, the Centre for Progressive Economics and Green House Think Tank, and is also a founding member of Holywood Transition Town and the ‘Holywood Buy Local’ campaign. He is a keen cyclist, indifferent cook, frequently absent from his family and a passionate believer in the ability of people to initiate social transformation.

Brian Gormley is the Head of Sustainability Education in TU Dublin, where he and his team work to advance sustainability in the University, through capacity building, staff development, and education. TU Dublin’s strategic plan sets out that all academic programmes will have sustainability as a learning outcome, and the University was recently recognised as a Centre for Sustainability across the Curriculum – the first such centre in Europe. Brian’s involvement in environmentalism started when he set up the DCU Green Society in 1987, and he was subsequently elected Students Union President. Since then Brian has been actively involved in sustainability and green campus activities in higher education.

Brian is a founder member and Treasurer of Connecting Cabra, an award-winning community group that focuses on community development through sustainability. Brian is a keen (but not very good) birdwatcher.

Ailbhe Joyce is an experienced educator and sustainability advocate with a background in global citizenship, youth leadership, and community development. She currently serves as Global Village Education Officer at Trócaire, advancing global citizenship education across Ireland, and has previously worked as Business Development and Global Citizenship Lead with Orenda Learning, strengthening education programmes worldwide. Holding a BEd and an MSc in Sustainable Development, she brings over a decade of experience in teaching, leadership, and programme management.

As co-founder of ulemu.com in Malawi, Ailbhe has designed innovative early childhood education projects, supported sustainable community initiatives, and built capacity in underserved contexts. She brings to Green Foundation Ireland a proven commitment to sustainability, education, and social innovation, alongside practical experience in strategy, partnership building, and collaborative leadership.

Donna Mullen (former Chair of Green Foundation Ireland) is a farmer, consultant ecologist, and director of Wildlife Surveys Ireland, with an award-winning farm, awards and placements which include the RDS Sustainable Enterprise Award, the EU Rural Inspiration Award, and the Ellison Award.

She works as an ecologist, drawing up nature trails and sustainability plans. Her work involves spending many happy hours surveying buildings for bats, and she helped draw up the guidelines on bat surveys for the Heritage Council (Traditional Farm Building Scheme). She is a founder member of both Bat Conservation Ireland and the Irish Environmental Network, and has also served on the board of the Irish Wildlife Trust.

Donna has a keen interest in environmental law and co-ordinates the campaign to have the environment protected under the Irish Constitution.

She lives on a farm nature reserve in County Meath with her husband, four children, and an assortment of animals.

Martin Nolan is a chartered accountant and a Financial Reporting Specialist, having previously been Head of the Department of Accountancy and Professional Studies at Technological University Dublin. He has extensive business experience which includes 15 years at management level in PwC and Deloitte. He is an experienced lecturer in Audit and Assurance and International Financial Reporting, and has co-authored a leading Irish textbook External Auditing and Assurance.

Martin has been involved in green issues since 1988. He is also involved on a voluntary basis with five registered Irish charities.

Darragh Wynne is the Sustainability Co-Ordinator in Technological University of the Shannon. He is the founder and co-host of the Climate Alarm Clock podcast, an Irish news podcast which has been running since 2021.

Darragh completed an MSc in Climate Change: Media, Policy and Society in DCU in 2020 and has previously worked for GOAL Global, as a part-time lecturer in Global Citizenship in DCU and on the Project Team for the Children’s and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss in 2022.

Darragh has a background in education and has worked as a music teacher in schools in Ireland, the UK and Kenya.