We work creatively and collaboratively, nurturing each other as we grow and learn together. We honour the presence of our collective skills as we work on Comhlámh’s vision of people coming together to imagine and activate possibilities for a world beyond injustice. We have a variety of skills and experience between us all including development education, drama and theatre education, financial management, communications, media, strategic management, policy, advocacy, global citizenship education programming, values-led international volunteering, research, administration, activism, international development, and public engagement. We see ourselves as deeply interconnected with each other, and we are fully committed to Comhlámh’s values of Respect, Integrity, Solidarity and Ecological Sustainability. Together, we nurture our resilience and wellbeing to sustain our activism and solidarity and to support our collective growth.

Aga, Bronwyn, Caroline, Dervla, Elena, Fiachra, Jose and Silvana

Abdulai Mansaray

From a homeless asylum seeker to a final-year Law student and Community Link worker, Abdulai has had a transformative journey. Currently, Abdulai supports Ukrainian and IPAS refugees and asylum seekers’ families and young people, advocates for them on their behalf, and engages with diverse stakeholders and services.

In recognition of his work with refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants, Abdulai was awarded the Black and Irish ‘Activist of the Year’ 2023 at the B.I.G Awards, hosted by RTÉ. This accolade reflects his dedication to fostering a culture of collaboration, respect, and diversity, which aligns with the core values of Comhlámh.

Having lived in Direct Provision for over three years in Ireland, Abdulai brings firsthand experience and a solution-focused, ambitious mindset to the board. His commitment to advocacy and change is evident through his involvement with various organizations – Abdulai serves as an advisory board member at Common Purpose Ireland, a Board Member at the North Inner City Safety Partnership, a Youth Leader with the Irish Refugee Council, an active member of the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI), and a Committee member with NYCI.

Abdulai has also contributed to numerous projects, including documentaries, research work, interviews, and speaking engagements focused on diversity, inclusion, and the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland. He co-authored a research and education booklet titled “Tight Spaces,” which has been selected by Educate.ie for use in a new English textbook for junior cycle students.

Through their role on the Comhlámh Board, Abdulai aims to change negative perceptions of asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants, and to continue advocating for their rights and inclusion.

Edith Chukwu

Edith Chukwu is Comhlmáh’s Development Education alumnus who is also a two-time Judge for The Diana Award  where she led a panel that oversaw nominations from the entire African Region. 

In Nigeria, she founded a non-profit organisation that provides tertiary education scholarships to young women from low-income homes in order tosalvage them from resorting to child/early marriage as a means of survival.  

In Ireland, she has volunteered in various capacities in her community (Waterford) and worked with the SCOOP Foundation as an Operations and Fundraising Assistant. She also performs spoken word and dance along with her seven-year old daughter which earned them Dignity Partnership’s award for promoting social change. 

Joining the Comhlamh board of directors is yet another opportunity and privilege for her to serve humanity as a global citizen, but ultimately, deepen her awareness of being the change.  

Gavin Timlin

Gavin has 18+ years’ experience in finance/data occupying senior roles relating to risk management and data analytics, most latterly as Chief Risk Officer for a fund management company – Crossroads Capital Management/HAL.

He is also the founder of CreateSound, a Social Enterprise delivering mobile music production services and tuition in outreach contexts across 100+ locations in Ireland, and TSLI, a start-up delivering job training and inclusion programmes for people seeking asylum in Ireland. Since March 2022 he has also been working in a consultant role for the Irish Refugee Council, supporting the process improvements, research and hands-on programme delivery for accommodation and employment projects, as well as research pieces, including Empathy Mapping.

He has a strong understanding of the refugee and migrant landscape in Ireland and abroad, having worked closely with multiple support organisations/NGOs on independent support projects in Ireland, Greece & Palestine. He haa also developed public support and resources as part of his participation with Comhlamh’s member group ‘Ireland Says Welcome’, including national mapping of resources, submissions to Oireachtas, and system ‘explainers’.

Glen Bradley -Treasurer

Glenn founded Kagi Consulting in 2018 having spent over 20 years in banking, accountancy, business advisory and corporate finance. Glenn’s career has included working in corporate and commercial lending in AIB, in debt advisory at Kavanagh Fennell and Deloitte and in corporate finance at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Glenn believes that delivering real value for clients can only be achieved by first knowing them as people. Honesty, commitment and integrity are guiding principles for Glenn. The long and trusted relationships that Glenn has with his clients are based on these core values.

Glenn holds both a Bachelor of Commerce degree and an Masters in Business Administration from University College Dublin and is a Fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants.

Karen Jeffares

Karen Jeffares is a human rights activist, educator, mother and farmer who lives in County Monaghan with her husband and two children. She has been a Comhlamh member since doing a “Coming Home” weekend in 2009 on her return from 6 months volunteering in Central America, though she then went on to leave and come home for many years after that! She has been involved in human rights, political advocacy and development education for almost 15 years. She holds an M.Phil in International Peace Studies from the Irish School of Ecumenics at Trinity College Dublin (2008). She has experience volunteering alongside communities in contexts affected by violence with experience on the US/Mexico border, in Northern Ireland, in Colombia and in Guatemala (between 2009 and 2013). She volunteered and worked with Peace Brigades International for over 10 years, first in the field projects (Colombia 2010-2012 and Guatemala in 2013) and then as founder and coordinator of the Irish branch of this international NGO (2014 – 2021). From 2014 she also became part of the PBI Strategic Development Committee (a committee on PBI’s international secretariat) and was involved in researching and writing an internal policy document on opening new projects; she also contributed towards the development of a 6 year Global Strategic Plan for PBI (2018-2023). Her time with Peace Brigades in particular gave her the opportunity to work with an international organisation whose actions and mandate are led by the explicit needs of local partners. She also learned a great deal about NGO management and Governance in the Irish context while setting up PBI Ireland – including engagement with the Comhláh’s Code of Good Practice for Volunteer Sending Agencies to which it became a signatory.

On return to Ireland in 2014 she also began working part-time as a DevEd facilitator with a variety of Irish NGOs (Afri, LASC, Comhlamh, PBI Ireland, Spiritan Education Trust, etc), which she continues to do today. In recent years she has co-founded a new organization in Co. Monaghan called Siolta Chroi (Seeds of the Heart), whose mission is to restore Ireland’s ecosystems and communities – they run workshops and other educational activities and projects that help people reconnect with the land and each other. She is currently home-schooling her 6-year-old daughter and setting up an independent Waldorf school for County Monaghan with a collective of parents in the county. She continues to believe that we can change the world for the better and is excited at the prospect of connecting with the work of Comhlamh and its member groups as a Board Member.

Kevin O’Leary – Chair and Secretary

Lola Ade-Onojobi

Diarmuid O’Brien

Kate O’Sullivan

Brings extensive experience in strategic communications, public advocacy, digital campaigning and fundraising, alongside a strong commitment to international solidarity and social justice.
They are currently Director of Digital at Fórsa trade union and previously served as Head of Communications at Amnesty International Ireland, where they worked on campaigns including The People’s Vaccine during Covid-19 and advocacy for prisoners of conscience. Earlier in their career, they worked in humanitarian aid and frontline crisis response with Save the Children across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and East Africa, with a particular focus on conflict, displacement and people on the move.
Their commitment to international solidarity was shaped by travelling to Gaza in 2010 as part of a grassroots convoy and later living and working in Palestine. These experiences of occupation, racism and colonial power dynamics have deeply informed their approach to advocacy and solidarity, both internationally and in Ireland.

They are particularly interested in the role of strategic communications and digital campaigning in strengthening progressive movements and challenging the rise of racism and the far right. They see a strong alignment between their own values and experience and those of Comhlámh, and would bring significant communications, advocacy and campaigning expertise to the board.

Robin Hanan

Robin Hanan is a former Coordinator of Comhlámh with extensive experience in social justice, international solidarity, human rights and civil society leadership. He began his career as a civil servant, working across the Departments of Transport, Tourism, Trade and Foreign Affairs.
During his time with Comhlámh, Robin supported international volunteers and helped develop the organisation’s work in education, advocacy and global justice, and convened the broad-based Asylum Rights Alliance. He subsequently served as Director of the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) Ireland where he trained, informed and supported national and local groups working against poverty to understand and engage with Irish and European policy. Within the broader European network, he chaired the social inclusion policy group and helped build networks and engage with governments and NGOs in most EU member states. As CEO of the Irish Refugee Council, he worked for the rights and interests of refugees and migrants.
Robin is currently Director and Company Secretary of the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation and Chairperson of Voluntary Service International (VSI). Since retiring from full-time employment in 2018, he has continued to contribute to human rights and civil society organisations through voluntary board, advisory and facilitation roles.
He brings to the Comhlámh board many years of experience in organisational leadership, advocacy, international solidarity and the community and voluntary sector, alongside a long-standing connection to Comhlámh and its values.

Sorcha Lyne

Sorcha works with UCD Volunteers Overseas (UCDVO), supporting international volunteering and global citizenship education for UCD students, staff and alumni. She has a background in international development studies and personal experience as an international volunteer.
Sorcha first became familiar with Comhlámh’s work almost six years ago and has since developed a strong connection with the organisation through her work with UCDVO and, more recently, as a member of the Comhlámh Justice for Palestine group. Through these experiences, she has engaged closely with Comhlámh’s development education work and has become a strong advocate for global citizenship education and meaningful solidarity.
She is particularly aligned with Comhlámh’s values and its commitment to putting solidarity into practice. Her experience in the non-profit and volunteering sectors, combined with her administrative and organisational skills and involvement in a Comhlámh member group, would bring both practical experience and a strong commitment to the organisation’s work.
As Comhlámh enters a challenging period, Sorcha sees board involvement as an opportunity to contribute to the organisation’s resilience, development and continued commitment to social justice and solidarity.

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