2024 Event Speakers

Marie Louise O Donnell is an educator, broadcaster, writer and former senator.  In her early career she was head of Drama at Carysfort Teacher Training College.

John Downing writes about politics for the Irish Independent and is a regular contributor to Raidió na Gaeltachta and other broadcast outlets. Over the years he

Eamonn Hore studied Civil Engineering at University College Dublin graduating with a B.E. in 1979. He then studied Computers for Engineers at Trinity College Dublin

Deputy Director General Dr Ciarán Seoighe joined SFI as Deputy Director General in January 2018.  In his role, Ciarán is responsible for Organisational Strategy, Corporate

Maj Gen Timothy M. Zadalis, USAF, Ret., is an Adjunct Contract Professor (ACP) for the United States Air Force and Space Force supporting Department of

Photographer: Paul Sherwood paul@sherwood.ie; 087 230 9096 www.sherwood.ie The British Ambassador to Ireland H.E. Paul Johnston, pictured at The Ambassadors Residence, Dublin. October 2020 The

David McCullagh is a journalist with RTÉ. After 12 years as Political Correspondent, he became a presenter on Prime Time in 2013.

Ms. Johnston runs her own public affairs and management company Blue Yard.  She is the presenter of a weekly show called Taking Stock on Newstalk

Dr Ciara Kelly co-presents Newstalk Breakfast weekday mornings from 7-9 on Newstalk FM. A lively mix of news, current affairs and topical conversation. It is

Dr. Mark Henry is the author of the best-selling book In Fact: An Optimist’s Guide to Ireland at 100 – the first to take an unapologetically positive approach

Elaine Loughlin is Political Editor with the Irish Examiner having joined the paper in 2015. She has covered politics both in Ireland and abroad, reporting

Paul Reynolds has been the RTÉ Crime Correspondent for almost thirty years.  He reports on all aspects of national and international crime, from the activities of local

Gráinne Ní Aodha is a news reporter with the news wire agency PA Media, and covers politics, the courts and diplomatic visits. She previously worked

Jackie King is Exective Director of Ibec Global, working to create more opportunities for Irish businesses, strengthen our competitiveness and expand our international reach, profile

Prof. Bríona Nic Dhiarmada is the Thomas J. and Kathleen O’Donnell Professor Emerita of Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame . A writer,

Simon Coveney TD is a former Tánaiste (2017-2020), and most recently before stepping down from Cabinet – Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. He has

Prof. Dakota S. Rudesill is Associate Professor of Law at the Moritz College of Law and Simulation Director for the Mershon Center for International Security

As a former professional and international soccer player Eamon was capped 23 times for Ireland. He has been a writer and broadcaster for over 40

Frank McNally is a newspaper reporter and columnist. Born in County Monaghan, near the Irish Border, he moved to Dublin in his late teens, working

Since first taking to the stage in St Michaels Theatre with New Ross CBS production of Joseph, Todd has taken roles in numerous productions all

Emma DeSouza is a civic innovation specialist, peacebuilder, and writer. She changed UK law in a high-profile human rights court case in relation to the

Sarah Carey is a columnist, broadcaster and Communications Consultant. She writes for The Irish Independent each Saturday and has previously written for The Sunday Times

Malcolm Byrne has been a Senator since April, 2020 and serves as Fianna Fáil’s Spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. From

Jim Roche is PRO of the Irish Anti-War Movement and founding member of the Irish Neutrality League. He is a registered architect. He is a

A native of Midleton, Co. Cork, Sinéad studied law at University College Cork and qualified as a barrister in 1993. She began her working life

Paul Cunningham is the Political Correspondent for RTÉ and previously held the posts of Europe Correspondent, based in Brussels, and Environment Correspondent. He has reported

Stacey L. Connaughton (Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin) is a Professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University and the

Ciara Doherty has worked in television and radio for over a decade and is a qualified Barrister at Law.   Ciara presents ‘The Tonight Show’

Dubliner Eileen Dunne has been involved with the Kennedy Summer School for a number of years now. A recent retiree, she spent 42 years working

Born in Portlaoise, Seán O’Rourke is one of Ireland’s best known journalists in print and broadcasting. Educated at Coláiste Iognáid and the University of Galway,

For more than 25 years, Dr. Kimberly Osborne has been a trusted coach, mentor, and advisor to U.S. and foreign governments, multinational corporations, international NGOs,

Fiona is a co-founder of Eneclann (founded 1996), and the Irish Family History Centre at EPIC (founded 2016). Since 1996 she has led the Eneclann

Simon is a native of County Wicklow and has been involved in the community all his life. Simon first became involved in politics through his

Pádraic Ó hUiginn leads the development of a climate action and sustainability centre of excellence in the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), a government

Jane Suiter is Professor in the School of Communications, her research focus is on the information environment in the public sphere and in particular on scaling up  deliberation and tackling disinformation. Jane

2023 Event Speakers 2023 Speaker Overview

From Dublin, the Ambassador joined the Civil Service aged 16 and worked in the Department of Social Welfare for 10 years. He later worked in

Ralph Riegel is the southern correspondent for The Irish Independent, Evening Herald, Sunday Independent and other MediaHuis titles. A graduate of DIT-Rathmines & DIT Aungier

Enda Kenny was Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017. In 2002 he was appointed leader of Fine Gael and became Taoiseach in 2011. He was re-elected

Dr. Catherine Norton is a Consultant Neuropsychologist and Chartered Member of the Psychological Society of Ireland. She has worked in the Irish health care system

Dr Brian Murphy is a director of the Kennedy Summer School. He earned his doctorate in Modern Irish History from the School of History and

Philip McGowan is Professor of American Literature at Queen’s University Belfast and Former President of the European Association for American Studies (2016-24). An Executive Board

Dr. James O’Keefe graduated from St. John’s University with his Bachelor of Science degree in 1979. He began his career in law enforcement as a

Alison O’Connor is a journalist, broadcaster and author. She writes a weekly column for The Sunday Times. As a current affairs commentator she appears regularly

Ian O’Doherty is currently a columnist with the Irish Independent and a regular contributor to UK publications such as The Spectator and Spiked. He is

Sean Connick is the current Chief Executive Officer of the John F Kennedy Trust, where he leads the daily operation of one of Irelands premier

Maura Butler BA (Legal Science), LL. B, MSc IT in Education is a non-practicing solicitor with 35 years post qualification experience in a combination of

Peadar Tóibín has been a TD for the Meath West since 2011. He is the founder and leader of Aontú, a 32-county party, that received

President, South East Technological University (SETU) Prof Veronica Campbell is a Pharmacology graduate of the University of Edinburgh and was awarded her PhD from the

Dr. Aisling McEvoy is Head of Enterprise Partnerships at Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). SFI’s industry partnership programmes provide an opportunity for industry to collaborate directly

Larry Donnelly is a Boston born and educated attorney who holds both American and Irish passports.  Larry relocated to his ancestral Ireland to take up

Galway native Aidan Tierney, aka “Tierney Talks” has become renowned in recent years for his well-known impersonations of famous personalities from the Sporting, Political and

Lise Hand is a print journalist, broadcaster and regular contributor to current affairs programmes on national TV and radio, including Prime Time, The Week in

Multi award-winning journalist Ken Murray covers the island of Ireland for Euronews TV. A political and parliamentary correspondent in Dáil Eireann for 17 years, he

Nicola Tallant is the host of the award winning Crime World podcast which has recently celebrated 30 million downloads. She has authored five books including

Bryan Dobson is a former RTE journalist and news presenter who retired in May of this year from the national public service broadcaster. During 37

Greg Swenson is a founding partner of Brigg Macadam Ltd, an emerging market investment banking firm in London. He has over twenty years of banking,

Stephen Collins is a political columnist with the Irish Times and was previously political editor of the newspaper for a decade. He was educated at

After a 23-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps and retiring as a lieutenant colonel, Gregory A. Ballard returned home to Indianapolis in 2001. In

Senator Gerard Craughwell was born in Galway in 1953. At 16, he began working as a barman in London but soon joined the Royal Irish

Liam Kennedy is Professor of American Studies and Director of the Clinton Institute for American Studies at University College Dublin. He is the author/editor of

President, VIVA Politics, LLC Dr. Laura Barberena (Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin, USA) is a communications consultant and researcher specializing in political communications

Felix M. Larkin is a former academic director of the Parnell Summer School, and a co-founder and former chairman of the Newspaper and Periodical History Forum of Ireland.

Hugh O’Connell is political editor for The Sunday Times in Ireland. He joined in April 2024 having spent more than a decade reporting and writing

Matthew Jebb undertook his primary degree and D.Phil at Oxford University. His Ph.D. looked at the taxonomy and tuber morphology of the rubiaceous ant-plants. Following

Alison Martin is a writer and historian from Belfast. She completed a degree in Modern History and Theology at Queen’s University Belfast in 2011 and