Cormac Bohan, Drogheda Native.
Working in the Funds Industry since 1995, State Street and formerly Deutsche International Ireland.
Currently based at State Street (IFS) in Drogheda as AVP in the Chief Administration Office for Alternative Investment Solutions business (AIS EMEA).
Diploma in Management Accounting (DIT/CIMA), Masters in Political Communication (DCU).
Former student of St. Johns and St. Pauls National Schools, Rathmullen and St. Oliver’s Community College Drogheda.
Board member of Louth Meath Education & Training Board (LMETB) and member of LMETB Audit Committee.
Former board member and Audit Committee Chair at Drogheda Port Company.
Submissions for Drogheda area to National Spatial Strategy, Constituency Commission, Drogheda Boundary Review, National Planning Framework (Ireland 2040).
Peace Commissioner
Keen interest in politics and economics, particularly international affairs. Hobbies, music – Indie/Rock/Punk/Electronic, record collecting, film.
Paddy Callaghan is the President of the Drogheda Chamber of Commerce. He was elected in June 2017.
Paddy studied Mechanical Engineering in UCD and graduated with a BE Mech. He started Nature’s Best Ltd. in the garage of family home in Bellewstown after importing eight small beansprout growing machines from China. In 1999 the business moved from Bellewstown to a new 75,000sq.ft. purpose built factory in Drogheda.
Nature’s Best Ltd. currently employs about 290 people and produces many different chilled convenience food products under supermarket Private Labels for the major Irish supermarkets. In September 2016 he retired as Managing Director in Nature’s Best and his son Rory took over the role.
Breanndán Casey is the Business Development Manager of The Mill Enterprise Hub in Drogheda. The Mill is Drogheda’s first purpose built community enterprise centre. It is the result of a public-private partnership which was conceived over 5 years ago by Drogheda Chamber, and developed by a range of business support organisations in the region. It aims to become the Hub for the accelerated creation & growth of healthy new enterprises in the South Louth, East Meath and Drogheda areas. Breanndán has worked in sales and marketing and economic development for the past twenty years. He has worked with a range of economic development agencies (micro-enterprise, foreign direct investment, support organisations) across the island of Ireland and has a particular interest in small enterprise support. His key skills are in startup support, sales development, cross-border support and project management. Breanndán is the NorthEast co-ordinator of the StartUp Gathering taking place across Ireland in October 2015.
Michael Gerrard has been working in the Media Industry 30 years having worked in TV newspapers and radio. Michael is a Social Media and Marketing Consultant, helping businesses with their online presence. This involves managing Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for business. Clients include Gavin Duffy, Eamon Quinn (Dragons Den) Beaulieu House, Bohills Stoves, Good Wood Fuels,
Irish Maritime Festival, Little Duke Theatre, Drogheda Chamber of Commerce. Phone 086 2708222
Brian held Business Strategy, Sales, Marketing and Regional Administration roles at Bank of Ireland, including Head of Marketing – International Banking and Director – Planning and Marketing at Premier Banking and Direct Insurance, the telebanking precursor to Banking 365.
He also worked as a Senior Consultant on EU and EBRD Banking Programmes in Slovenia; Slovakia; Poland; Romania; Montenegro and Malawi.
In 2004, he was appointed Head of Fundraising and Development at the Community Foundation for Ireland and in 2006 became CEO at GORTA – The Freedom from Hunger Council of Ireland, affiliated to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Brian was a member of the Boards of the Marketing Institute and the Irish Direct Marketing Association, and the RDS Committee of Industry and Commerce as well as Vice-Chairman of Dochas which represents Irish based International Development agencies.
He has a keen interest in the heritage of Drogheda/The Boyne Valley and sees much opportunity to grow visitor/tourist traffic and employment in the region.
He sits on the Government’s National Famine Commemoration Committee, chaired by Minister Heather Humphries and also the Co.Meath LEO Evaluation and Assessment Committee (the successor to the County Development Board).
Emma Hickey is Manager of Osborne’s M1 Office located in Drogheda. With 13 years’ international recruitment experience, Emma is a regarded as a thought leader in the sector as well as a highly versatile recruiter and a leading implementer of social media recruitment strategies. With significant experience in Permanent, Project, Temporary and Contract recruitment both in Ireland and overseas, Emma is one of the most accomplished recruiters in the industry.
Demand from client for our collaborative approach to recruitment saw Osborne open an office in Drogheda to service businesses in the North East Region in disciplines such as Office Support, Accountancy & Finance and Technical & Engineering.
Graham Hughes was Chamber President from 2010-2011 and currently Chair of the Finance Committee. Graham is Managing Director of the Outsource Group and has a wealth of experience within the support service sector having worked in this sector for almost 20 years. Outsource specialise in Facilities, Recruitment, Healthcare and soon to be Homecare services to deliver a consistent excellent value and exceptional service across all brands.
Simon is Managing Director of Western Motors Drogheda, which represents the Volkswagen and Skoda brands in the region. Western Motors is a family-run business based in both Drogheda and Galway. The company was founded in 1964 and will celebrate 50 years in business this year. While Simon is not originally from Drogheda, he has a long association with the town as both his mother and grandparents lived here.
Gerry is a Senior Manager in Coca-Cola with over 20 years’ experience in Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Shared Services. He is a food science graduate has an MBA and is a Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma. His current role has a global remit in operational performance, strategy development and project management with responsibility in the area of Shared Services encompassing Finance, P2P and Human Resources. He has worked for Coca-Cola for 15 years with the majority of this time being based in Drogheda. Previously Gerry worked for Danone, Northern Foods and the Kerry Group.
Deirdre is a Partner in Tallans Solicitors private client department and has experience in most areas of law in particular commercial and residential conveyancing, family law, debt collection and local government law. Tallans Solicitors is a medium sized legal firm that has been serving the North East for over a hundred years. They act for private clients and businesses and offer a full range of legal services. They have offices based both in Drogheda and Ashbourne.
Robert is a Drogheda native and is First Citizen’s representative for the area. Robert has worked in the area of finance since 1999 – with Irish Permanent Finance, Permanent TSB Finance and now First Citizen Finance. Robert holds a BA (HONS) in Business Management and is a Practitioner of The Institute of Banking as an Accredited Product Advisor. Robert has been working alongside the Drogheda Motor Dealers since 2005 and is a member of the Drogheda Motor Show committee since 2010.
Eddie Phelan is the former president of The Drogheda Chamber of Commerce. He was elected in May 2015. Eddie is the Managing Director and Principal Engineer of VCL Consultants. VCL Consultants is an Engineering Consultancy Practice which was established in May 1999. VCL provides a complete Civil and Structural Engineering Service both to the construction industry and the individual client with a strong emphasis on their ethos of excellence and efficiency. They ensure a personal and professional approach to all their clients. Eddie is a Chartered Engineer and serves on the committee of the Irish Branch of the Institution of Structural Engineers and the Structures and Construction Section of Engineers Ireland. He is also on the Advisory Committee for the National Standards Authority of Ireland.
Margaret Reilly local entrepreneur of CTR Manufacturing & Grand Designs Kitchens & Bedrooms.
My love of work is manufacture & Design of bespoke kitchens, bedrooms, & TV lounges. As a team we look after the conceptual design right through to manufacture & installation. With 18yrs experience in this industry our company looks at problem solving and creating space for all our clients needs these include domestic, builders, designers & Architects.
Ken joined AIB in 2012 as Business Development Manager within the North East region and was appointed Head of the Business Banking in January 2013. He has over 15 years Banking experience mainly involved in commercial & property lending at a senior management level.
Ken qualified as a Certified Public Accountant in the late 1990’s, and has worked both in practice and industry. Before joining AIB, Ken lead a wholesale and retail business, involved in the import and distribution of household products throughout Ireland and the UK.
Ken is council member of the Drogheda Chamber of Commerce since 2012 and is currently Chairman of the Finance Committee. He has extensive experience in Customer Relationship Management across all sectors and his background gives him extensive knowledge and insight into the SME market.
James Sharkey, is currently the General Manager of Drogheda Leisure & Retail Park, James has been a Council Member for the last year as well as the Chairman of Drogheda Christmas Bonanza.
James spent 10 years previous to being in Drogheda in Birmingham, England. Where his career took a u-turn from Law and into Business Management and working with the likes of Birmingham City F.C, Aston Villa F.C, Edgbaston Cricket Ground before taking control of Hall Green Greyhound Stadium.
These high volume businesses provide James with a unique skill set which he uses to assist his current business and provides great insight to the Chamber.
In 2014, James moved back to Ireland and has ever since immersed himself into Drogheda and the surrounding area