Colm O'Shaughnessy
Chair
Colm is a Solicitor & Notary Public and principal of OSBROS Solicitors, a full service law firm which he established in 2018. His practice currently focuses on the needs of private clients and their SMEs.
With over 23 years’ experience in the legal field, Colm has worked in both private practice and as inhouse Counsel with AIB. Colm’s experience is wide and varied given his interest in different areas of law. Past and present clients include commercial entities, property developers, Semi-State bodies, banks, monarchs and private individuals.
Colm relishes a challenge and is a trouble shooter.
Colm grew up and lives in Glasnevin with his wife and 4 young daughters.
Founder, secretary and treasurer of Glasnaíon FC – a junior football club founded in 2000 with 2 teams competing in the United Churches Football League. Our players traditionally come from the Glasnevin, Finglas and Ballymun areas. Enjoys keeping fit and participating in ultra-events.
Lecturer, tutor and internal examiner in the Law Society of Ireland Law School (professional course).
Jennifer Lawson
Company Secretary
Jen is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor with over 20 years’ experience working in managerial and leadership roles within the Financial Services sector. She has extensive finance experience and expertise in reviewing key risks and controls throughout organisations, ensuring that appropriate oversight and corporate governance is in place. Over her career, working with organisations such as Standard Life, Allianz and KPMG, she has gained valuable insight in how best in class organisations work and has worked collaboratively with Senior Management and the Board to provide assurance in order to protect the assets, reputation and sustainability of the organisation.
Jen has always had a keen interest in volunteering, especially with organisations that enhance experiences for children. She is currently a Board member of another charity which provides an after-school program and provides a safe and inclusive environment where children are supported in their holistic development through play, choice based programming and encouraged to have fun.
Dr. Ann Devitt
Dr. Ann Devitt is Associate Professor of Language Education and Director of Undergraduate Teaching and Learning at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin. She is the Academic Director of The Learnovate Centre and has extensive research experience in both academia and industry. She is the Trinity College representative on the LERU Digital Education Group. She is also a member of the Royal Irish Academy Languages, Literature, Culture and Communication Committee.
In previous roles, Ann has been Director of Research in the School and Chair of the Faculty and School Research Ethics Committees.
Ann has recently completed Irish Research Council funded project on Family Digital Literacy in partnership with NALA and conducted the NALA review of family literacy provision outside ETBs in 2022.
Her research profile is available here: https://www.tcd.ie/education/people/devittan/
Geraldine French
Geraldine French is an Associate Professor, the Head of School of Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education, the Programme Chair of the Master of Education in Early Childhood Education and Senior Fellow of Advance HE (SFHEA) in the Institute of Education, Dublin City University. Geraldine has worked for a variety of governmental and voluntary organisations, national and international, in conducting continued professional development, research, needs analysis, evaluations and consultancy for strategic planning with a particular focus on educational inequality. She has published in the areas of parenting and the experience of poverty amongst families with very young children. In the context of early childhood settings Geraldine has published on quality professional practice, supporting early language, literacy and numeracy and nurturing babies’ learning and development.
Claire Fox
Claire works with Drury Communications, a leading strategic PR and communications firm in Dublin. At Drury she advises a number of clients on product and business launches, media campaigns, media training, digital media and issues management. Previous to that, Claire was PR Manager at Agri Aware, a non-profit farming and food education body and was also a journalist at the Irish Independent for three years. She has a strong interest in issues related to female and children’s rights, as well as ESG.
Claire wants to support Young Ballymun to tell its story to a wider range of audiences and also help with stakeholder engagement with local community and key political stakeholders. The non-profit space is a crowded one, it’s very important that Young Ballymun has a clear communications strategy to help ensure its continued commitment to the local community and ensure it is reaching its audiences via a number of communications channels including social channels, earned media and political engagement.
Claire joined the board of Young Ballymun in November 2025.
Dajana Achelpohl
Dajana has spent much of her career leading teams in operations and digital transformation and now focuses on helping organisations understand and use AI in a practical, people-first way. Her background also includes experience in change management and strategic planning, which will be valuable as Young Ballymun develops its future strategy.
Dajana lives locally and wants to use her skills to make a difference in her own community. She is passionate about helping organisations work more efficiently while keeping people and purpose at the centre, Dajana joined the board of Young Ballymun in November 2025.
Roisin Hickey
Roisin is principal of Our Lady of Victories, Boys National School, on the Ballymun Rd.
She is from Kerry and trained in Mary Immaculate College of Education in Limerick.
Roisin is a member of the Ballymun Primary Principals Network and has been working with Young Ballymun to implement the Schools Play Therapy project since 2020. She lives locally with her husband and 4 teenage children. Roisin joined the Board of Young Ballymun in September 2025.