With over 70 staff working across our range of services, including a 24-hour Helpline, Refuge and Safe House accommodation, Outreach, Court Accompaniment, Prevention & Training services, and Child & Youth services, we are one of Ireland’s largest dedicated domestic violence services. All support staff are qualified in disciplines from Social Care to Psychotherapy, with ongoing professional development, thus providing a high-quality, professional support service to every person who contacts us.
Allison Graham has led the development and growth of Saoirse from its inception in 2006 to its extensive expansion in 2019. She served as Refuge Manager from 2006 to 2019 and was promoted to CEO. She previously worked with Aoibhneas Women’s and Children’s Refuge in North Dublin and established their first outreach service before being promoted to Refuge Manager.
Allison has served on a number of Voluntary sector boards, including as Chair and Director of the Tallaght Childcare Centre, and was a member of the Tallaght Homeless Advice Unit Board before it became part of Focus Ireland. She also served on Steering committees with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and Tusla’s Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence department.
In addition to her board experience, Allison has extensive management, HR, policy writing and implementation, company mergers, strategic planning, budgets, and charity reporting experience.
She was awarded a Postgraduate H.Dip in Counselling from UCC and has been a qualified and accredited Counselor with the Irish Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (IACP) since 2011.
Allison holds a BA Hons degree in Sociology and Psychology from University College Cork and a Postgraduate H.Dip in Business and Management from UCD Michael Smurfit College.
Nadine O’Brien was appointed Director of Services at Saoirse Domestic Violence Services (SDVS) in July 2024. She first joined SDVS in October 2019 as Outreach and Prevention Manager, bringing her expertise to the Senior Management Team.
Nadine holds a Diploma in Community Development and Youth Studies, a BA in Social Studies, and an MA in Human Rights and Social Policy from Maynooth University. In 2022, she furthered her education by earning a Diploma in Change Management.
With a strong commitment to supporting survivors of domestic violence, Nadine has played a key role in developing and expanding SDVS’s outreach, refuge, and prevention services. As Director of Services, she oversees the strategic and operational delivery of SDVS’s frontline support services, ensuring that women and children experiencing domestic violence receive high-quality, trauma-informed care. Her leadership is central to SDVS’s mission of empowering survivors and fostering long-term safety and independence.
Ade Ogundipe is Saoirse’s Financial Controller. He joined the Saoirse team organisation in 2017.
Ade is a fellow of the Chartered Certified Accountants and has extensive experience having worked in various organisations.
Ade is responsible for the day to day accounting and financial management of the organisation ensuring all donations and grants are utilized to the full benefits of our stakeholders. Ade is also responsible for financial compliance with various regulatory authorities and attends the board meetings to give financial reports.
Rachel Maxwell Carey is the Director of HR at SDVS, having joined the Senior Management team in May 2024. With over 11 years of experience in human resources, she has previously developed her skills as an HR business partner at Dalata Hotel Group PLC.
Rachel holds a BA (Hons) in Applied Psychology and a CIPD qualification in Human Resource Management. Tasked with developing the HR department at SDVS, she ensures that best practices are consistently upheld to support employees.
Rachel’s extensive experience and passion for employee well-being bring a wealth of knowledge and a proactive approach to her role. She is dedicated to fostering a positive and inclusive workplace culture where every employee feels valued and supported.
Rachel advocates for continuous learning and development. Her open-door policy defines her leadership style, encouraging employees to share their concerns and suggestions. Rachel believes that transparency and open communication are essential to building trust and fostering a collaborative spirit within the organisation.
Katie O’Keeffe joined Saoirse DVS in May 2023 as the Child and Youth Services Manager and is a member of the Senior Management Team. Katie has worked most of her professional career in Child & Family Services, working with harder-to-reach client groups. She has joined the team to grow and develop our services for children, young people and families who have experienced domestic violence.
Katie has experience in the area of child welfare, family support for those with complex and multiple needs, parenting, outreach and team leadership. Katie is passionate about developing services for children and young people who have experienced adverse childhood experiences and implementing support for them to heal from trauma. Katie has a BA in Social Care Practice from Technological University Dublin and a Postgraduate Certificate in Not-for-Profit Leadership and Management from the National College of Ireland.
Joining Saoirse domestic violence services in 2024 Leanne has been working within the community sector for over 20 years.
She strives to understand client’s work from a grassroots perspective and creates supports to implement change at policy and governing levels.Leanne has long been an advocate of those who have experienced gender-based violence and abuse through her community-based work.Leanne hosts a wide range of education from a her initial Higher Diploma in community and youth work, Hons BA in applied social studies, women and gender studies, Community development and leadership to a Masters in Systemic psychotherapy. Leanne has built her education alongside continuing to work on the ground with various groups experiencing social injustices.
Leanne uses a feminist approach to enhance and empower community participation and specialises in Adverse childhood experiences ACE’s , Trauma informed practice and cultural competency and diversity.
Sarah Moynihan joined Saoirse Domestic Violence Services in 2018 and joined the management team in 2021 following a promotion to Refuge Assistant Manager at Tallaght Refuge Service. Sarah has extensive experience supporting self-directed living, specifically helping people transition from community residential settings to their own homes.
Sarah is deeply passionate about her role in raising awareness of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and advocating for gender equality and women’s rights. Sarah holds a BA Honours Degree in Social Care Practice, a Certificate in Understanding and Responding to Domestic Abuse, a Certificate in Counselling and Psychotherapeutic Studies, and a range of other professional development certificates, which complement her third-level education expertise in the area of domestic and gender-based violence.
Sarah also serves as the Child Protection Designated Liaison Person (DLP) in Saoirse, overseeing the safeguarding of both children and adult clients and ensuring a high level of child protection and awareness throughout the organisation.
Alex O’Halloran joined Saoirse in 2020 as part of the Outreach and Prevention team covering the West Wicklow area, and is now Assistant Manager working alongside Outreach manager Nadine O’Brien and the Saoirse management team. Prior to her role with Saoirse Alex gained experience working as Court Accompaniment within the Domestic Violence sector and was involved with a Youth Justice mentoring programme for parents of young people within Probation Services.
A change in career led Alex to return to education as a mature student and pursue her lifelong goal of studying and working in the area of the Social Sciences where she works directly with the team to ensure the delivery of a quality service to women and families in the community. Alex also works with the management team developing services and internal operating policies. Alex has also been very involved in the development and facilitation of Education and Training programmes for external agencies on Domestic Violence awareness and best practice responses. During her time with Saoirse Alex has been successful in securing funding from the Community Mental Health Fund, the National Lottery and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to establish and implement various projects which provide therapeutic interventions, promote equality and encourage self-development for clients engaged with Saoirse services. Alex holds a Bachelor of Social Science Honours Degree (BSocSc) from Maynooth University and a Professional Diploma in Leadership and Management from University College Dublin.
Cora Mc Cann has been with Saoirse Domestic Violence Services since 2018 working in various roles. Cora began her career with SDVS working in our refuge service, then moved on to the Outreach department holding Court Accompaniment and Outreach positions before taking up the position of acting Assistant Manager in one of our refugee services.
Cora has extensive experience working with marginalised groups, having worked in Addiction and Homeless Services in the past. Graduating from UCD in 2011 with a Social Science Degree, Cora has continued to broaden her education and training completing Advanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Training and Freedom Programme facilitation training with a keen interest in Holistic Therapies as a complimentary therapeutic approach.
Cora also holds the position of (DLP) Designated Liaison Person, overseeing the safeguarding of women and children accessing our service and is a passionate advocate for Women and Children experiencing Domestic Abuse.
Elena was appointed Interim CEO in March 2023 and will remain in the post for the duration of the leave of absence of our CEO, Allison Graham.
Prior to this position Elena held a number of posts in the public, private and charitable sectors, her most recent as Deputy CEO of Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland. Her early career was in the area of Education and Training where she held posts in, Course Delivery, Training Administration, Curriculum Development, Test & Certification, Quality Assurance and Budgeting.
Elena has been a founder, director and financial controller of a number of start-up companies in the construction sector, with a particular focus on energy performance and carbon reduction. She is a passionate believer in the benefits, of deep retrofitting dwellings, especially for poor and vulnerable families. As part of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s Carbon Reduction Strategy, Elena was a member of a team that developed a Deep Retrofit Pilot Programme and she was financial controller and administrator during its delivery. Following its success this programme has now being expanded and rolled out across the country.
Elena graduated from NUI Galway with a first class honours degree in Training and Education. In addition, she holds a number of qualifications in a broad range of subjects, including, ICT, Finance, Administration, Communications, Managing People and Tasks, Occupational Health and Customer Service.
With a passionate interest in helping the vulnerable and marginalised, Elena is a key member of an NGO which provides funding and support to poorer communities in Ireland and Africa. She loves new challenges and her hobbies include personal development, exercise and gardening, which she describes as calming and therapeutic.
