Helping companies in Ireland strengthen
research and innovation.
IRDG is an independent, business-led network for companies and research organisations working on research, development and innovation in Ireland. We help members develop their capabilities, learn from other organisations, find relevant expertise and funding, and bring industry experience into policy.
Strengthening Irish research and innovation.
Members range from small Irish-owned businesses to multinational companies and third-level research organisations. They work across different sectors and industries, and learn a great deal from sharing, collaborating and interacting with one another. IRDG brings all of this experience together and helps companies innovate better.
Meet the IRDG team.
Contact our team for help with membership, innovation services, programmes, funding or policy.
Dermot Casey
Chief Executive Officer
Dermot became CEO in January 2022. His career spans deep-technology investing at NDRC, scaling Storyful as COO, and technical and management roles at GE. He is a Director of the NSAI.
Mary Byrne
Director of Member Success
Mary leads membership development and communications, helping companies find the people, programmes and support most relevant to their work.
Bernadette McGahon
Director of Innovation Services
Bernie brings more than 20 years of research and innovation experience across academic, industry and public-sector settings.
Julia Le Maitre
Innovation Services & Sustainability Manager
Julia works with members across sustainability and innovation services, drawing on experience in energy policy, consultancy and collaborative research.
Josh Blake
Network Manager — IRDG Innovation Skillnet
Josh works with companies to plan and deliver Skillnet-supported training through IRDG Innovation Skillnet.
Lorraine O'Farrell
Executive Assistant
Lorraine coordinates events and conferences, supports member enquiries and provides communications and administrative support across IRDG.
The team
Working with members.
Most of what IRDG does happens in the company of members. The team runs the programmes that build innovation capability — Foundations for Strategic Innovation, Strategic Innovation and Entrepreneurship for SMEs, the AI programmes, the mentoring programme and the training delivered through IRDG Innovation Skillnet. It convenes the practice groups, the Sustainability Leaders Forum and Members Question Time, where companies compare experience directly, and it organises the events, site visits and the Amplify summit that bring the network into one room.
Alongside that, the team briefs members on funding and the R&D Tax Credit, publishes Ireland's Innovation Index with KPMG each year, and carries member evidence into pre-budget submissions and consultations with the Department of Finance and Revenue. Much of the work is smaller than any of that: a call about a funding route, an introduction to a company that has solved the same problem, a visit to see how a member's team works. Contact us when your team needs help with an innovation challenge.
Board of Directors
A voluntary Board drawn from industry.
Dr John McKeon
Chair
Co-Founder & CEO, Allergy Standards
John is a medical entrepreneur whose work connects health, standards, research and the commercial application of evidence.
Muiris Flynn
Director
Former Chief Technology Officer, Glen Dimplex
Muiris has led technical and product-development work across energy and consumer technologies.
Joan Mulvihill
Director
Digitalisation and Creativity Evangelist
Joan works on creativity, technology, digitalisation and the human side of organisational change.
Richard Stack
Director
Director, Tricel
Richard has led innovation, growth and international operations across industrial, environmental and construction markets.
Nessa McEniff
Director
Centre Director, Learnovate Centre, Trinity College Dublin
Nessa works in learning innovation and EdTech, translating research into practice at Learnovate.
Seamus Ledwith
Director
Senior Principal R&D Engineer, Medtronic Vascular
Seamus has spent his career in medical-device R&D, engineering and operations innovation in a highly regulated environment.
Dervilla Mullan
Director
Chief Product Officer, NewsWhip
Dervilla leads product, engineering and AI work in communications technology and data-led software.
Niall Donnellan
Director
Services Projects Manager, Dell Technologies
Niall manages complex services and innovation projects at a multinational technology organisation in Ireland.
IRDG Innovation Skillnet
Steering Committee
IRDG Innovation Skillnet is guided by a Steering Committee drawn from industry; for information about the committee, contact Josh Blake, Network Manager.
Ways to participate
How members shape our work.
Members share experience and help shape IRDG's programmes and policy through our groups and forums. Find the topic that interests you and contact the team to take part; every way to get involved is listed on the Get involved page.
Policy Working Group
Evidence on the policy, tax and support issues affecting research, development and innovation.
Member working groupInnovation Management
Strategy, portfolios, governance, measurement and repeatable innovation practice.
Innovation Practice GroupSustainability Leaders Forum
Products, processes and business models responding to climate, resource and transition challenges, and the reporting that goes with them.
Member forum