Board of Directors

Missio Ireland’s Board is voluntary and independent. Its members oversee governance, budgets, and strategies.

Kieran O’Reilly, SMA, is the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly. He is the Chairman of the National Mission Council of the Irish Episcopal Conference and is the former Superior General of the Society of African Missions. Archbishop Kieran has served as a missionary in Nigeria and Liberia.

Niall Kennedy, a retired businessman, was a Supreme Knight of the Knights of St. Columbanus and an honorary Life President of FIHC Unum Omnes. Secretary General of the International Alliance of Catholic Knights, Niall is also the Chairman of worldpriest.com.

Born in 1958 in Drimnagh in Dublin, one of a family of 7 children. He attended both primary and secondary school in Drimnagh Castle CBS.
After a period working as a clerical officer in Dublin County Council, he entered seminary in 1980, studying Philosophy in Clonliffe College, followed by a degree in Theology in St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth. He was ordained for the archdiocese in June 1986
His first appointment was as a Priest-Teacher in Coláiste Dhúlaigh in Coolock. He then spent five years as a diocesan adviser for Religious Education in Primary Schools. This was followed by eight years as chaplain to St Mark’s Community School in Tallaght.
Parish appointments followed – in Lucan South for seven years followed by eleven years in Wicklow Town. Then, after just one year in Cabinteely, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin and was ordained in St Andrew’s Church, Westland Row on 26th May 2024.
An Auxiliary Bishop is given a titular see; Donal’s is that of the ancient diocese of Cell Ausaille which is situated in the area of Killashee near Naas, County Kildare. Saint Auxilius was said to be a nephew of St Patrick and there are monastic ruins in Kilashee that are believed to date back to the fifth century.

A Sister of Mercy, Sr Liz holds a Ph.D. in psychology. An educator and researcher, she was the Provincial Leader of her congregation and Secretary General of the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI). Qualified in the areas of governance and charity regulations, Sr Liz also serves on a number of national boards.

A retired school principal, Seamus coordinates sacramental catechesis for children within his parish and assists with the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). He was a member of the Council for Pastoral Renewal and Adult Faith Development of the Irish Bishops’ Conference and is currently the Secretary General of the International Council for Catholic Men (Unum Omnes).

Head of Religious Studies in St Louis Ballymena, Shauna Rose Pickering comes from a strong background of evangelisation and working with young people both at home and overseas. She is a former vice-chairperson of Friends of Africa and has been on mission in Africa and South America with several missionary congregations from Ireland.