I grew up in Churchtown, where my mother taught in Notre Dame secondary school. My family connections with Dundrum go back many generations on both sides. I attended Holy Cross National School, Scoil Naithí and St. Benildus College.
I learnt an appreciation of nature and the outdoors in the13th Rathfarnham Scouts – from Ray and Ben Keogh especially – and I helped to compile the history of the first 50 years of the unit. As a young person, I volunteered with Churchtown St Vincent de Paul. Seeing poverty in my own locality led me quickly towards politics as a means of addressing social injustice.
I graduated from UCD with a BA in Politics and Philosophy, and a 1st Class Honours MA in European Studies.
As a student I founded Campaign-Aid, an alliance of unions, development and youth organisations which campaigned to increase development aid. We helped to make global justice an issue in the 1990 Presidential election, inviting President Mary Robinson to visit Africa.
I have over 20 years of professional experience in technology, digital communications and management, in the private sector, as a business owner and with charities such as Glencree Centre for Reconciliation where I worked as a Peace Education Facilitator. Founder of Dundrum 2030, a community organisation open to all who want to work in the Dundrum area on the Sustainable Development Goals.