Six new members have been appointed to the Red Cross Society board of directors under the Society’s new constitution. The newly drawn up constitution allows the members of the organisation to elect the chair for the first time in the Society’s history. Prior to this, the chairman of the board was appointed by the Government.  

Former secretary general of the Department of Defence David O’Callaghan was elected as chairman and will serve a three-year term. Mr O’Callaghan had previously served as chair of the Society since 2010.

The newly appointed vice-chairman, Tom Horwell, also enters his role with considerable experience. He is a veteran of the Red Cross Society and manager with the Health Service Executive’s national ambulance service.

The role of treasurer and secretary will be assumed by Denis Reeves and Barry O’Donovan respectively. Mr Reeves is a chartered accountant and Mr O’Donovan is a long-standing member of the Red Cross Society.

The other 2 positions on the board were given to Mary Flaherty, Chief Executive of The CARI Foundationand and Máirtín Ó Fainín, former Irish Ambassador to Austrailia, both of whom were appointed to the General Assembly of the Irish Red Cross Society earlier this month.

Chairman, David O’Callaghan, made the following statement in relation to the new members: ‘I am delighted to see such a wealth of talent with an appropriate balance of internal and external experience on the board of the Irish Red Cross.’ He will appoint a further 2 candidates to the 14-member board in the coming weeks.