Our Staff

Michelle Thunder – Chief Executive

Michelle Thunder was appointed CEO of Saint John of God Housing Association in March 2021.  She holds a B.Comm. and Masters of Business from the Michael Smurfit School in UCD.  She also has a Post-Graduate qualification in Leadership for Non-profit Organisations from National College of Ireland.

She has worked in both Ireland and abroad, beginning her career in ICT, where she worked for both Irish and multi-national companies, before moving to education and the NGO sector.  She has worked with the Saint John of God Organisation since 2008.

Niall O’Shea – Head of Finance

Niall, a qualified Chartered Accountant with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from UCD, joined the Saint John of God Housing Association in February 2019. Niall held Finance Director roles in various companies and sectors, which include Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals, Manufacturing and Electronics in both the UK and Ireland.

Martin Ward – Housing Manager

Martin is a Chartered Member of Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and holds a Bachelor of Science in Housing Management from University Ulster (UU) and Diploma in Advanced Management Performance from UCD.  An experienced housing professional with over 15 years’ experience in Housing Management and Property Services for general needs, sheltered housing and supported housing types. Martin joined the staff of the housing association in July 2020 as Housing Manager where he has overall responsibility for the repairs and maintenance function as well as overseeing tenancy management at the Housing Association.

Sean Crowley – Development Manager

Sean has extensive experience of working in the not for profit sector with local and rural development companies in West Limerick and North Tipperary. He was Rural Development Manager in North Tipperary where he had responsibility for a number of community and economic programmes including the LEADER Programme. Previously, he led the development of a new arts centre for Nenagh. He has extensive community development experience and interagency work including project managing a significant numbers of capital projects.

He is a former member of North Tipperary County Development Board, Tipperary Tourism, North Tipperary Childcare Committee and North Tipperary Community Services. He served as chair of Nenagh Childcare Centre is current vice chair of Nenagh Credit Union.

He has formal education in Civil Engineering and Environmental Resources Management and more recently completed an MSc in Spatial Planning with Technological University Dublin.

Sean joined the St John of Gods Housing Association development team in 2017 where he leads the roll out of the capital programme which is primarily focused on the development of new community housing opportunities for People with Disabilities.

Alan Balmaine – Development Officer

Having qualified from Bolton Street College of Technology (DIT) in Land Surveying, Alan started his career in London, followed by a move to Boston and Los Angeles before returning to Ireland. Alan has experience of working in multi-national engineering companies with specific skills in the area of project management, budgetary and safety assessments requiring liaison with architects, engineers, solicitors, the Land Registry (PRA) and local authorities. Alan is also qualified in Building Information Management and is a professional member of the Irish Institute of Surveyors.

Declan Corrigan – Housing Officer

Declan came to our Housing Association having worked in the photographic industry for almost 30 years. In that time, he managed what was then the largest commercial photographic studio and laboratory in Ireland. From that experience, he gained knowledge and practical experience of machine and building maintenance and the responsibilities around managing a large facility. He currently looks after our facilities at Tessa House, Block D Gleann na hEorna and at Exchange Hall.

Donna Coulahan – Finance Officer

Prior to joining the Saint John of God Housing Association in November 2017, Donna had been working in finance for 16 years in a number of multinational companies such as Accenture and Whirlpool Corporation. As the Finance Officer with our Housing Association, Donna is responsible for compiling the monthly management accounts and board reports.