The ICCL staff in December 2017
L-R Liz Farries, Chris McCartin, Maeve O’Rourke, Sinéad Nolan and Liam Herrick.
Liam Herrick was appointed to Executive Director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) in November 2016. Prior to his appointment, he worked as Advisor to President Michael D. Higgins for almost three years. Liam was Executive Director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) between 2007 and 2014. He has also worked as the first head of legislation and policy at the former Irish Human Rights Commission and with the Law Reform Commission and the Department of Foreign Affairs. He is a former member of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), a former Board member of the Children’s Rights Alliance and the Minister for Justice and Equality’s Strategic Review Group on Penal Policy (2012-2014). Liam graduated from University College Cork with a BCL and LLM and from University College Dublin with a Diploma in Human Rights Law.
Doireann Ansbro is Senior Research and Policy Officer for the ICCL. She is called to the Bar of England and Wales where she worked in criminal law and asylum and immigration law. She has previously worked as associate legal adviser to the International Commission of Jurists, consultant to the UN Special Rapporteur on truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence and human rights attache to the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the UN in Geneva. She holds an LLM in Human Rights Law from the University of Nottingham, an LLB (Graduate) from Nottingham Law School and a BA from Trinity College Dublin.
Elizabeth Farries is the Information Rights Project Manager for the Irish Council for Civil Liberties together with the International Network of Civil Law Organizations. She is called to the Bar in British Columbia, and has a practice background in litigation, intellectual property, and human rights. She additionally has policy experience with the Canadian provincial government; has provided legal services to indigenous and impoverished clients in criminal, family law, and human rights matters; and has published work with and sat on the executive board of several NGOs. Elizabeth has a BSc and JD from the University of Victoria, a SSHRC funded Masters from the School of Information at the University of Toronto, and is a Frances E. Moran PhD Candidate at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Law. Her research interests focus on how women’s privacy rights are encroached online. On this and other topics, she has numerous trade, academic, and community publications.
Sinéad Nolan took up her post as Public Engagement and Communications Officer with the ICCL in October 2017. She previously worked with Front Line Defenders, an Irish organisation which provides protection to human rights defenders at risk. Before that, she spent a year working alongside activists at risk in northern Mexico with Peace Brigades International (PBI) and she continues to advocate for the protection of organisations, communities and defenders with PBI Ireland. Sinéad has participated, as a delegate and interpreter, in the Caravana Colombiana, an international delegation of jurists that observes the situation of human rights lawyers in Colombia. She has also worked on the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. Sinéad holds an MA in International Security and Conflict Studies and has voluntary experience working in homeless services and with sex workers in Dublin.
Chris McCartin joined the ICCL as an Administrative Officer in September 2017 and is responsible for office operations. Chris has previously provided administrative support to key units in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Prior to joining the ICCL, he worked with University College Dublin’s University Secretariat to support a number of governance and management committees.
Grace Tierney joined ICCL as Funding Development Officer in November 2018. She previously worked as Fundraising Manager for Suas Educational Development. Grace attended Trinity College Dublin receiving a BA in Economics and Social Studies and is currently undertaking a Masters of Public Policy at the University College Dublin.
