Stroke Conference 2026

Anne O’Connor

Chief Executive Officer of the Health Service Executive

Anne trained and worked as an Occupational therapist in the UK prior to commencing her career with the Irish Health Service. She has worked at a National Director Level in the HSE from 2014 when she took on the role of National Director Mental Health. In early 2018 she became the first National Director for Community Operations and was within a few months appointed Deputy Director General/ Chief Operations Officer in May 2018, leading the National Senior Operations team. From March 2020 she led the HSE’s national operational response to the COVID pandemic and the Conti Cyber Attack of 2021. Anne joined the Vhi in August 2022 as Managing Director of VHI Health & Wellbeing DAC and subsequently also took on the role of interim Group Healthcare Officer. In this role she led the development and delivery of healthcare services to Vhi members. Anne left Vhi to take up the role of CEO of the HSE in March 2026.

Professor Sir Michael McBride

Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland

Prof Sir Michael McBride graduated with Distinction from Queen’s University Belfast in 1986. In 1991 he attained a Research Fellowship at St Mary’s Medical School and Imperial College London, where he carried out research into new drug treatments for HIV. He was appointed Physician in HIV medicine at the Royal Group of Hospitals in 1994 and took up the post of Medical Director in August 2002. He has a longstanding interest in continuing medical education and was Postgraduate Clinical Tutor between 1996 and 2000 and Director of Education from 2000 in the Royal Group of Hospitals. He was appointed to the post of Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health in September 2006. Prof Sir Michael was knighted in Her Majesty's 2021 Birthday Honours for services to public health in Northern Ireland. He was awarded a Professorship in Public Health Practice from Queens University Belfast in 2021 for services to Public Health.

Emma Balmaine

Chief Executive Officer, Irish Heart Foundation

Emma Balmaine was appointed CEO of the Irish Heart Foundation in August 2023. Emma was CEO of Saint John of God Hospital from 2011, where she led the mental health service, specialist dementia service and Mental Health First Aid Ireland. Prior to this she was General Manager of Blackrock Hospice with Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services. Emma is a very experienced Chief Executive with over 20 years’ experience in the healthcare, education, and social care sectors.

Simon Barrett

Stroke Survivor, Irish Heart Foundation Patient Champion & Volunteer

Father of two teenage girls, a Husband, a Son, a Brother, and a Stroke Survivor.

After 27 years in automotive sales, managing one of South Dublin's busiest dealerships, my life took an unexpected turn three and a half years ago when I suffered a stroke. This sudden change in direction required me to rebuild and rediscover myself, ultimately shaping the new person I am today.

Dr Matt Crockett

Neurointerventional Radiologist and Director of the National Thrombectomy Service, Beaumont Hospital

Matt undertook his radiology training in the Mater Hospital followed by a 3-year neurointerventional fellowship in Australia (NIISWA, Perth). Matt has been a consultant neurointerventional radiologist in Beaumont Hospital since 2020. He is currently the Director of the National Thrombectomy Service as well as the joint clinical lead for stroke and the clinical lead for neuroradiology in Beaumont.

Professor Joseph Harbison

Consultant Geriatrician and Stroke Physician, St. James's Hospital. Deputy Head of School of Medicine and Associate Professor of Medical Gerontology, Trinity College Dublin. Clinical Lead of the Irish National Audit of Stroke

Dr. Joe Harbison is Deputy Head of the School of Medicine with responsibility for Academic Affairs at Trinity College Dublin. He is also a Consultant Physician working in St James's Hospital Dublin, the largest hospital in the country. He helped establish the Stroke Service in this hospital and still works half time as a clinician there caring for patients and training Junior Doctors. He still participates in on-call medicine and is a Member of the National Clinical Advisory Group for Stroke. In addition, he is a teacher and researcher in Trinity College Dublin. He is Clinical Lead for the Irish National Audit of Stroke.

Joan McCormack

Cardiovascular Programme Audit Manager, National Office of Clinical Audit

Joan McCormack is an experienced healthcare leader with over 30 years expertise in neuroscience nursing, stroke services, clinical programme management, and national healthcare audits. She currently serves as Cardiovascular Audit Programme Manager with the National Office of Clinical Audit, leading the Irish National Audit of Stroke and the Irish Heart Attack Audit. A Registered General Nurse with postgraduate qualifications in management, clinical practice, and an MSc in Integrative and Humanistic Counselling and Psychotherapy, Joan has a strong track record in quality improvement, stakeholder engagement, service development, and data-driven healthcare transformation. Based in Dublin, she has held senior leadership roles across the HSE, RCPI, Irish Heart Foundation, and Beaumont Hospital.

Dr Ajay Bhalla

Director of Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) within the Stroke Programme at King’s College, London, Consultant Stroke Physician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital

Ajay qualified at St George’s Hospital Medical School in 1992. He completed his MSc Gerontology in 2000 at King’s College and his MD thesis in 2001 on physiological homeostasis after stroke. He has been a Consultant Stroke Physician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital since 2009 and has held several committee appointments within the British and Irish Association of Stroke Physicians. His academic interests include health service-related stroke research with the South London Stroke Register at King’s College, London where he is an Honorary Reader and has published over 80 peer reviewed scientific papers. He is currently the Director of Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) within the Stroke Programme at King’s College, London.

Professor Avril Drummond

Professor of Rehabilitation, School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University. Emeritus Professor of Healthcare Research at the University of Nottingham

Avril Drummond is an occupational therapist, Emeritus Professor of Healthcare Research at the University of Nottingham and Professor of Rehabilitation at Loughborough University. She has a longstanding clinical and academic interest in the rehabilitation of people with stroke and has published on clinical services and rehabilitation interventions. She is a past Chair of the UK Stroke Forum, the founding Chair for the European conference on Life after Stroke and a Trustee of the UK Stroke Association. She is the editor-in-chief of Clinical Rehabilitation and has been recognised as an NIHR Senior Investigator.

Professor Áine Carroll

Consultant Professor of Healthcare Integration and Improvement at University College Dublin, Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine at the National Rehabilitation University Hospital, Dublin

Professor Áine Carroll is Professor of Healthcare Integration and Improvement at University College Dublin and a Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine at the National Rehabilitation University Hospital. She is an internationally recognised leader in rehabilitation, integrated care and health-system improvement, with extensive experience in clinical practice, policy, research and healthcare leadership.

Chris Macey

Former Director of Advocacy and Patient Support, Irish Heart Foundation

Chris Macey was a national newspaper journalist with the Irish Press Group and Independent Newspapers for almost two decades, specialising in politics, crime and health. He then worked as a Special Adviser in the Departments of the Taoiseach and Foreign Affairs and was later the publisher of a stable of local newspapers and specialist magazines. He joined the Irish Heart Foundation in 2009, establishing a formal advocacy function that has resulted in significant policy progress for cardiovascular health in Ireland, as well as developing a national support service serving thousands of stroke survivors and heart patients every year.

Dr Ivan Wiggam

Consultant Stroke Physician at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast and Interim Clinical Lead for the NI Regional Stroke Network

Dr Wiggam trained in Belfast and Edinburgh and is currently Consultant Physician in Stroke Medicine at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. He is a previous member of Clinical Standards Committee of British and Irish Association of Stroke Physicians (2016-2022) and was co-author of 2021 UK Multi-Society Consensus Guidance to support safe provision of Mechanical Thrombectomy. Dr Wiggam was appointed Interim Clinical Lead of the NI Regional Stroke Network in 2022.

Professor Rónán Collins

Consultant Physician in Geriatric and Stroke Medicine and Clinical Director of Medicine at Tallaght University Hospital and Peamount Hospitals Dublin. Former Clinical Lead for the Irish National Stroke Programme

Professor Rónán Collins is the Clinical Director of Medicine, and a consultant in Geriatric and Stroke Medicine at Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) and Peamount Hospitals Dublin. He is associate clinical professor of Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin. He is the outgoing Clinical Lead for the Irish National Clinical Programme for Stroke, a position he has held since 2017. He has been a steering group member of the Irish National Audit for Stroke (INAS), the National Thrombectomy Service, the RCP Intercollegiate Stroke Guidelines for UK and Ireland, and more.

National PI on ENOS, TICH-2 and TICH-3 trials and national coordinator of the BLITZ-AF and GLORIA-AF registries and the Horizon 2020 funded EHRA-PATHS collaborative. Current council member and past vice president of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, Fellow of the ESO. Member of European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) writing group on ‘Practical guide for oral anticoagulation with NOACS in Atrial Fibrillation’. Regular contributor to the media in print, radio and television on aging and stroke matters.