About Grow Remote
Our mission is to solve the problems of remote work in order to unlock social, economic and environmental change for individuals, employers and local communities.
Grow Remote was built by many hands since those first meetups in 2018. That’s what we mean when we talk about our Meitheal.
In 2019, we raised government funding so that we could dedicate a full-time team to continuing the good work of our grassroots community.
Today, the board and executive team make up Grow Remote Ireland, a Company Limited By Guarantee. You can find out more about our team below.
meet the team
Powered by our people
Dónal Kearney - Head of Programmes
Dónal leads on Grow Remote's work with Employer Partners and Communications, and formerly led our grassroots activity as Community Manager. He brings an eclectic professional background, combining a diverse skillset in social entrepreneurship, programme management and community-building. He has held positions with the United Nations in Geneva and human rights NGOs in Ireland, the UK and Bolivia. As well as co-founding of his own social enterprise, he is an acclaimed recording artist and has performed across the globe. Dónal held the position of interim General Manager in 2025-26.
Cait McConn - Operations Manager
Cait is in charge of Operations at Grow Remote. Before joining the team, Cait set up and ran her own award-winning business for a decade. Cait has worked in community and business development for almost 15 years, actively promoting the economic and social development of her community with the aim of creating a better place in which to live, work and do business. She has an educational background in Business, Finance and Executive Coaching, she was President of Roscommon Chamber of Commerce and sat as a board member of Roscommon Local Enterprise Office. Cait lives in Roscommon town with her husband Eoin.
Eoin Byrne - Training Manager
Eoin is our Training Manager. Before joining Grow Remote, Eoin was a researcher and lecturer at the National University of Ireland, Galway, where he was awarded his PhD in Irish Studies in 2020. He is the recipient of several prestigious research funding fellowships and has been invited to speak in several countries across Europe and North America. He has extensive experience in designing and delivering courses at third level and for adult education, both online and in person, and in multilingual contexts.
Victoria McCormack - Community Outreach Lead
Victoria has worked remotely for over a decade in some of the world’s leading tech companies, including Apple and Shopify. But what truly sets her apart is her unwavering passion for fostering meaningful connections and building vibrant communities among remote workers. Victoria has always gone above and beyond to create events that not only allowed employees to give back to their local communities and charities but also facilitated networking opportunities both in-office and virtually. When Victoria is not supporting the Grow Remote community or running her consultancy business, she uses her creative and adventurous spirit to convert vans into campers – she even travelled to 17 countries in a 1990 Fiat Ducato campervan!
Graham Harron - Impact & Data Lead
Graham leads on providing capturing the impact of remote work and resources for our team, community and stakeholders. After living and working away from home for +15 years, he relocated to rural Ireland and swapped a Central European downtown lifestyle and a multinational workplace for the Wild Atlantic Way! As one of our first “Remote Work Ready” course graduates and a community member thereafter – combined with his previous experience of working in a distributed team, he is passionate about the social impact that remote work can have on individuals and their local communities.
Michelle McKinney - Training specialist and instructional designer
Prior to Grow Remote, Michelle spent more than 12 years in the pharmaceutical industry, working for a number of years as an analytical chemist before pivoting her career to focus on training and instructional design. With an educational background in both science and adult education, she loves nothing more than breaking down complex topics to create engaging and effective training experiences that help people excel in their professional roles. Working remotely allows her to balance the demands of her work, her family and training for her next sporting challenge!
Ciara Herity - Business Development Lead
Ciara brings over 16 years’ experience in business development, sales and commercial growth, working with organisations to identify opportunities, develop sustainable strategies and deliver measurable results. After over a decade working remotely herself, Ciara has first-hand insight into the opportunities and challenges of flexible work. She is passionate about helping individuals and organisations create high-performing, balanced ways of working. Outside of work, Ciara is deeply involved in her local community and GAA clubs.
Helping us make a difference
The Board Of Directors
Laura Hanlon
Laura Hanlon is a Product Offer Manager for Dell. She is a co-founder of Grow Remote from its initial formation in 2018 and passionate about helping people to achieve their career goals from any location. Laura previously worked in community at Techstars Startup Weekend as well as founding her own company in Galway city.
Tracy Keogh, Chair
Tracy is a co-founder of Grow Remote and a recognised international leader in the world of remote. Having 10+ years experience in technology startups, Tracy spent the last few years in community development in regional and rural Ireland. A graduate of economics and finance from the University of Limerick, Tracy formerly worked for Bank of Ireland having set up their innovation programmes in the west.
Siobhán Curtin
Siobhán Curtin is Site Lead for eBay Ireland. An experienced leader in remote working and distributed teams. An early advocate for flexible work practices, she has helped shape approaches that expand access to employment beyond traditional office settings. She has been involved in developing remote working approaches within her organisation, supporting people across Ireland in accessing flexible work opportunities. Siobhán is a strong supporter of initiatives that promote remote work and regional employment across Ireland. She serves on this board in a personal capacity, sharing her experience and perspectives independently.
Tomás Ó Síocháin
Tomás Ó Síocháin is Príomhfheidhmeannach | CEO of Údarás na Gaeltachta and formerly CEO of the Western Development Commission. Prior to that he held a number of senior roles in Ollscoil na hÉireann | University of Galway and was a broadcast journalist, producer and editor with Irish national broadcasters RTÉ and TG4 between 1998 and 2013. A law graduate, he holds an MBA, a Higher Diploma in Applied Communications and is a non-executive director of Grow Remote, Future Mobility Campus Ireland and Galway Culture Company.He is Chair of the Advisory Board for the University of Galway Cairnes School of Business and Economics, a member of the National Hubs Network Steering Group and the National Remote Work Strategy Implementation Group. Formerly, he was the inaugural Chair of the Regional Skills Forum West, Chair of the WDC Whitaker Institute Remote Work Expert Group and an External Assessor for the Broadcast Authority of Ireland’s Sound and Vision Fund.
Renate Kohlmann
Site Lead, Wayfair - Founding Board member
John Riordan
Chairman, Shopify International Ltd - Founding Board member
John Evoy
Founding General Manager
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