Assistant Professor in IMB at NYU and Mentor and Consultant in Design and Innovation.

When a mountain biking accident ended his career in the military and left him confined to a wheelchair Noel went back to eduction to study Industrial design. He went on to utilise his new found skill set to become an entrepreneur bringing to life a number of small hardware based startups.

Travelling to and working in Shenzhen, China he subsequently went on to become head of design at HAX a hardware startup accelerator where he worked with over 200 startups in the areas of robotics, medical devices, consumer products as well as many more industries taking into account the business needs of these startups as well as their design needs.

An advocate of design as a problem solving activity and a keen interest in creating solutions to difficulties around many issues, Noel utilizes his unique prism of living both with and without a disability to create solutions to complex problems.

Returning to the sport of mountain biking Noel has developed an open source adaptive mountain bike for wheelchair users as part of his research at NYU. He has built and ridden adaptive mountain bikes worldwide as part of his work. He is pioneering the sport of adaptive mountain biking in Ireland by working with Cycling Ireland and other organisations.

Rural Recreation Officer, County Clare

Eoin Hogan has worked in outdoor recreation for over 15 years, 7 years as the Rural Recreation Officer (RRO) for County Kilkenny and for the past 10 years is the RRO for County Clare. In his time in Kilkenny, he set up and managed the award-winning non-profit company, Trail Kilkenny, which was the first project in Ireland to integrate outdoor recreational trails (hiking and cycling) with food and craft trails. In 2010 he developed the first digital trail app for smartphones and in 2014 Eoin moved to County Clare where he continues to manage outdoor recreation. He has developed the worlds first Digital Trail Management System integrating smartphone based surveying app, geolocated photo’s and IOT devices. The system has won two awards in 2024 – Outdoor Recreation Network Accessibility Award and the Digital Town Awards in the tourism category

Caroilin is a Director of the Westward Group, the company that saved Strokestown Park in the late 1970s. She is recognised for her work building connections and international recognition for Strokestown and Roscommon among many universities and institutions across the world.

Caroilin is deeply involved in the ongoing development of the National & Global Irish Famine Way. Caroilin is a director of a number of property and childcare businesses.

Vincent has over 20 years working in the outdoor sector, as an instructor & environmental educator and more latterly on assessing and mitigating recreational impacts in the Irish Uplands. He is a member of the management board of the Visitor Safety Group, the Access and Conservation committee of Mountaineering Ireland and the Upland Path Advisory Group. Vincent has walked run and climbed extensively across the mountains of Ireland & beyond.

Chris has over 20 years’ experience of working on upland paths, mainly in survey, design and supervision of repairs. He is an active member of Upland Path Advisory Group and has worked across many of the mountain areas of Scotland and Ireland. He has also been working on Peatland Restoration projects for the past 5 years.

Since early childhood Gwen Wilkinson has been exploring waterways, from canal and river journeys on board her parents barge to transatlantic crossings on ocean-racing yachts. In 2019 she set herself the challenge of building a canoe and paddling it the length of Ireland, along a network of inland waterways Her book, The Waters and the Wild tells the story of her journey. An award winning artist and maker, Gwen lives in the foothills of the Blackstairs Mountains in south County Carlow. www.gwenwilkinson.com

Josephine Kelly is a self-employed consultant currently contracted by Cairde na hEaragaile CLG to assist them to deliver on the actions and objectives of the ‘An Earagail Integrated Management Plan’. Josephine has been actively involved in rural development for over 20 years. Her current undertakings involve the management of Errigal Mountain and its environs and includes projects such as trail development and management, invasive species control (Rhododendron Ponticum), conservation projects (built & natural heritage), biodiversity action planning and peatland restoration.

Tom Losey founded Liquid Therapy in 2011, This small community group has grown to become a multi award winning charity operating in Ocean based blue spaces delivering Mental Wellbeing and inclusive programmes to young people, families and community groups from across the country who either cannot or who struggle to participate in main stream opportunities! Recently awarded ‘ Most Impactful Outdoor Provider’ at the Outsider Awards 2023!

For over a decade Tom has helmed the organisation on its journey of continued growth: Through participation in national, European and international projects and even a global pandemic! Tom is also the inclusion Officer for Irish Surfing, Irelands governing body for Surfing, Bodyboarding and Stand Up Paddle boarding!

Ellie Berry is a long-distance walker and Irish mountain climber. Since 2017, she has walked over 4,000km of long-distance trails around Ireland with partner Carl Lange as part of the Tough Soles project. In 2023, she set a new Irish record for the fastest known time for climbing all 275 mountains on the island of Ireland in a little over 50 days. You can find her adventures documented on toughsoles.ie.

Barry Dillon is the co-founder of Venture Out Wilderness Project CLG, a Galway based registered charity and social enterprise.

By merging his passion for outdoor adventure activities, with his professional experience in social care and youth work, Barry helped create an organisation that uses the outdoors and nature to affect positive change in people’s lives.

Venture Out design and deliver a range of ‘outdoor-based’ social care focused programmes, interventions and initiatives, with a specific focus on supporting those from disadvantaged areas and marginalised communities. Using a wide variety of outdoor spaces and environments, Venture Out harness the power of nature and outdoor adventure activities to support their participants.

Blueway Coordinator and Development Advisor – Blueway Partnership 

Outscape was appointed by the Blueway Partnership in Aug 2023 to undertake the role of Blueway Coordinator and Development Advisor. Chris is Outscape’s lead on this project which involves supporting the Blueway Partnership to deliver on their Action Plan and assisting Blueway developers and managers to refine their Blueway proposition, align with the accreditation criteria and ultimately deliver excellent Blueway experiences. 

The Blueway Partnership was established in 2019 and is the body responsible for the strategic oversight, guidance and brand management of Blueways. The Partnership is an all-island body comprised of Sport Ireland, Sport Northern Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Northern Ireland and Waterways Ireland. 

Shane Martin’s work as a psychologist spans various sectors and audiences. He is deeply engaged in the corporate world, offering training to multinational giants across Ireland, the UK, and Europe. In education, he is a familiar face in countless schools throughout Ireland, advocating for a psychology of health, happiness, and resilience among management, teachers, students, and parents. His influence extends to national educational conferences, where he has been a keynote speaker, and he has also addressed the Oireachtas committee on Education and Skills on the crucial topic of Positive Mental Health in Schools.

Beyond formal settings, Shane’s self-help course, “Moodwatchers,” has garnered widespread acclaim, both in community venues and online, attracting thousands of participants worldwide. He has worked extensively supporting health professionals throughout the island of Ireland, delivering tailored CPD sessions and well-being seminars.

Shane’s seminars are renowned for their engaging blend of storytelling, humour, and evidence-based psychology, consistently leaving audiences uplifted and inspired. This approach has seen him fill theatres nationwide with his social shows which mix poetry, psychology and humour. He is the author of the best selling book ‘Your Previous Life – How to Live it Well’ and three collections of poems.

Gráinne Moynihan is the Chairperson of St Declan’s Way, a 115km pilgrim walking trail from Cashel in Co Tipperary to Ardmore in Co Waterford, retracing the route St Declan took to meet St Patrick in Cashel in the fifth century. The trail passes through 12 towns, villages and hamlets in two counties and across a mountain range, before it meets the sea. Its’ success relies heavily on engagement with multiple stakeholders including landowners, community groups and State agencies.

Gráinne is an accountant by profession with a background in the drinks business and lived in Dublin, London and Prague for over 20 years. Now returned to her native Lismore in Waterford, she is a board member of Waterford Leader Partnership and Munster Vales and is also part of the Cappoquin Community Development team. As an avid outdoor adventuring enthusiast she is part of the Knockmealdown Active group who organise the annual St Declan’s Way walking pilgrimages and the Knock ME Down Adventure Race in the Knockmealdown Mountains.

Her passion is in trail development, in landowner engagement and in opening up our superb Irish countryside to new outdoor recreation and tourism opportunities.

Annemarie Sheehan supports communities across the country in the creation and setup of new Sanctuary Runners groups. She has been working and volunteering in the charity sector for over 16 years supporting organisations with operations, digital marketing and IT and has been a Sanctuary Runner since 2018.

Sanctuary Runners is a solidarity-through-sport initiative which uses running, jogging and walking to bring together asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and all Irish residents. With groups across Ireland they are currently expanding internationally.

After a wild childhood in west Cork, Jasper Winn began embarking on long cycles, walks, horse journeys and kayak trips across five continents – adventures he’s decanted into books, magazine articles, radio and television documentaries. Jasper is an advocate of slow adventures by paddle, pedal, saddle, boat and sail. He has circumnavigated Ireland by kayak and cycled across the Sahara. Twice.

https://www.instagram.com/theslowadventure/?hl=en

Ella McSweeney is an Irish journalist and reporter. She works across radio, television and print for various broadcasters and publications, including RTE, BBC, The Guardian and the Irish Times. She’s presented a wide range of radio shows for RTE, including Shanks Mare, Documentary on One, Into the Deep, award-winning Mind Matters, Future Tense, Nature’s Web, The Green Light, Farm Week, Countrywide, and she has also guest-presented The Ryan Tubridy Show. For BBC, she has reported for and presented Farming Today, On Your Farm and The Food Programme on Radio 4, and documentaries on BBC World Service. She has presented RTE’s food and farming television series Ear to the Ground since 2009.

Dr. Karen Weekes specialises in effective, transferrable coping tools for managing challenges faced in business, sport and life. Her PhD focused on effective coping strategies and motivations of elite endurance athletes. Karen combines this solid base of knowledge with her own experiences from numerous ultra-endurance expeditions, which includes rowing 3,000 miles solo, and unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean.

More at: www.karenweekes.com