About us
Board profiles
Bebhinn McKinley
Bebhinn joined the Board in September 2010 and has provided support and expertise to the personnel subcommittee over recent months. She has a background with Community Dialogue, having previously served as one of our dialogue facilitators. Bebhinn became involved because of her commitment to ensuring dialogue on those issues that it is often easier to avoid. She believes that dialogue is an essential but difficult part of the process of conflict transformation and peace building that will lead to a shared and peaceful society. Bebhinn is a member and former chair of Rasharkin Women’s Group. She completed a degree in English and Politics, an MA in Irish Studies, and Msc in Rural Development, an ILM Leadership and a Certificate in Evaluating Peace Building.
Fiona Murphy
Fiona joined the board of Community Dialogue in February 2010 and since this time has been involved in the personnel subcommittee. Prior to this Fiona had supported Community Dialogue in their application for Peace III funding and during this period became very impressed and supportive of the principles and aims of the group. Fiona decided to join the board because she strongly believes in the dialogue process and feels that Community Dialogue is offers a unique opportunity for individuals from different backgrounds and traditions to come together to discuss and explore important issues. Fiona has been employed as Trust Coordinator of Victims and Survivors Trust since May 2009 and is also secretary of Women in Sport and Physical Activity (WISPA).
Lyn Moffett
Lyn Moffett joined the Board of Community Dialogue in the summer of 2007, having previously both attended dialogues as a participant and commissioned dialogues as part of her work as Coordinator of Kilcranny House.
Lyn is currently Coordinator of Ballymoney Community Resource Centre, which has an area of influence that covers the Causeway Coast and Glens district council area. BCRC’s core activities include Networking and Community Development Support, Ethnic Minority and Migrant Worker Support, Disability Development and Support and promoting good community relations, which we do through a variety of programmes funded by IFI Community Bridges and the NE Peace III Partnership.
Lyn is a member of the Personnel sub-committee.
Marion Weir
Marion is a sociology graduate who has worked for the past twenty years in Community Development and Community Relations in NI. She worked for Rural Community Network NI from April 2000 to October 2006 when she took a career break to travel for 2 years returning in August 2008. On return Marion took up position as Re-imaging Development Officer with Craigavon Borough Council and in March 2011 started as Community Relations Development Officer for a new organisation, Open Hands which is an initiative of the former St Luke’s Church of Ireland in Northumberland St, Belfast. Marion’s role is to develop the now derelict building into a shared space for the surrounding community, working in partnership with other community organisations on both sides of the interface.
Marion has been involved with Community Dialogue from its inception, attending dialogue sessions, and is strongly committed to the process of bringing people together in a safe space to reflect and discuss contentious issues. Marion is also a member of the Healing Through Remembrance Project.
Sinead O’Regan
Sinead O’Regan joined the Board of Community Dialogue in 2008 and is currently Chairperson. Sinead is dedicated to ensuring that Community Dialogue is a strong organisation and an effective grass roots resource for the wider community, providing diverse groups with the opportunity to explore contentious political, social and economic issues in a safe environment.
Sinead has almost 20 years experience within community development and has developed expertise and key skills in developing and managing innovative, cutting-edge employability programmes aimed at those hardest to reach. Sinead established and currently manages Job Assist Centres West Belfast and has won regional, national and special national training awards for community organisations she has worked for.
Additionally, Sinead has been a board member of a wide range of both regional and local community and voluntary organisations and is a supervisor with the George Williams College, providing professional development supervision to students on diploma/degree courses in Informal Education.
Staff Profiles
Yvonne O’Donnell
Yvonne joined Community Dialogue’s staff team on 1 June 2010 as Project Administrator and also supports the Board’s Finance Sub-Committee. Yvonne has sound knowledge and experience of community development principles and practices, having worked with community based organisations for a number of years, most recently with the Job Assist Centre West Belfast as a Mentor/Employment Officer.
Yvonne’s current role involves working closely with the Coordinator, Dialogue Development Worker, Treasurer and Chairperson supporting the management and delivery of the Steps into Dialogue Project. “I feel privileged to be part of an organisation that is working towards building a better future in Northern Ireland”.
David Holloway
David became part time Coordinator of Community Dialogue in May 2010. He has been involved with Community Dialogue since its formation in 1996 serving in various roles including Chairperson, Operational Director, Senior Research Advisor and Senior Research and Training Coordinator.
He has been involved in peace building work for over 20 years and served with organisations including Project Portadown, Cooperation Ireland and Community Development Centre North Belfast.
David graduated from Queens University Belfast in 1988 with a BA in Archaeology; he completed a PhD in Social Anthropology in 1992 and was subsequently awarded a series of Research Fellowships in conflict and identity. David continues to work as a part time archaeologist.
David is married to Grainne and has two boys and a girl, Odhran, Fionnan and Sorcha.
Jim O’Neill
Jim has been with Community Dialogue as the Dialogue Development worker since April 2009; “I am privileged to be continuing the vital groundwork and development of the dialogue process instigated by those who preceded me, those individuals who set up Community Dialogue from 1997 onwards”.
Jim has been extensively involved in the field of peace building over the last 10 years and is currently co-chair (and founder member) of Towards Understanding and Healing which encourages groups involved in the Northern Ireland conflict to deal with the past by engaging in a process of storytelling and dialogue. He is also a member of the management committee of the Junction Community Relations Centre in Derry/Londonderry which engages groups across the North West region.
Jim also has extensive research experience in the area of conflict including work on the impact of cross border links on peace building while with the Centre for the Study of Conflict, University of Ulster
