THE CEIFIN CENTRE

Family Life Today - The Greatest Revolution?

Speakers at the 2008 Conference

Rachael English, CHAIR

Rachael English has worked as a reporter and presenter on most of RTE radio's main current affairs programmes, including the News at One and Morning Ireland. For six years, she presented the evening drive time programme, Five Seven Live.

She has presented programmes as diverse as 13,000 Boxes, which put a human face on some of the extraordinary stories contained within the last census, and The Big Science Debate where contentious scientific issues from euthanasia to stem cell research were debated in front of an audience. She also presents The Late Debate on RTE Radio One.

A communications graduate of Dublin City University, Rachael began her career at Clare FM radio in Ennis. She is from Shannon in Co. Clare.

Fr. Harry Bohan

Fr. Harry Bohan, Chairman of The Céifin Centre, qualified as a sociologist in the University of Wales, and is currently Director of Pastoral Planning in the Diocese of Killaloe, and Parish priest in Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare. In 1973 he founded the Rural Housing Organisation based on the concepts of family and community, to revitalise rural villages and small towns and to counter the growth of large, soulless housing estates. Through its activities 2,500 houses were built in 120 communities in 13 counties.

In 1998 he founded The Céifin Centre for Values-led Change to reflect, debate and direct values-led change in Irish society. He has written extensively on Christianity, spirituality, economic development and on understanding change. His publications include Ireland Green, and Community and the Soul of Ireland. Fr. Harry is recognised as one of the leading social commentators in Ireland today. He has broadcast widely on national radio and television and was appointed to the Task Force on Active Citizenship by An Taoiseach in 2006. He is also well known for his involvement in sport, and Clare Hurling in particular.

Cardinal Seán Brady

Cardinal Seán Brady was born in Laragh Co. Cavan. He was educated in both St. Patrick’s College, Cavan and St. Patrick’s College Maynooth, where he received a BA in Ancient Classics, before moving to Rome where he completed a doctorate in Canon Law in 1967. Cardinal Brady was ordained in 1964 and he has since held various positions, including Professor of St. Patrick’s College Cavan, both Vice-Rector and Rector of the Irish College, Rome; Parish Priest of Castletara Co. Cavan; and ultimately Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all-Ireland since 1996. He also holds the position of President of The Irish Bishops Conference, and Member of the Holy See’s Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Goods of the Church. He was created Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in November 2007

Kieran McKeown

Kieran McKeown is a social and economic research consultant. He has carried out research for a diverse range of Government Departments, statutory agencies and voluntary bodies. Over the past decade, his research has had a major focus on family well-being, and the effectiveness of services, including parenting programmes and couple counselling, in supporting families. In the area of children, he has carried out a range of studies on the mental health needs of children, and evaluated the effectiveness of mental health programmes. More recently, he carried out research on the prevalence of special education needs among children. His work is widely published in reports, books, and articles, and is available through various websites.

Charles Handy

Charles Handy is a writer, broadcaster and lecturer. His books on the changing shape of work and its effects on our lives and organizations have sold almost two million copies around the world. He has recently published a book with his wife Elizabeth, a portrait photographer, entitled ‘The New Philanthropists: The New Generosity.’ ‘Myself and Other More Important Matters’, a series of reflections on his life, came out in May 2006.

He has, in his career, been an oil executive with Shell, a business economist, a professor at the London Business School, the Warden of St. George’s House in Windsor Castle (a study centre for social and ethical issues) and the Chairman of the Royal Society of Arts. He is also known in Britain for his Thoughts for Today on the BBC radio breakfast show ‘Today’. He is Irish and grew up in Kildare, but now lives in London.

John Quinn

John Quinn was a senior producer with RTE Radio l, from 1977 to 2002. His programmes won numerous distinctions, including three Jacobs Awards, and International Awards. He specialised in educational series and in documentaries. His weekly educational magazine ‘The Open Mind’ ran for thirteen years. Born in Ballivor, Co. Meath, he was educated at Patrician College, Ballyfin, Co. Laois and St. Patrick’s College of Education, Dublin. A former teacher at both primary and post-primary levels, he also spent five years as an editor in educational publishing.

He has written 6 novels, five for children, one of which won a Bisto Children’s Book of the Year Award and has edited three best selling editions of his radio programmes including ‘My Education’ and ‘The Open Mind Guest Lectures 1989 – 1999’. Other works include ‘All Changed’ ~ a review of how Ireland has changed over the past 50 years; and ‘Sea of Love, Sea of Loss’ ~ a personal memoir. His most recent book is ‘Goodnight Ballivor, I’ll Sleep in Trim’~ A Childhood Memoir.

In February 2003, he was awarded an honorary D. Litt. by the University of Limerick.

Dr. John Yzaguirre

Dr. Yzaguirre has been a keynote speaker at international and national conventions in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe in the areas of family life, prosocial skills development, and cross-cultural issues. Every year more than 30,000 people participate in his training seminars. A native from Barcelona, Spain, he has offered his psychological services in the United States for more than 30 years. He received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Southern California and his Master's degree in Psychology from Boston College.

Dr. Yzaguirre is a licensed psychologist, educator, and author. Besides his active private practice and speaking engagements, he works as a consultant to business, educational, religious, and health organizations throughout the United States. He was the director of the psychology department at Children's Hospital of Orange County. With his wife, Claire Frazier-Yzaguirre, MFT, M.Div., has co-authored Thriving Marriages: An Inspirational and Practical Guide to Lasting Happiness.

Ciana Campbell

Originally from Swinford, Co. Mayo, Ciana graduated from UCG in 1979 with a B.A. Degree in Psychology. She began her broadcasting career in RTE in 1980. For the following eighteen years Ciana presented and reported on both radio and television. She worked in many departments including Features, Young People’s and Current Affairs. She was the recipient of a number of awards including a Jacob’s Television Award and an A.T. Cross Woman Journalist Award.

Ciana and her family moved to Ennis, Co. Clare in 1998 where she provides media consultancy, training and presentation services for a variety of organisations. In 2006 she was awarded a Higher Diploma in Health Promotion by NUIG. Ciana is also on the organising committee for The Ennis Book Club Festival. She is married with two daughters.

Jim Power

Jim Power is a graduate of University College, Dublin. He is Chief Economist at Friends First Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eureko, one of Europe’s largest insurance groups. He previously worked as Chief Economist at Bank of Ireland Group and Treasury Economist at AIB Group. He teaches Finance and Economics on the Local Government MBA at Dublin City University and Economics on the Executive MBA at the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business in Ireland. He is a regular speaker at economic and financial conferences both in Ireland and overseas. A frequent contributor to media, he appears regularly on radio and television both in Ireland and overseas. He also writes a weekly column in the Irish Examiner and contributes to numerous other newspapers and magazines on an occasional basis. He is editor of the Friends First ‘Quarterly Economic Outlook’, which has become established as one of Ireland’s leading economic commentaries on the Irish economy.

Geoffrey Shannon

Geoffrey Shannon is a solicitor and senior lecturer in family and child law at the Law Society of Ireland. He also holds the various positions of Special Rapporteur for Child Protection, Child Law expert to the National Longitudinal Study of Children in Ireland, Irish Expert member of the Commission on European Family Law and Chairman of the Adoption Board of Ireland.

Geoffrey is a prolific author, with his most recent book being a major new work on divorce titled Divorce: Law and Practice (Thomson Round Hall, 2008).He is also the editor of the Irish Journal of Family Law and has written extensively on family and child law issues.

Geoffrey was the recipient of the Canon Maurice Handy Award for the period January 2006 to December 2007. This award is given “to the person who, in the opinion of the Adjudication Panel, has made the greatest contribution on a national level to the understanding, knowledge and support of marriage/relationships in Ireland”.

Marie Murray

Marie Murray has worked as a Clinical Psychologist since 1975. She is Director of the Student Counselling Services in University College Dublin, prior to which she was Director of Psychology at St Vincent’s Psychiatric Hospital in Fairview in Dublin. Academic involvements have included faculty membership of the Mater Family Therapy Training Programme and of the Academic Advisory Board of the CTYI at Dublin City University in addition to being Director of the Master’s in Systemic Family Therapy at the University of Limerick.

Marie is an Irish Times Health Columnist. She is a well-known contributor to radio and television and may be known best for her years providing a weekly psychology slot on the Today with Pat Kenny radio programme. She is a prolific writer, lecturer and commentator and has published widely in the areas of mental health, education and psychology. Her most recent book ‘Living Our Times’ published in hardback by Gill and Macmillan in 2007 sold out immediately and is being released in paperback this autumn 2008.

Mary Forde

Mary Forde has held the position of Principal of Presentation College, Athenry, Co. Galway for the past five years. She has a wide experience of the Irish education system having worked on secondment to the Department of Education & Science for twelve years. She was involved with both writing and developing the very successful Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) and she currently works with the DES in the training of school Principals and Deputy Principals at second level. Mary has also lectured in a number of training colleges at third level including UL, NUI Galway and St Angela’s. She was responsible for a number of innovations in the Irish education system, including creating school community links through Irish and English with both state agencies and third level colleges. Currently she works with a Professional Learning Network on the sharing of best practice in Irish second level education. Mary is married with five children. She has an avid interest in Irish culture, music and Gaelic games.

Claire Frazier-Yzaguirre

Claire Frazier-Yzaguirre is a popular speaker, consultant and licensed marriage and family therapist with over 20 years of experience helping couples and families. She holds Master's degrees from Fuller School of Psychology and from Fuller School of Theology in Pasadena, California. She spent one year at the Institute of Holy Land Studies, in Jerusalem, specializing in biblical studies and ecumenical dialogue.

With her husband, John Yzaguirre, Ph.D., she co-directs the California Prosocial Institute in Irvine, California and has co-authored Thriving Marriages: An Inspirational and Practical Guide to Lasting Happiness which has been translated into Spanish and Italian. She has developed numerous formation programs to assist local communities in the creation or enrichment of marriage and family life ministries, lay leadership formation, women in ministry, and community outreach. She is a sought out consultant for the departments of family life and religious education of several dioceses and denominations in the U.S.