Iarnród Éireann Management Team
Jim Meade, Chief Executive
Jim Meade was appointed Chief Executive in May 2018. He had previously been Director, Railway Undertaking since 2013 responsible for all passenger and freight services.
Jim leads the management team in ensuring that the railway is operated and maintained in a manner that prioritises safety for passengers, employees and third parties; provides a quality customer service to all who use the rail network; strengthens the productivity and performance gains that have been achieved in recent years to secure a sustainable financial position; and delivers rail’s contribution in support of the Government of Ireland’s policies on sustainable development.
He has worked in Iarnród Éireann throughout his career, beginning in 1983, initially in mechanical engineering, before moving to operations management.
Jim is an avid motorsports fan and has competed in a number of rallies and enjoys spending time with his family.
John Healy, Chief Operating Officer
John joined the Iarnród Éireann Senior Leadership Team in November 2024 as Chief Operations Officer, overseeing our day to day operations across both train operations and infrastructure. The Railway Undertaking, Infrastructure Manager, Commercial Business Units and Chief Information Officer businesses report to the COO on a day-to-day basis to ensure an exclusive focus on the safe and reliable delivery of service to our customers, whether passenger, freight or port customers.
John joined Iarnród Éireann from the aviation industry having spent the last 6 years with the DAA as Head of Operational Delivery as well as oversight of Business Performance and Continuous Improvement. Prior to returning home to Ireland to join DAA, John spent the previous 20 years in the rail industry, culminating as Head of Command for London Underground, responsible for the command and control of the London Underground network, overseeing over 4 million passenger journeys daily.
Billy Gilpin, Director, Railway Undertaking
Billy joined Iarnród Éireann in March 2019 as Director, Railway Undertaking, and is responsible for the safe and punctual operation and maintenance of train services, and will oversee the development of our rail operations in tandem with the delivery of the National Development Plan investment in our fleet and infrastructure.
Billy joined the company from Serco, one of the world's largest providers of public services to Governments, where he was Country Manager for Serco Saudi Arabia, and Passenger Business Unit Director for SAR Saudi Railway
Prior to joining Serco in 2017, Billy had over 37 years experience with Translink in Northern Ireland, primarily in rail and bus operations, as well as employee relations, culminating in his appointment as Head of Rail Service Operations.
Éamonn Ballance, Director Infrastructure Manager
Éamonn is responsible for the provision and maintenance of the physical infrastructure of the Iarnród Eireann network as well as the train control and operating systems. He is a Chartered Civil Engineer, a Fellow of Engineers Ireland and holds an MBA from the University of Limerick.
He has worked in Iarnród Éireann throughout his career, beginning in 1979, initially in Dublin on the DART project before working in a number of railway infrastructure roles throughout the entire rail network.
Aidan Cronin, Chief Financial Officer
Aidan joined Iarnród Éireann in August 2008 as Chief Financial Officer. He is a Chartered Management Accountant (FCMA) and holds an MBA. He has wide accountancy and commercial experience in industry in Ireland and with General Electric in the USA.
He took over the responsibilities of Chief Financial Officer at Iarnród Éireann at a critical time, at the onset of the economic crisis in Ireland, and addressed the financial challenges facing the organisation through the resulting prolonged period of underfunding.
Ciaran Masterson, Director Human Resources
Ciarán is responsible for the Human Resources function in Iarnród Éireann, ranging from personnel development to industrial relations. It is a role he has held since 2010.
He joined Iarnród Éireann in 1985 as an Apprentice Electrician, and has worked in a range of roles including management responsibilities in the operations, catering and personnel areas.
Ciarán’s management responsibilities continue away from Iarnród Éireann, managing the schoolboys' team for his local club. He also enjoys the cinema with his family.
Barry Kenny, Corporate Communications Manager
Barry joined Iarnród Éireann in 1994 and has spent his career with the company in the communications area.
Best known for representing the company in the broadcast and print media, Barry is also responsible for a number of areas including social media policy and development; and liaison with public representatives, as well as media relations.
Barry enjoys travelling the world and has a keen interest in sport and current affairs.
Kay Doyle, Director of Health and Safety
Kay’s role is to lead the development of safety strategy and policy and provide impartial expert advice across the organisation. Kay joined Iarnród Éireann in 1982, and has worked in a range of roles across the company, including train operation, freight and infrastructure. These include Operations Safety Manager and Head of Safety, Infrastructure Manager.
Kay enjoys travelling, reading and spending time with her family.
Michael Power, Head of Transformation
Michael was appointed to a new role as Head of Transformation in May 2017 with a brief to support the implementation of various organisational developmental programmes. He has previously worked in a range of roles, to include strategy development, contracts management and service planning, having joined Iarnród Éireann in 1994 from our sister company Dublin Bus.
Paul Hendrick, Director of Capital Investments
Paul joined Iarnród Éireann in March 2021 as Assistant Director – Programme Systems Integration, and was appointed Director Capital Investments in July 2022. Paul’s career has encompassed senior delivery roles in Programme and Project Management including Grangegorman DIT Campus, Luas Cross City, Manchester Metrolink and Heathrow Terminal 2.
In the role of Director Capital Investments, Paul will lead a team of over 130 project management professionals, and continue the successful delivery of the programme. This critical senior role will lead the delivery of a suite of projects which include the DART+ Programme, Cork Area Commuter Rail, other regional city rail projects, Train Protection System and the new National Train Control Centre.
Mick McMahon, Chief Information Officer
Mick originally joined Iarnród Éireann in 1999 and has held the office of Chief Information Officer since 2019. He has responsibility for ensuring that IT delivers business value for Iarnród Éireann. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering, Master of Industrial Engineering, a MSc in Computer Applications and a MBA.
Mick is a keen cyclist and amateur photograher.
Glenn Carr, Director Commercial Business Units
Since joining Iarnród Éireann in 2001, Glenn’s career has encompassed roles including Human Resources Manager DART & Commuter, Head of Customer Relations, and General Manager Rosslare & Freight.
Appointed to the role of Director Commercial Business Units in August 2022, Glenn will have direct responsibility for the ongoing management and future development of Rosslare Europort, Freight and Navigator businesses. He will be building on our post-Brexit success in Rosslare Europort, and the ambition of our Freight Strategy, as we embark on major investment and expansion plans. This includes the goal to establish Rosslare Europort as Ireland’s Offshore Renewable Energy hub.