New Chairperson for Tuath

Tuath welcomes the appointment of Prof. Paddy Gray as Chair of the Board of Directors.

Welcoming the appointment, Sean O’Connor, CEO of Tuath said: “Paddy is a highly respected academic and leading figure in social housing. He is a valued member of our Board of Management and provides us with vast expertise and experience in housing that will help Tuath deliver our strategic vision and mission. I and all the team at Tuath look forward to working with Paddy in his new role as Chair at this uniquely challenging time where the importance of having a safe, secure and affordable home has never been greater”.

A Professor at the University of Ulster, Paddy was awarded a Distinguished Community Fellowship by the University  for outstanding work in the community. He has extensive academic and applied research experience with over 400 publications on housing related issues. Among Paddy’s accomplishments are his appointment as the first and only Irish President of the Chartered Institute of Housing in 2010. He is on the board of the Wheatley Group in Scotland, Chair of the Wheatley Foundation, Vice Chair of Glasgow Housing Association, and on the Board of City Building Glasgow. He is Chair of Connswater Homes, Chair of iCare Housing and a member of Residential Tenancies Board in Ireland. In 2012 was awarded an honorary Fellowship of RICS. In 2015 he won the UK national award for Outstanding Contribution to Work Experience. In 2017 he was named the top Power Player in Housing in the UK & Ireland and in 2020 was awarded an OBE for his service to Housing and communities. He is a visiting professor at Spiru Haret University, Romania and Jiangxia University, Fujian China.  In 2021, Paddy was appointed by Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien, to sit on the newly formed Housing Commission.

Prof. Gray’s appointment comes shortly after former chair Daragh O’Sullivan announced his retirement as member and Chair of Tuath Housing Association’s Voluntary Board of Directors after 11 busy years. The outgoing Chair noted recently that he had “been part of a great team and saw the Association grow and help build communities. I have particularly loved this part of my role where I get to see first-hand what can be achieved by working in partnership with our key stakeholders, so thank you for this.”

We thank Daragh for his dedication and commitment to the Board of Tuath Housing. Daragh has tirelessly given his time and resources to help Tuath improve services and focus on delivering more homes. As we look back on Daragh’s time with us, we know that our achievements would not have been possible without him at the helm. We look forward to working from the platform Daragh and the Board of Directors have created and continue our mission ‘to provide good quality, secure homes that people can afford’.