Ireland’s Residential Conference: Navigating The Future Of Housing

Michael is the Chairman and CEO of the O’Flynn Group. He is a leading figure in the Irish and UK property sectors, and is widely recognised for his experience and expertise. His insights on the Irish property market and construction sector are often sought by print and broadcast media.

Ian leads the overall masterplan, planning permits, land sales and infrastructure roll out for the 380 acre Cherrywood development in Dublin. He is also responsible for the development projects at the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in West Dublin. Ian has over 24 year’s experience in real estate and has managed the feasibility, design, planning, construction and handover stages of projects in the commercial, residential, rail, highway, pharmaceutical and higher education sectors. Ian is also Board Director for the Housing Infrastructure Services Co. (joint venture of ISIF and Cork Co.Co.)

I am an Assistant Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin, where my primary research areas are housing markets, urban economics, and economic history. I am particularly interested in long-run housing markets, in order to better understand current housing experiences such as rapidly increasing housing costs in many high-income cities. You can find out more about my research either here or at my profiles on RePEc or Google Scholar. In addition, I am a Research Associate at the Spatial Economics Research Centre in LSE and author of the Daft.ie Reports on Ireland’s sale and rental housing markets. I am also a Board member of the HEA, Honorary Secretary of SSISI, and on the organising committee of DEW. I am an active contributor to the policy debate, especially on the topic housing in Ireland. Most of the articles I publish either in my weekly column for the Sunday Independent or as commentaries for the Daft.ie Report are subsequently archived here. I am also engaged by a number of organisations each year, private and public, for public speaking or for bespoke consultancy. If that is of interest, please contact me. Students looking for materials relating to modules I teach should look for the relevant module on mymodule.tcd.ie. With the Trinity Online Education team, I also run an online course in the Economics of the Property Market. The course is aimed both at professionals, including policymakers, who work day-to-day with housing but who may not have the economics background, and at the general public.

Phelim is Head of Property of the Land Development Agency since its inception in September 2018 and has significantly developed and grown the scale and range of projects of the Agency in that time, including the delivery of the Shanganagh Castle scheme with DLRCoCo, the regeneration of St Kevin’s Hospital in Cork City and the redevelopment of the CMH, Dundrum. As part of the role he is responsible for the sourcing, acquisition, planning and pre-construction of a wide range of projects across the GDA and all the regional Cities. Phelim has over 20 years’ experience in senior property and development roles in both the public and private sector as well as delivery of large scale infrastructure programmes. Phelim is a graduate of University of Galway (BEng) with post graduate qualifications in project management, construction law and corporate finance.

Bryn is a Director and Head of Turner & Townsend’s Cost Management team in Dublin. Bryn specialises in large scale mixed use, residential and commercial development and has lead the delivery of some the largest and high profile residential schemes both in Dublin and London.

Hazel is a Chartered Engineer and Town Planner with over 30 years’ experience (public and private sectors) in all aspects of development – planning and land use, master planning, design development, transportation, infrastructure and environment, procurement and business case development. Prior to joining Bartra, at the invitation of Richard Barrett, Hazel had been Programme Director of the £150m. Strule Education Campus project for Northern Ireland’s Strategic Investment Board, bringing the programme through from inception through Master planning, Business Case and Governance development, Planning and Phase 1 Procurement and Construction. Previously, Hazel was Planning & Development Director for Ballymore (Ireland); Director of Planning with Treasury Holdings; Development Director of Headland Property Holdings and Senior Land Use and Transportation Planner with the Dublin Transportation Office (now TII). Projects include Spencer Dock and National Convention Centre; Central Park Leopardstown; Charlesland, Greystones; Whitewater Shopping Centre; Pelletstown/Royal Canal Park; College Square, Terenure; Drumnigh Wood and Station Road Residential, Portmarnock; M1 Business Park, Balbriggan and the U2 Tower Project. Hazel also acted on behalf of Treasury Holdings in the development of the PPP with the Rail Procurement Agency for the LUAS extension to Cherrywood. In her role as Strategic Planning Director for Bartra Hazel leads the planning strategy across all projects – social housing, private residential, healthcare/nursing home and commercial real estate. Additionally, Hazel works closely with Andrew Ennis, Bartra Investment Director, on the Bartra Social Housing fund and the Enhanced Lease and associated Call for Proposals process.

Marcus joined M&G Real Estate in June 2022 to lead the European Living strategy. Marcus brings over 15 years of Pan-European residential real estate experience to M&G Real Estate and has managed more than €8bn of residential real estate in various European countries. Prior to joining M&G Real Estate, he served as Head of Residential Asset Management at Round Hill Capital (RHC). Marcus was responsible for working together with stakeholders across its residential businesses to ensure that RHC took a consistent, high-quality approach to the active management of its residential businesses. Prior to that he served as Head of Corporate Development and Strategy at Deutsche Wohnen.

Peter Horgan is Managing Director of Grayling Properties and a founding Partner of Lugus Capital. Grayling Properties is a fully integrated property developer and operator. Peter has built Grayling into the leading independent end to end Residential Real Estate Operating Platform in Ireland with currently 1700 units under management and over 500 under development. With more than 20 years’ combined experience in the property and investment sectors, Peter has an extensive background in every aspect of property development and management, including acquisitions, disposals, lease agreements, planning and project management.   Prior to founding Lugus he worked at the top level of leading stockbroking firms,  as an analyst covering Hotels, Property and Housebuilding and in Equity Sales covering North America.  Peter holds a BSc Finance from University College Cork. 

Sabrina a respected business leader and Chartered Building Surveyor with 23+ years of commercial real estate experience. Sabrina established and lead Arcadis Ireland from 2017 to 2023, before stepping away to launch her own freelance consultancy business recently. Sabrina has inspected and reported on over 500 buildings / projects, in Ireland, UK and Europe. She has been a project monitor and project manager on several residential developments in Ireland and the UK. Her key areas of expertise are Technical Due Diligence (TDD), construction and development monitoring and asset management. Sabrina is a Fellow of the SCSI and RICS and a past Chairperson of the SCSI Building Surveying Professional Group (2-year role). Sabrina regularly helps with writing and updating reports in aid of construction good practice, such as the recent SCSI report on the Construction Costs for the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme Sabrina is active in the market, she has presented to the Oireachtas and government committees.

Known as a positive voice in the Irish Private Rented Sector (PRS), Galen is serial entrepreneur with global business experience. He started his career in hotel property management applications, became a pioneer in customer relationship management solutions and has two decades of experience focusing on the needs of the Irish PRS and Multi-Unit Development (MUD) sectors. As BuildingLink Ireland’s Managing Director, he is responsibible for implementing a world-class PRS Operating Platform to more than 10,000 residential units in Ireland with proprietary technology that integrates it into many Irish stakeholders to improve the resident experience and meet Environmental Social Governance (ESG) objectives. Galen is also a non-executive director and trustee of the Irish Landmark Trust both in the Republic and Northern Ireland.

Jon has 20 years’ experience of launching and growing smart technology and SaaS services into the UK & Irish market. Today he leads the multi-tenant real estate sales team for Quadient’s parcel locker and campus hub business working with property developers, managers, and owners across all residential asset classes.

Leo is Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer at IMS. For the past 20 years he has played a crucial role in the growth of the company with a client base now extending beyond Ireland into the UK and Europe; namely Germany, France, Italy & Switzerland with further projects in the pipeline for Portugal and Spain. IMS is a trusted Wi-Fi and guest technology partner for hospitality and serviced living in Ireland, the UK, and Europe. With cutting-edge technology and expert support, IMS collaborates with their clients to create seamless, secure, and sustainable solutions that meet the evolving needs of guests, and are dedicated to delivering great guest technology experiences, leading to better reviews, repeat bookings, and growth in average daily rates. IMS’ ability to design, deliver, and support has earned them the distinction of being the preferred provider for renowned hospitality brands including Staycity, Dalata, Frasers, Edyn, Radisson, and many more.

Kristian is a Managing Director in the Investment Team at Tristan Capital Partners with a 12-year track record in European real estate investment. Prior to joining Tristan, Kristian spent five years at CPPIB – Real Estate Investment, where he was focused on the acquisition and asset management of real estate across Europe. During his time in CPPIB, he was involved in direct asset acquisitions, platform investments and PIPE deals, successfully completing in excess of €3.0 billion in transactions. Kristian graduated with a first-class honours degree in Business and Legal Studies from University College Dublin and holds a MSc in Real Estate Investment from Cass Business School. Kristian is an Irish citizen.

Ben brings 25 years of industry experience to the Firm. As a Managing Director in the Asset Management group, based in London, he manages relationships with operating and development partners and is responsible for the performance of the Firm’s European investments. Prior to joining Harrison Street, Ben was in the Asset Management team at Kennedy Wilson focused on a variety of investments (primarily in UK and Spain) especially hotels, multifamily/PRS, residential development, retail and other specialist property sectors. While at Silverpeak Real Estate (formerly known as Lehman Brothers Real Estate Private Equity) from 2008-2012, he worked across geographies (including Central Europe, France and UK) on a number of developments and joint ventures, and prior to that he worked at Curzon Global Partners in London on Western European acquisitions and asset management (2005-2008). Ben spent two and a half years with ProLogis on their European Fund based in Amsterdam after he started his career at AEW Capital Management in Boston. Ben received a BA in History from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Margaret Sweeney is the Chief Executive Officer and a Board Director of Irish Residential Properties REIT Plc (I-RES). I-RES is the leading provider of quality private residential rental accommodation in Ireland with almost 4,000 homes in communities across Dublin and Cork. I-RES’s vision is to be provider of choice for the Irish living sector, known for excellent service and for operating responsibly, minimising its environmental impact and maximising its contribution to the community. I-RES shares are listed on the Main Securities Market of Euronext Dublin. Margaret has wide-ranging board experience, having been a Non-Executive Director of several regulated entities and listed companies, most recently Dalata Hotel Group Plc. A Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and a Chartered Director, she is also the Chair of the Industry Advisory Board and an Adjunct Professor at Dublin City University (DCU) Business School. Margaret is a Past President of Dublin Chamber of Commerce and previously held the position of Chief Executive Officer of daa Plc (Dublin Airport Authority) and Postbank Ireland Ltd. Margaret has a wide range of personal and professional interests, particularly relating to sustainability and the development of women leaders.

Miguel Fitzgerald is an Investment Director at Greystar Ireland and leads the investment department. He is responsible for growing Greystar’s assets under management in the Irish market by identifying acquisition and development opportunities for both BTR and PBSA assets and assisting in the raising of equity and debt. Prior to joining Greystar at the start of 2020, Miguel was an Investment and Asset Management Associate at Hines Spain, where he was the asset manager on a prime high street retail and hotel asset in Madrid’s historic city centre. He was also responsible for identifying potential deals across all real estate asset classes. Before this, he was involved with several real estate players in Dublin where he focused on opportunistic strategies with leading private equity clients to purchase NPL portfolios, retail and other investments. Post-acquisition he was involved in all facets of asset/investment management. Miguel is a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI), the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He was the first SCSI Property Finance and Investment Surveyor in Ireland. Since March 2020 he serves as a Non-Executive Director/ Board member/ Trustee of Depaul Housing Association, an approved housing body and registered charity in Ireland. And since Q4 2022 he is the Chairperson of the Housing Development Committee. Miguel was the youngest student to be awarded the Farmleigh Fellowship, a multidisciplinary scholarship (in his case sponsored by Treasury Holdings, including an internship in their Shanghai offices), awarded via a Master’s in Business Studies from University College Cork and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He also holds two real estate Bachelor’s Degrees from Technological University Dublin (where he has also lectured in real estate). He holds certificates in real estate from IE Business School, Oxford University, Harvard Business School, an ESG Investing certificate from CFA UK, and real estate financial modelling/fund management certificates from Bayfield Training.

Antonio Marin-Bataller is the Managing Director for Pan-European Transactions in the living sector at PATRIZIA. A residential specialist, Antonio has focused on PRS, student housing and senior living for much of his career. At PATRIZIA, he has led the acquisition of 3,500+ residential properties in the UK&IE, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain. He is involved with the full cycle of every transaction, from deal sourcing and negotiation, through to the delivery of each project, fit-outs and refurbishments, and initial leasing up to full occupancy. Prior to joining PATRIZIA, Antonio was a Director at CBRE in their residential investment and funding team and started his professional career as a banker at Goldman Sachs. He holds an Msc in Real Estate Finance from Cass Business School.

Paddy leads investment activities at Activate Capital, a leading provider of development finance in Ireland. Prior to the establishment of Activate Capital, Paddy was a Principal with KKR, with responsibility for credit investment activities in Ireland, including KKR’s original investment in Activate. Previously, he was a Director with Avoca Capital, focused on high-yield corporate credit investing across Europe. Paddy qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG and holds degrees in Civil Engineering and Mathematics from Trinity College Dublin. Paddy sits on the council of Property Industry Ireland, having previously chaired its finance policy committee.

Pat Farrell is CEO of Irish Institutional Property (IIP), the voice of internationally backed institutional property investors in Ireland. The mission of IIP is to promote the development of a sustainable world class real estate sector in Ireland which benefits members, the economy, communities and wider society. IIP members manage c.€20bn of Irish property, directly employ almost 6,000 people, indirectly employ a further 23,000 people and IIP tenant companies employ more than 36,000 people. Through these investments IIP members have become critical enablers of Irish economic development and growth. IIP’s twenty-one members include four of the largest 20 stocks on Euronext Dublin (formerly known as Irish Stock Exchange)

In 2008, I qualified as an architect graduating from University College Dublin. I worked in Dublin, Brussels, and New York as an architect on a range of projects from housing to institutional schemes, most notably the University of Greenwich School of Architecture and Construction for the University of Greenwich, London for Heneghan Peng architects. In 2013, I completed a master’s in business administration at Trinity College Dublin and following that worked for Salesforce as a solution engineer covering their UK SMB business, a fortune 500 CRM company in the tech sector. Following that, I now work at our family residential property development business Winterbrook who have completed housing recently in Westminster Wood, Foxrock, Sika Woods, Enniskerry and currently delivering 94 apartments in Dalkey, Co. Dublin. I have recently become a member on the committee for the Irish Home Builders Association.

Rick Larkin is executive director of Twinlite, a vertically integrated real estate developer that designs, builds and manages residential assets in Ireland. He also hosts ‘The Build’ a podcast that explores the issues faced by industry in scaling up housing delivery.

John Tuohy is founder and CEO of OOHPod Smart Lockers, an Irish company providing subscription based Self Service parcel lockers at public locations like retail outlets, and private locations like PRS / BTR developments. The company provides a range of flexible solutions to solve Out of Home secure delivery of parcels for consumers and businesses. John was formerly CEO and cofounder at Nightline / Parcel Motel Group.

Claire is an award winning Architect with over 18 years experience. She is an Associate Director in Henry J Lyons specialising in master planning and residential design. Claire worked in London for a number of years and has worked on various large cultural and residential projects. During her career at Henry J Lyons, Claire has led a number of large master planning and mixed use residential development projects. Claire led the design of Ropemaker Place, which was awarded residential project of the year 2021 in the Building of the Year Awards, and Highly commended in the RIAI Awards and she is currently leading several large scale residential projects across Dublin.