Fergus Finlay

Chief Executive of Barnardos, former Senior Adviser to the Irish Labour Party, Ireland

Since June 2005 Fergus Finlay has been Chief Executive of Barnardos, Ireland's largest children's charity. For twenty years prior to that he was employed as Senior Adviser to the Labour Party, serving in three Governments and working for the Party in opposition. He was one of the drafters of the Downing Street Declaration and was centrally involved in the election of President Mary Robinson in 1990, together with other political events of the period.

Biography

Fergus Finlay is the author of three best-selling books. He has founded a number of organisations that campaign for the rights of people with disabilities, and has just completed a four-year term as Chairperson of Special Olympics Ireland. He is currently Chair of Volunteering Ireland. He broadcasts regularly on radio and television, and contributes a weekly column to the Irish Examiner.