Meet our National Team

Anne Connolly

Co-founder

About ten years ago I visited a cohousing community in Quebec as part of my work. I decided there and then, that this was how I wanted to live my life into my later years. I was really struck by how they were able to combine living in very attractive modern home, with their enjoyment of living in a community with great neighbours and the facilities they had outside their own hall door. It was clearly a very sociable and fun place to live; there was always something going on if you wanted to join in. Equally you could retreat behind the privacy of your’ own hall door.’

  • I am single, divorced amicably many years ago.  I am still working, aiming to gradualise my way out of that over the next few years.  I am blessed with a good network of friends and shared interests.  I will be hoping that some of our new community will be on for activities like all year round swimming, hillwalking, creating a film review club etc.  Better still, that I get introduced to new leisure activities, travel adventures and really interesting things to do.

    I have a very varied background.  I was 24 when I set up the Well Woman Centre, I went on to do an MBA, work as strategy planner with Kingspan, set up my own management consultancy practice.  Twenty years ago now, I set up a think-tank/leadership network on ageing – The Ageing Well Network. I am currently a co-founder of SAVVY Health – a specialist health and wellbeing service for people 50+.



    I co-founded Cohousing Ireland with Ana and Kevin for two reasons. Firstly, I want to live in a housing community in the Dublin 6 – Dublin 8 area. Secondly, I saw huge potential for enabling others to create their community. You might call it ‘enlightened self-interest

Ana Dolan

Co-founder

When Anne introduced me to the concept of cohousing communities I thought it was a brilliant idea and wanted to live in one of these communities.  As both my parents lived to 94 years of age, I had first-hand experience of the importance of a suitable home and maintaining a connection with your community as we get older. When I think about the future, ideally I will be living as part of a community in an A-rated home, designed to enable independent living, maximise community contact  and minimises environmental impact. 

  • I am originally from Mallow, Co. Cork but have lived in Dublin since I trained as an architect.  I have twenty seven years’ experience as a senior conservation architect leading the team in the Trim District with responsibility for monuments such as Newgrange and Knowth, the Hill of Tara, Kilmainham Gaol, and Glendalough. This work built a keen awareness of the impact of change and the need to anticipate future care. 

    I have a post-graduate degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Central England and a Masters in Urban and Building Conservation from UCD. I have recently completed a PhD on the future of the Irish High Crosses in the face of climate change, a subject in which I have a strong interest.

Kevin McCormack

Co-founder

I have wide-ranging property development experience and senior management/director-level roles in private and public organizations. I currently lead my own Development Consultancy business. I am managing the development of a wider range of housing schemes, including several rightsized schemes around the country for Approved Housing Bodies (AHB). I left my role as Senior Asset Manager with NAMA in 2014 to become Development Director (Ireland) with a specialist provider of independent/assisted living housing. I have retained a key interest in the sector since. I am convinced that Ireland needs solutions to provide appropriate homes for our aging population where people can live better, more active, engaged, and less lonely lives for longer rather than settling for living in homes that are no longer suitable for their needs.

  • I have a Master's Diploma in Project Management and a Degree in Civil Engineering, and I also studied architecture. I started my career in main contracting in the UK before transitioning to the developer side, and I have 20 years of client-side development management/ project management experience. I have wide experience in procuring development sites, engaging teams, and managing the planning, design, and construction of thousands of homes.

Meet our Local Teams

Cohousing isn’t just about homes. It’s about community, sustainability, and ageing with dignity. So far, four local group have formed and there are more to come.

If you want to join an existing group, please register with us on the button above, pay a membership fee of €25 and we will send you an invitation to join a local group.

Register as a Member

Dublin 6/8

This is the first local team to form, following the launch of cohousing communities in the Spring of 2025. Ana Dolan is the current local convenor and we are aiming to forge a core group of 25 committed buyers as we search for a suitable site. We are well on the way to achieving this objective. If you want to joint this group, please register with us on the button above, pay a membership fee of €25 and we will send you an invitation to join the Dublin group.

Westport

The Westport team was launched in December 2025 with Fiona Hoban as its initial local Convenor.  We are currently going through Introduction Webinars with interested people - over 150 so far!  We are actively engaging with the Local Authority, local landowners and developers.  Like D6, we aim to have a core group of 25 committed buyers in this location by the end of 2026. If you want to joint this group, please register with us on the button above, pay a membership fee of €25 and we will send you an invitation to join the Westport group.

Cork

The Cork team was launched in 2026 with Vaughan Ryan as its local Convenor. He has been an enthusiastic Cohousing supporter from the start.  We are actively engaging with the Local Authority, local landowners and developers.  Like D6, we aim to have a core group of 25 committed buyers in this location by the end of 2026. If you want to joint this group, please register with us on the button above, pay a membership fee of €25 and we will send you an invitation to join the Cork group.

Our Advisory Board

Dr Philip Crowe

Dr Philip Crowe is UCD Assistant Professor for Climate Responsive Design at the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy (APEP) and the School of Civil Engineering. He is Director of Research in UCD APEP, co-Director of the UCD Centre for Irish Towns, and Programme Director of the MSc in Architecture, Urbanism and Climate Action.

Philip teaches in areas relating to carbon management, sustainability, urban resilience and urban ethics. As a researcher, he is working on a range of EU and nationally funded projects relating to town revitalization, vacancy and adaptive reuse, compact urban growth, and citizen participation in processes of change. Philip’s background is in architecture, and he was previously Director of Sustainable Design at M.CO (Dublin) from 2003-2012.

Tim Crowley

Tim is experienced in the setup, funding, growth and sale of companies across various sectors, including housing, technology and renewable energy. Of particular relevance to Cohousing Ireland is Tim’s role as Finance Officer & Company Secretary at Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance. Tim is a UK Chartered Accountant with MSc in Sustainable Energy Finance from DCU in 2014 and a Commerce degree from UCC. Tim is an An Taisce Climate Change Ambassador.

Tim is an advocate for community led cohousing generally and particularly for older people. He has seen the benefits of cohousing in the creation of a connected and interdependent community with shared responsibilities, enhanced safety & security and a cost effective business model. The scope for developing these models in Ireland is tremendous and much needed.

Dr Trudy Meehan

Dr Trudy Meehan (DClinPsych, PhD) is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist and a Lecturer in the Centre for Positive Psychology and Health at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland. She is a TedX speaker and author. Trudy worked for Stanford University as Director of the BING Overseas Study Program, Cape Town. As a clinician she was a Senior Clinical Psychologist in Child and Adolescent Mental Health in the HSE, and Clinical Director for ‘50808’, an innovative initiative that provides 24/7 text message support for mental health issues for young people. Trudy’s research explores the value of art in the context of health and the social/political determinants of health.

Derek Tynan FRIAI

An architect and urban design practitioner in Ireland for 40 years, as principal of DTA Architects [formerly Derek Tynan Architects] until 2020 and with many critical urban design, architectural and housing projects both in the public and private sectors. His experience is in realising innovative housing projects, particularly on challenging sites, working with national and local planning and housing authorities to deliver quality homes for people. He has particular experience in feasibility studies and site development which may be of value in evaluating co-housing scenarios.

Derek is a graduate of UCD and later of the Cornell University Urban Design programme. Collaborations include Group 91, architects for the Temple Bar Framework Plan, and Urban Projects, for Clarion Quay, Dublin. Projects and buildings have been the recipient of many awards, including the RIAI Biennial Silver Medal for Housing and the annual Award for Best Housing, each on three occasions.