Women in Construction & Quarrying Ireland (WICQI)

Jane O’Neill is a Civil/Structural engineer who joined the Irish Defence Forces in 2009. On graduating from Trinity College with a Masters in Engineering, she worked in the construction sector working on large projects such as Beacon South Quarter, Intel and the Criminal Courts of Justice. 

In 2009 she joined the army as an officer cadet and following commissioning transferred to the Corps of Engineers where she has worked as a Combat Engineer (bridging, mine clearance, explosive demolitions, overseas deployed camp maintenance) Maintenance Engineer (maintenance of lands and buildings of the Defence Forces) and Fire Engineer. She is also a Firefighting Instructor (Breathing Apparatus and Compartment Fire Behaviour) and currently holds the role as Defence Forces Fire Advisor. Her work has taken her overseas on several occasions, with Irish Aid in 2014, to the Turkish/Syrian border and on UN Peacekeeping deployments to Syria and Lebanon. She is a strong advocate for women in STEM and is an active member of the Women in Construction and Quarrying Ireland (WICQI) steering group and Engineers Ireland.

Dearbhla is the founder and Director of SheConstructs. SheConstructs provides mentoring and support services for females and businesses within the construction industry to help females to flourish in their careers. Dearbhla taps into her own experience of working within the construction industry as a Project Manager, for over 13 years, to assist others. Dearbhla has delivered a wide range of exciting and complex projects in both Australia and the UK.

Giedre Visockaite is an Associate Director – Strategy and Marketing at Kirby Group Engineering. She has over 10 years of experience in strategy development and strategic performance management. She also has a strong track record in the development and implementation of Group’s Marketing Strategy. Her professional background and academic qualifications, which include MSc Strategy & Innovation, BSs Finance & IT and other numerous accreditations, bring a range of expertise to the business and the industry. She is passionate about promoting the construction industry as an industry of choice for women, which offers exciting prospects and career development opportunities. 

Jennifer started out her career in Ireland within the residential and pharmaceutical sectors before moving to the UK and then to the Middle East. She has worked internationally for over 10 years working on a vast portfolio of major projects and programmes. Jennifer moved back to Ireland in 2021 to join John Sisk and Son and is part of their Regional Division in Ireland. She has a BSc in Architecture and an MSc in Construction and Project Management.

Mamta Bhardwaj is Digital Marketing Manager at Future Cast. She has an education background in electronic and communication and has worked with MNCs in software development. She is a creative person and involved in marketing of WICQI and organizing events. She has been a member of the Mental health awareness club in UCC. Also working on her upcoming venture for digital marketing called Marketing with Mamta to make people aware about digital marketing and how it can help business to grow.

Mary Whitney is the Director of Education at Future Cast.  She has over six years’ experience working in Higher Education, as Programme Director on postgraduate programmes in International Business Management and as dissertation research coordinator.    Mary also worked in the Legal and Social Justice fields. Her research interests include diversity and inclusion in the workplace and in education, blended learning, and housing.  

Mary’s academic qualifications: BA, LLB (Hons) NUI Galway; MSc Social Policy and Practice Trinity College Dublin; Postgrad Certificate Training and Education Griffith College Dublin; and HDip Leadership Athlone IT.

Niamh has an educational background in Economics and HR, as well as having worked in the banking sector. She currently works for FutureCast, an Innovation, Education, and R&D Centre focused on the Construction and Quarrying industries.  She has been the lead for the Finance and HR departments working alongside the company directors and the board to ensure a smooth running of these operations.

Nicola initially worked as a surveyor on the Tara Mines Tailings Facility before becoming an Underground Surveyor for ten years in Tara Mines. She transferred to Mine Planning and is a  Mine Engineer, specialising in drilling and blasting. She has a degree in Mineral Engineering  and an MSc in Environmental Sustainability from UCD.

Nicola is currently serving as President with the Irish Mining and Quarrying Society

With over 15 years’ experience in the steel manufacturing industry, Shauna has been the driving force behind SkyClad’s innovation and growth. Shauna helped establish SkyClad’s modular housing division and has since become a spokesperson for the MMC industry. 

Shauna has a degree in Business Studies and was called to the Bar in 2018.

Síle O’Connor is a mechanical engineer with nearly thirty years of experience. Starting as a project engineer in a large food production company, she moved to industrial consultancy and for the last fifteen years has been working as a building services engineer in an SME consultancy in the border region. In her current role, she works in multidisciplinary design teams, taking projects from concept, through design to overseeing construction and handover. She has always had a strong interest in encouraging more females into the engineering professions and believes that a range of approaches and viewpoints are critical for good team performance. 

Suzanne is a keen DIY enthusiast with an extensive knowledge in home DIY spanning over 20 years. Her knowledge and passion for DIY has led her to creating an influential Instagram account inspiring others to give it a try. Suzanne’s passion started as a child helping her Dad whenever there was something to build or fix. Since then her experience, knowledge and the size of her tool kit has increased exponentially. She hopes to teach and to inspire her daughters and others to not be afraid of picking up tools and getting the job done right. Her drive and enthusiasm has led her to join the Women in Construction & Quarrying Ireland Steering group run by Future Cast leading the way to increase female participation across the whole of the construction industry. Suzanne has also been a bus driver for Dublin bus for the past seven years and has taken on extensive training and is also a qualified Hypnotherapist, personal trainer and sports Massage therapist. Her love of DIY combined with her skills in training have led her to start her own DIY School.