Board of Directors - Explained
The purpose of the Board of Directors is to take responsibility for the governance of the union in the following areas:
- Overall direction of the work of the union staff
- Financial management
- Legal and regulatory compliance
- Accountability
Under company law, the Board of Directors are obliged to:
- Act in good faith and in the company’s interest.
- Act honestly and responsibly in relation to the company.
- Act in line with the company’s constitution and the law.
- Not use their powers for personal gain or for the benefit of others at the company’s expense.
- Act with due care, skill and diligence.
The Board of Directors of the company must act in accordance with the bye laws and the University of Limerick Code of Conduct, as well as the Constitution.
The membership of the Board of Directors is made up of:
- Four Student Officers as elected in accordance with Bye Law 5: Elections
- The Chair of Student Council as elected in accordance with Bye Law 5: Elections
- The Faculties Officer as elected in accordance with Byelaw 5: Elections
- Up to a maximum of four External Directors to be appointed in accordance with this Bye Law
Download Our Constitution and Bye Laws
For more information on Board of Directors, please refer to the relevant bye law. You can download the constitution and bye laws on our constitution on our constitution page. This includes 'University of Limerick Students Union Bye Law 4: Board of Directors'.
Our Constitution page to download our constitution and bye laws.
EXTERNAL BOARD MEMBERS
Mícheál Gallagher
Mícheál Gallagher works for the Washington Ireland Programme for Service and Leadership, as Programme Manager for the WIP Class of 2023. He has previously worked for Diligent as an ESG Project Manager, and before that as an Executive with Engineers Ireland. Mícheál brings experience to the board of other SU organisations: he previously served as President of UCD Students’ Union from 2013 to 2014 as well as working for DITSU / TUDSU as a Student Advisor from 2015-2019.
Niall O’Callaghan
Niall O’Callaghan leads Limerick Enterprise Development Partnership (LEDP) as CEO, a public private partnership which uses revenue from its commercial property business to fund community projects of impact across Limerick. Niall is a graduate of UL, with a Masters in Marketing from UCC, and was identified as ‘Global High Performing Talent’ in his early years with consumer goods giant, Unilever. Following his tenure with IDA Ireland, leading the Mid-West through its most successful period of foreign direct investment on record, Niall took on the role of transforming the Shannon Heritage portfolio of tourist attractions in 2017, bringing profitability to the semi-state company for the first time whilst implementing a transformational change management program. Niall was named All Ireland Business Foundation Public/Private Sector Executive of the Year in 2022, in recognition of his for his considerable contribution to trade and commerce in the Mid-West region.
Niall is the immediate Past Chairperson of AVEA – The National Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions and was also previously appointed to the Irish Government’s Tourism Leadership Group. He is currently a member of a number of regional social and economic inclusion committees and boards, including Innovate Limerick, the I.NY Project, and Limerick Regeneration amongst others.