Dip Gestalt Psychotherapy, MSc Gestalt Psychotherapy, Dip. Supervision, MBA, MIAHIP registered, ECP registered, UKCP registered, EAGT member, AAGT member

Billy is a cisgender queer man.  He works as a Gestalt psychotherapist and supervisor, and has a particular interest in groups and in embodied ways of working in psychotherapy.  He is a faculty member of the Gestalt Institute of Ireland and a guest faculty member at various Gestalt training institutes.  He is a certified trainer of Ruella Frank’s Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy at the Center for Somatic Studies, New York City.  He is currently researching its application to psychotherapy and clinical supervision groups.

Billy has published several papers, book chapters and action research articles on homophobia, working with gay men, ecology in psychotherapy, group-work, embodied ways of knowing, and spirituality. He has co-authored Introduction to Gestalt (Sage, 2013), a book for psychotherapists, counsellors and those who work in the helping professions.  He regularly speaks and offers workshops at international conferences. 

He is a board member of the international Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy (AAGT) and co-chair of its Gender & Sexual Diversity special interest group.

Bernárd has an interdisciplinary doctorate in counselling psychology and theology from Fordham University and New York Theological Seminary.  For fifteen successive years he was Theological Consultant to the Board of Directors of Dignity New York – an organization for Lesbian, Gay, Transgendered and Bisexual Catholics and their friends –  and founded the AIDS/HIV Ministry of Dignity New York in 1982, which continues its work to the present day.    

Bernárd is a social and LGBTQI activist since the early 1980s, and continues to work in the areas of social justice and oppression. For over ten years he was a member of the Mayor of New York's voluntary Task Force on HIV/AIDS, and was the only Roman Catholic priest to testify before the City Council for the successful passage of Civil Rights legislation for the LGBT community in 1986.  He continued his work with HIV/AIDS in London until 2011.

He has been profiled numerous times in broadcast media – including Channel 4, BBC HARDtalk, BBC Radio 4, Sky News – for his work in the areas of social justice and oppression. He has published two books: A Priest on Trial (Bloomsbury, 1993), and If It Wasn't Love, Sex, Death and God (Circle Books, 2012), and numerous chapters in LGBT publications.

He was a trustee and chair of Camden LGBT Forum and the first representative of the Irish LGBT community to City Hall for the London Saint Patrick's Day Parade until end of 2016.

A politics and sociology graduate, Mary has worked in various customer service and administrative roles.  As a Clare native, she is all too aware of the challenges facing those in our community living outside of Dublin/other large cities.

While she acknowledges that both the Marriage Equality Referendum and Gender Recognition Act were significant political/social milestones for the LGBTQIAF community in Ireland, Mary feels strongly that there is still work to be done to tackle the marginalisation and isolation felt by many LQBTQIAF people who live in rural or smaller urban areas.   As Digital Media Coordinator for Bronntanas, Mary is responsible for updating our website and Facebook page.   She also serves as a first point of contact for those wishing to make enquiries online regarding Bronntanas and our services.

Fiona is a registered general nurse and midwife, having gained her qualifications through the University of Limerick. She is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland and has spent almost 20 years working in the front line of the health care system, both here in Ireland and in Australia.

Living and working in the west of Ireland, Fiona has a keen understanding of the difficulties faced by  members of the LGBTQIAF community in rural areas with regards to access to support services. She believes that Bronntanas’s work will help to bring positive change to people’s lives, allowing them to feel less isolated, whether from the LQBTQIAF community specifically or from wider society.

Mike Egan is a UK-based chartered accountant who specialises in governance and finance for charities and not-for-profits.  His appointments include: governor, Heythrop College (University of London); trustee, Camden LGBT Forum (promotion of equality and diversity and elimination of discrimination in relation to LGBT people in Camden and neighbouring London boroughs); finance committee member, CAFOD (one of the thirteen Disasters Emergency Committee charities in the UK); finance committee member, Carmelite Charitable Trust.

His previous trusteeships include the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) (Chair 2006 – 2014); the RAIN Trust (practical support delivered through faith communities for people living with HIV/AIDS); and Centred, formerly Kairos, in Soho (social inclusion and wellbeing for marginalised lesbian, gay and transgender people).

Mike was previously a partner, and head of London Audit, in an international firm of Chartered Accountants. His professional clients included the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation and Stonewall.

Mike holds a Masters degree in Voluntary Sector Management from Cass Business School (City, University of London).