Aoife O’Grady is Head of Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland, a new Government Office within the Department of Transport, which supports the uptake of vehicles through grants and incentives and also funds EV charging infrastructure. Aoife has worked for both the Irish and UK Governments in the field of transport for almost 20 years, with a focus on strategy and sustainability. By training a social scientist, Aoife has a BA from Trinity College, Dublin and an MA and PhD from the University of Warwick.

Blake Boland has been one of the leading commentators on Electric Vehicles in Ireland for the last few years. He is a Communications, PR and Content Creation professional. He is the Media Executive for Dublin Bus, acting as their spokesperson and handling all media activity. In his spare time, he operates the EV Platform YouTube channel, reviewing electric vehicles and carrying out real-world testing. Blake studied International Business & Languages in DIT, before completing a Masters in Translation Studies from DCU. He is currently undertaking a Level 8 post-grad in EV Technology in ATU Donegal. As a former Head of Communications for AA Ireland, he got a unique perspective on motoring in Ireland. Now working in public transport, he is proud to see Dublin Bus growing its fleet of electric buses beyond 100, and is looking forward to this continue expansion. He has owned a Nissan LEAF for 6 years, and has tested dozens more EVs in many countries. He brags that he was the first person to drive the length of Ireland (Mizen-Malin) in an EV without stopping to charge once!

Prof Caulfield is Head of Discipline in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering. His research addresses global issues such as the environmental impacts of transport and methods to reduce the carbon impacts of transport.
Prof Caulfield has published over 200 papers in international journals and conferences and to date has been awarded approx. €7 million in research funding. He currently has 9 PhD students and 6 postdoctoral researchers in his research group.
He is a Senior Editor of Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews and an Editor of Transport Policy. He is a member of the International Editorial Board of Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Case Studies on Transport Policy, the Journal of Cycling and Micro-mobility Research, and the Journal of Transport Geography.

Emer Barry is the Programme Manager for Electric Vehicles and Demand Generation at the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). This programmes aim is to support and progress the electrification and ultimately decarbonisation of the transport sector in Ireland. The programme includes grants for the purchase of new electric vehicles, an EV dealership awards scheme, and consumer education. Emer has been with SEAI for over 21 years and has held several positions including Personal Assistant to the CEO as well as managing and delivering the Youth and Education Programme.

Gráinne Timlin is Assistant Manager of the Climate Strategy & Skills office at SOLAS, Ireland’s Further Education & Training (FET) Authority.  With over 20 years’ experience in the FET Sector, Gráinne’s current role has oversight of funding, policy development and implementation of FET initiatives designed to help meet Ireland’s targets for carbon emission reduction in line with the Climate Act 2021. 

Working with the 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) throughout the country, Gráinne oversees work with specialist skills centres, including NZEB Centres of Excellence and the soon to be launched National Modern Methods of Construction Demonstration Park in Mount Lucas.  Projects relate not only to construction, but also in emobility, renewable energy (onshore and offshore, solar PV etc.), biodiversity, agriculture, bioeconomy, marine and waste management.

Gráinne has spent years working with peers in industry, academia and government across a variety of roles in communications, quality assurance and training standards. With an MBA and BSc. Communications, Gráinne and her team have recently launch ‘Green Skills 2030’,  Ireland’s first national strategy for FET Skills for the Green Transition.

Matthew Sealy is a Staff Digital Physical Design Engineer with Analog Devices (ADI) and has spent the last few years working in the Industrial Connectivity and Control segment, primarily focused on Industrial Ethernet and Configurable Software IO parts that form part of the Industry 4.0 revolution.
Matthew joined the Irish Electric Vehicle Association (IEVA) in 2022 where he took up the Membership Officer role. Since the 2023 AGM, he has taken up the role of Chairperson of IEVA. Coming from a background of a car & motorcycle enthusiast, which along his work as Chair of the Ireland Green Team Network in ADI, he brings a nice fit to the world of EV adoption, that of an enthusiast & environmental advocate for the current EV adoption that is underway.

He has been involved in the Irish Motor Industry both as a Journalist and a PR professional for over 20 years. He was a freelance journalist with the Irish Times, then Head of Communications for Volkswagen Group Ireland, Head of Communications for AA Ireland, and now works in Corporate Communications with Allianz Ireland. He is seen as a leading commentator in the Electric Vehicle space. 

Shane’s background is a PhD. in automotive engineering. He began his motoring career working as an engineer in the UK – following years of hands-on training alongside his dad in his garage. Shane soon realised that he preferred driving and writing about cars to developing them in the first place and hence started the CE Editorial Agency in 1999. Though he remains at the helm of that business (and writes for dozens of motoring and lifestyle outlets around the world every month), Shane moved home to Ireland in 2006. He is one of the co-founders of CompleteCar.ie, originally launched in 2009, and is actively engaged in planning and putting together the site’s content on a daily basis. Since the start of 2012, Shane also took on the role of Motoring Correspondent for the Business Post. He is also regularly asked to discuss motoring matters on a myriad of television and radio stations – not to mention periodically writing for several other prominent Irish publications.