Meet the Team
Anne Connolly
Co-founder
I have been attracted to living in a cohousing community since I visited one in Quebec about 8 years ago. I was taken with how the people living there struck the right balance between having high-standard housing, the privacy of ‘your hall door,' and the opportunity of having a community of ‘like-minded souls’ to socialize with. It was a fun place to live; there was always something going on if you wanted to join in.
My background varies–from setting up the Well Woman at 24 to doing an MBA, working with Kingspan, running my consultancy practice, and setting up and running a think-tank on aging – 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
Ideally, I want to live more sustainably in an A-rated home. Both my parents lived to 94 years of age, and I saw the importance of having a suitable home and maintaining a connection with your community. Originally from Mallow, Co. Cork, I qualified as an architect and joined the OPW, working on the Garda and Telecom building programs of the 1980s. I moved to the National Monuments Service in 1993 as part of the team in the Mallow and Kilkenny districts. From 2002, I led the team in the Trim District with responsibility for monuments such as Newgrange and Knowth, the Hill of Tara, Kilmainham Gaol, and the churches in Glendalough. I have a post-graduate degree in landscape Architecture from the University of Central England and a Master's in urban and building Conservation from UCD. Since my retirement, I have completed a PhD on the future of the Irish High Crosses, a subject in which I have a keen interest.
Kevin McCormack
Advisor
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.