Opening video from Voices of Change

Ciara Mangan is the Founder and Managing Director of Beyond Surviving, Ireland’s first survivor-led charity dedicated to connecting victim-survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence, and supporting their healing, wellbeing, and personal growth journeys.

Ciara founded Beyond Surviving in 2023 following the sentencing of her attacker. As she began rebuilding her life after a seven-year fight for justice, she identified a significant gap in Ireland’s post-crisis DSGBV (domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence) recovery infrastructure, specifically, the lack of ongoing, community-based support and a continuum of care for survivors beyond frontline-crisis services such as Rape Crisis Centres.

Beyond Surviving was established to bridge that gap in services. The organisation provides safe spaces where survivors can connect, heal in solidarity, and engage in their own self-advocacy. Since its founding, Beyond Surviving has made notable strides: its advocates presented at the United Nations in June 2025, the organisation earned a place on the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Impact Programme, and it was recently nominated for the National Social Enterprise Awards 2025 under the category of ‘Start-Up Social Enterprise’.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2025/26

Sailing Into Wellness delivers educational and therapeutic sailing programmes which support and empower people, foster healing, build resilience and inspire positive change in society.

Co-founded in 2017 by Colin Healy and James Lyons, this social enterprise provides sea-based programmes which encourage participants to use their own life experiences as a platform for personal growth. By collaborating with government departments and community-based organisations all across Ireland, Sailing Into Wellness works with individuals with mental health challenges, intellectual disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorders, those in addiction recovery, youth support services, the criminal justice system, post psychiatric care and marginalised communities.

In 2024, this sailing charity supported 539 participants, delivering an average engagement rate of 4.5 days per person. Their perpetual focus is to extend their reach, create deeper impact and achieve better outcomes for their participants.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2017/18, Scale Partnerships 2018/20

Support our work by clicking on the donate icon below.

Michael Ledden is a co-founder of and the CEO of PsyCare Ireland, Ireland’s first dedicated charity for event welfare and drug harm reduction. It was started by clinicians, psychotherapists and festival volunteers who wanted 24-hour safe spaces at music events where people in psychological or substance-related crisis could be met with non-judgement, de-escalation and practical care. The organisation’s mission and vision set out a simple offer: on-site welfare tents staffed by trained volunteers; education so people can make informed choices; values built on autonomy, consent, privacy and peer compassion.

Since 2022, PsyCare Ireland have trained over 200 volunteers to support peers experiencing mental health distress or substance-related crises in nightlife settings. They have delivered services at 28 concerts and festivals, directly assisting more than 1,300 individuals in psychological or drug-induced crisis, and provided harm reduction advice to thousands more across event sites. Following their completion of the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Impact Programme 2024–25, they continue to expand – launching new education initiatives and developing aftercare offerings for those affected by mental health challenges and substance use.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2024/25

Pierce O’Brien and Rob Sheridan co-founded AnamVR after realising they’d spent years separately exploring the same idea: make evidence-based anxiety support radically accessible on a smartphone. Rob brought clinical practice as a psychotherapist; Pierce brought product design. The app combines CBT-informed psychoeducation, mood logging, guided practices and smartphone-delivered VR breathing exercises to help users manage emotions in short, repeatable sessions.

AnamVR was awarded the Startup Category Award at Ireland’s first National Social Enterprise Awards in 2025.

They weren’t trying to replace therapy; they were closing a gap - long waits, patchy funding, and tools that don’t fit in a pocket. By using low-cost phone-based VR, they cut friction and stigma while keeping clinical guardrails.

SEI Journey: The Ideas Academy 2023, The Action Lab 2024, Investor Readiness Pathway 2025

Founded in Ballymun, Eileen McHugh started Hair Together after years in the industry, convinced that a salon chair could be a doorway back into education, work and self-belief. She designed 10-week programmes where hairdressing and barbering are the hook—and wellbeing, confidence and progression are the outcome.

They meet young people and adults where they are, use practical skills to rebuild routine and purpose, wrap it with wellness supports, and create pathways onward.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2022/23

Hygiene Hub was founded by three women, Ciára Dalton, Sorcha Killian, and Rosie McDonagh. With backgrounds in human rights, start-ups and fundraising, we knew the impact that poverty was having in our local community, and the vital support that charities were providing, but access to hygiene products was often something that was missed. Charities were supporting their clients with food hampers and often received requests for toiletries, but these weren’t items they had on hand. United by the principle that hygiene poverty simply should not exist in Ireland, they started collecting hygiene products to donate to local charities. They called on friends, family, and colleagues and created drop-off points in local businesses to allow the general public to donate as well. They then deliver these items to local organisations.

In late 2019, they made their first donation of 30kg of products to a homeless charity in inner-city Dublin. Until now, Hygiene Hub had donated over 100,000kg of products all over Ireland. Ciára, Rosie and Sorcha have grown what was a local community group of 3 people who wanted to make a difference, into a national charity of more than 80 volunteers across 12 counties. Their goal is simple: to tackle hygiene poverty, one helping hand at a time.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2023/24

A school talk that actually changed behaviour was the trigger. Cormac Noonan set up Wolf Academy in 2020 to put practical wellbeing into timetables, not just assemblies. From there it grew into structured workshops and staff training built around daily habits, emotional literacy and the “Spiral of Wellbeing,” reaching 15,000+ students and teachers across 23 counties and into EU schools. The mission is to integrate effective wellbeing solutions in education so young people have the tools, knowledge and motivation to live well and reach their potential.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2025/26

What began as a response to the pressures teenage girls face became a national movement. Founded by Tammy Darcy, The Shona Project creates safe, supportive spaces online, in schools and at events so girls can speak openly, build resilience and see themselves as leaders. Its school visits and SHINE Festival model the same principle—evidence-based content, relatable role models, and community at scale—with 40,000+ girls engaged through school workshops to date.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2017/18, The Adapt Programme 2020, Transform Programme 2024/26

An internationally recognised designer, Kim Mackenzie-Doyle founded The B!G Idea to prepare young people for the fastest-changing world in history. The free All-Ireland programme bridges classrooms and industry, equipping thousands of students with creative problem-solving skills, mentors, and confidence to turn their challenges into opportunities, shaping not just their futures, but ours.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2022, Transform Programme 2024–2026

Support our work by clicking on the donate icon below.

DcodeDyslexia – Mary & Pádraig After decades teaching dyslexic students, Mary Moran knew the system needed a shake-up. So she built one. DcodeDyslexia is a structured-literacy programme rooted in Orton–Gillingham principles and refined through thousands of hours in real classrooms. It’s practical, proven, and empowering for parents, teachers, and learners alike.

Since launch, DcodeDyslexia has sold over 11,000 copies and is in nearly 33% of Irish primary schools—helping thousands of children crack the code to reading success.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2022/23, Investor Readiness Pathway 2025

Soar’s proposition is straightforward: give teenagers a safe room, skilled facilitation and time to explore inner character, and they find their voice. Under CEO Tracey Dollard (since April 2024), Soar delivers early-intervention workshops across schools and communities focused on self-belief, emotional literacy and coping skills, rooted in the charity’s “Dare To Be Real” ethos. SOAR has reached over 75,000 young people nationally to date and growing. SOAR has recently expanded its programmes to create a whole-school approach, meeting young people at each pivotal point in their secondary school journey as well as tailored workshops for LCA and Youth Reach teens.

SEI Journey: The Impact Award 2012 (under the leadership of co-founders Tony Griffin &
Karl Swan)

At JumpAgrade, we make education fairer. Through the generosity of our funders we provide underserved 5th and 6th year students with personalised tuition and guidance, helping them grow in confidence, aim higher and achieve their potential, so they have the same opportunities to shape their future. So far this year, 51 post-primary schools have referred over 500 students to jumpAgrade for free educational supports including 1-1 and group tuition, revision courses, study skills and guidance.

"A student who felt 3rd level was out of their grasp is now excited by their future in 3rd level. They will be the first member of their family to attend university.” School Ambassador, Kildare

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2019/20, Scale Partnerships 2020/22

Sarah Naylor McNamee created Beauty Business in a Box® for women and girls who’ve been left behind by traditional education and work routes. he model combines hands-on training, mentoring and starter kits, aimed at financial independence for women and girls who missed traditional routes. Graduates leave with a kit, a plan and momentum, able to earn, to learn further, or to start trading.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2025/26

Adam Harris turned his own experience of being autistic in Ireland into a national platform for inclusion. He founded AsIAm to provide trusted, evidence-based guidance for autistic people and families, while pushing institutions to become genuinely autism-inclusive through training, accreditation and advocacy. His leadership sits alongside national roles in equality and European representation, anchoring AsIAm’s mix of services and public voice.

SEI Journey: Elevator 2013, Scale Partnerships 2018/20

A social psychologist who studies belonging, Mamobo Ogoro created GORM to move beyond representation and build practical bridges across difference. The team produces intercultural media, delivers education and consultancy, and designs with “belonging” principles so organisations change how they speak, hire and include. Recognition followed as Mamobo became the first Irish Echoing Green Fellow, while GORM’s site keeps the focus on local programmes that shift culture in everyday settings.

SEI Journey: The Ideas Academy 2021, Changing Ireland Accelerator 2023/24, Investor Readiness Pathway 2025

Stephen Cluskey and Noelle Daly founded Mobility Mojo with the goal of creating a world that’s open for everyone. The Mobility Mojo platform allows organisations to capture, track, and improve upon the accessibility of their buildings on a global scale. In the last year alone companies such as Accenture, UBS, and Bayer have assessed their buildings, impacting over 1,000,000 people around the world.

SEI Journey: Elevator 2016, Scale Partnerships 2020/22

When her daughter April was born with Down syndrome, Therese Coveney set out to change a stark reality: the vast majority of adults with Down syndrome in Ireland are unemployed. She founded the Together Academy to provide accredited, employment-focused training for young adults, pairing classroom learning with real work experience in a training café so skills translate directly to paid roles and independent lives. Since launch, the Academy has opened social-enterprise cafés, placed graduates in paid employment, and, in 2025, expanded with a new vocational training college through a major industry partnership—building a clear pathway from education to meaningful work.

SEI Journey: The Ideas Academy 2019, The Action Lab 2020, The Impact Programme 2023

Having experienced real difficulties with re-entry to the community due to the secondary punishment people face because of their convictions after serving their time, Damien used his lived experiences to change the way in which Garda vetting is conducted. He developed an new process for disclosure by using the model of Recognition of Prior Learning to help people build portfolios of commitment to change which are assessed by justice partners. This process has now been written into The Department of Justice Building Pathways Together Criminal Justice Employment Strategy as an action leading to whole systems change. This work is coupled with Spéire Nua securing government contracts to deliver educational services across the prison estate and to deliver leadership training in the community, delivering cross border partnerships for All Island Programmes.

SEI Journey: The Ideas Academy 2021, The Action Lab 2021

Miriam Spollen leads an organisation that removes the barriers preventing people with disabilities from fully participating in society. Connections Arts Centre delivers inclusive arts, training, and education programmes – including Creative TY Connections, a community education initiative linking adults with disabilities and TY students, and the Connecting Artists programme, which supports national exhibitions promoting visual artists with disabilities – alongside accessible communication training. The outputs are exhibitions and impact reports; the outcomes are confidence, skills, and belonging that extend far beyond the workshop.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2024/25

A hotel stay that turned into an obstacle course - steps at reception, narrow doorways, zero reliable info - pushed Matthew McCann to map accessibility like it actually matters. He began with crowd-sourced venue data and built it into Access Earth’s “Access Ready” assessments and training so organisations can audit sites, act on findings, and capture real user feedback. The work now spans corporates and public bodies, with published case studies and deployments that move accessibility from guesswork to measurable upgrades. Clients and case studies include Microsoft, AIB, Musgrave, Trinity College Dublin, and Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2025/26

HUGS Community is a social enterprise providing psychological first aid training to first responders, their families and friends, to help them recognise stress and encourage early help-seeking. Our initial programme, HUGS@Home, was founded by Michelle O’Toole, who began her journey as a firefighter/ advanced paramedic and paramedic educator, and more importantly as a family member of firefighter/ paramedics. Following a three year evidence based implementation and evaluation of HUGS@Home, HUGS Community was born. Co-founded by Michelle, and Brian Doyle (also a former firefighter/paramedic), HUGS Community addresses the high levels of stress and trauma experienced by statutory and voluntary first responders, many of whom face cultural and systemic barriers to seeking mental health support. Over the past 12 months, they have worked with over 250 first responders, families and friends. By training first responders, families and friends in the core elements of ‘HUGS’- Hearing, Understanding, Guiding, and Supporting- they help reduce the impact of work-related stress and strengthen wellbeing across social support networks.

HUGS Community has recently been recognised as Best Newcomer in the Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2025 and as a finalist in the inaugural National Social Enterprise Awards 2025.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2024/25

After overcoming the challenges associated with information poverty, Rosemary Kunene established Dignity Partnership (DiP) to provide non-formal education programs aimed at addressing information poverty and facilitating meaningful integration for individuals from refugee and migrant backgrounds within Irish society. DiP makes a significant difference by providing services that support refugees and migrants to access third level education, employment opportunities and general integration skills. Over 5000 people have benefitted from DiP programmes. Additionally, DiP delivers essential training needed to effectively support integration to; refugee support workers, agencies, corporates, educators, and volunteers. Our impactful programs have successfully trained 300 community workers and educators.

SEI Journey: The Ideas Academy 2019, The Action Lab 2020, The Impact Programme 2024/25

Engineer, performer and space communicator, Niamh Shaw created Town Scientist to break down barriers to science for families who feel shut out of it. After years translating space and STEM on stage, in classrooms and on TV/radio, she set out a community model: meet people where they live, co-design learning with local partners, and make complex issues—AI, climate, health tech—practical and relevant to daily life.

Town Scientist has piloted with parents and marginalised groups in Dundalk (with Louth ABC) and in Birr, using workshops, experiments at home, and citizen-science projects to build confidence and agency around evidence. The work has been supported by Research Ireland and profiled nationally, with an expanded Dundalk programme announced for 2025.

SEI Journey: The Ideas Academy 2024, The Action Lab 2024

Community Roots transforms underused spaces into vibrant places, building thriving, resilient and connected communities through growing, preparing and sharing food.

‘Soil Mates’ — Ireland’s first garden-share programme — matches garden-owners with nearby aspiring growers. Through reciprocity, skill and resource sharing, Community Roots invites people to reimagine how we use both private and public spaces and perceive “strangers.”

Our model nurtures social and environmental reconnection — strengthening community, reducing loneliness and isolation, while cultivating greener neighbourhoods.

Let’s Reignite the Meitheal! — the Irish tradition of neighbours helping neighbours.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2024/25

Hugh co-founded Ó Cualann to prove that affordable homeownership and strong neighbourhoods belong together. Ó Cualann’s mixed-tenure, energy-efficient schemes target housing costs at roughly a third of net income, delivered with local authorities. Early phases housed dozens of families and set a model copied elsewhere and new permissions in Ballymun include homes for older people.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2017/18, Scale Partnerships 2018/20

A community development practitioner turned ecosystem restorer, Gareth Conlon set up Síolta Chroí as a not-for-profit co-op in Monaghan to tackle two linked crises: degraded landscapes and the disconnection between people and the natural systems that sustain them. The centre delivers regenerative-culture education, builds resilient local food systems, and runs hands-on restoration (tree nurseries, agroforestry, soil-health work) anchored at its An Teach Tuí campus and through European networks like Ecosystem Restoration Communities.

They deliver courses for farmers and communities on soil food webs, holistic land management and direct-sale models; retreats that integrate wellbeing with restoration; and a local Food Hub using Open Food Network to connect producers and households. Programmes have engaged asylum-seeker communities, schools and economically marginalised groups while establishing nurseries and planting hundreds of native trees as the model scales regionally.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2025/26

Two graduates who couldn’t reconcile food waste with food insecurity, Aoibheann O’Brien & Iseult Ward built a logistics-plus-tech system that now moves surplus at national scale. From a simple app linking supermarkets to charities, FoodCloud has grown into warehouses in Dublin, Cork and Galway, a redistribution platform operating across multiple countries, and FoodCloud Kitchen to convert surplus into ready meals for charities without kitchen capacity. In 2024 they redistributed 33,230 tonnes (about 79 million meal equivalents) across six countries, and they’ve set a public target of one billion meals by 2030.

Cumulative track record since 2013: 140,000+ tonnes rescued, ~330 million meals equivalent redistributed, with operations expanding and fleet upgrades funded to lift capacity.

SEI Journey: The Impact Award 2014

Education for Sustainability (EFS) is an award-winning non-profit social enterprise dedicated to building a more sustainable future through climate education and action. Founded in 2017 by Susan Adams, EFS was established as a direct response to Ireland’s escalating climate crisis and the urgent need for action-based climate education.

Under Susan’s leadership, the organization has delivered impactful programs to over 800 schools across the country, training 2000 teachers and empowering over 50 thousand young people with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to tackle environmental challenges.

With a professional background in zoo animal and aquarium management, Susan’s deep connection to the natural world has shaped her lifelong commitment to fostering an ethical relationship between people and the planet.

EFS’s mission is clear: to inspire awareness, cultivate climate literacy, and drive meaningful action toward a sustainable future for all.

SEI Journey: The Ideas Academy 2020, The Action Lab 2023, The Impact Programme 2023/24, Transform Programme 2025/26

An engineer passionate about waste data, Mark Kirwan leads Positive Carbon, which equips commercial kitchens with AI vision sensors that identify every item going into the bin and quantify where, when and why losses happen. The data turns into menu and prep changes that cut costs and emissions without extra staff input. Case studies with Levy Ireland and The Convention Centre Dublin report double-digit waste reductions (up to ~56–80% in specific streams) and five-figure annual savings identified as hospitality groups deploy the system across sites.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2021

Catherine Cleary founded Pocket Forests to adapt the practice of rewilding for small urban areas, effectively scaling it down to fit a street corner. They plant compact, Miyawaki-style native forests in schools, workplaces and estates (plus soil workshops and a tree-nursery pipeline) so biodiversity returns where people live. Impact has moved from dozens of early plantings to 100-plus sites and thousands of native trees, supported by 1,500+ local volunteers, an accessible blueprint for restoring nature where people live.

SEI Journey: The Impact Programme 2023/24