Thriveabetes 2024 Speakers

The Thriveabetes Team is thrilled to share our speaker line up and programme for our 2024 event.

Keynote Speakers

Chris Bright

JDRF UK Community Partnerships and Events Lead as well as the founder of The Diabetes Football Community & a Person with Type 1 Diabetes

Chris has been living with type 1 for almost 25 years. His day job is working within community engagement at JDRF in the UK, but in years gone by, he's also had the opportunity to represent Wales in Futsal across Europe. He also founded The Diabetes Football Community in 2017 to help connect people with Diabetes through their interest in Football. His work has seen him receive the QIC (Quality in Care) UK Diabetes Programme’s People's Award and an Honorary Fellowship with the University of Worcester in the UK.

Connect with Chris on Instagram & Twitter as chrisbrighty1, Websites: The Diabetes Football Community and JDRF UK. Connect with The Diabetes Football Community on Facebook & Instagram as @TheDiabetesFootballCommunity and on Twitter as @TDFC.

Dr Rose Stewart

Consultant Clinical Psychologist,  acting Diabetes Psychology lead for Wales and the chair of the UK Diabetes Psychology Network.

Dr Rose Stewart is a multi-award-winning Consultant Clinical Psychologist working in North Wales. She is the acting Diabetes Psychology lead for Wales and the chair of the UK Diabetes Psychology Network. She writes guided self-help books for people living with diabetes (the Talking Type 1 range), is a Diabetes UK Clinical Champion and member of the Council of Healthcare Professionals, and lectures at Swansea and Bangor universities. Dr Stewart uses a range of third-wave therapeutic approaches to work with high-risk client groups, and has particular interests in working with young adults, interventions to prevent psychological distress and creating psychologically informed care systems. 

Connect with Dr Stewart on Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly Twitter @DrRoseStewart, and her website: Diabetes Psychology Matters. Dr Stewart also manages @TalkingType1 on X, bringing Diabetes Psychology to all through books and animations

Breakout Session Speakers

Ken Barclay

IT Specialist & Person with type 1 diabetes

Ken, from Dublin, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was ten years old. Ken is well known in the Dublin Adults with Type 1 Diabetes group and also in the DIYAPS Do-it-yourself Artificial Pancreas Systems space, where he offers endless support to people who want to learn more about it.

Catherine Brady

Former World Championship Kick Boxer, Diabetes Health Coach & Person with type 1 diabetes

Catherine, from Louth, was diagnosed when she was 20 years old. She is a Former 5-time World Championship Kick Boxer and Online Coach. She started training in Martial Arts at the age of 8, got her place on the Irish kickboxing team at 13 and won her first world title at 18. Despite being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, she went on to win another 4 World Kickboxing Championships.

Connect with Catherine on Instagram @DiabeticCatherine and via Email: Catherine@catherinebrady.ie

Dr Cathy Breen

Registered Dietitian RD, PhD, Interim Dietetic Lead on National Clinical Programme for Diabetes

Cathy is a CORU registered Clinical Specialist Dietitian in Diabetes and Obesity in St Columcille’s Hospital in Loughlinstown, with 20 years of experience in these areas. She holds a PhD in Nutrition and has co-authored several clinical guidelines that aim to improve and standardise diabetes care nationally and internationally, including the DUK Evidence-Based Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes and the Irish National Clinical Guideline for Type 1 Diabetes. She is currently seconded to the National Clinical Programme for Diabetes as Interim Dietetic Lead. She’s been a DAFNE Educator for 15 years (most recently remotely!). She spends much of her clinical time alongside people with Type 1 diabetes, cruising the peaks and troughs of pump and CGM downloads, looking for those elusive patterns!

Weronika Burkot

Artist & Illustrator, Content Creator & Person with Type 1 Diabetes

Weronika is a Polish artist and illustrator based in Belgium. She has been living with type 1 diabetes since 1995. She graduated with an MA at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in Exhibition Design and Visual Communication with honours, a postgraduate program in Pedagogy in Art Education, and a postgraduate program in Internet Marketing at the Warsaw School of Economics. She has been a passionate diabetes advocate for over a decade, creating content and art to raise awareness on diabetes-related topics.

Connect with Weronika on Website, Facebook @BlueSugarCube and Instagram @blue_sugar_cube

Eoghan Cregan

Neighbourhood Specialist at Co-Operative Housing Ireland & Person with type 1 diabetes

Eoghan is a neighbourhood specialist at Co-Operative Housing Ireland, which provides socially affordable housing to individuals and families in Ireland who need it most. He has an MSc in Sustainable Development from Technological University Dublin and a BA (Hons) Degree in Industrial Design from the National College of Art and Design.

Eoghan was diagnosed in 2005 at the age of eleven. Although his journey with diabetes has been bumpy, to say the least, while navigating school, college and early adult life, he has picked up a myriad of life experiences along the way.

Cameron Keighron

PhD student in the University of Galway & Person with Type 1 Diabetes

Cameron was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 16. Moving away from home for college presented many challenges with managing their diabetes care. They got involved with a programme called D1 Now in 2014 because they wanted to help improve the care and support young adults with diabetes received, recognising that managing diabetes care is tough and sometimes overwhelming. They are passionate about including the voices of young adults in diabetes research, understanding that in order to instil change, those with real lived experience must be at the forefront of the conversation.

Connect with Cameron on Twitter @CameronKeighron

Síofra Kelleher

UCC Business Information Systems graduate & Person with type 1 diabetes

Síofra Kelleher, from the Irish North West, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 13 years ago. Growing up with diabetes, she quickly became interested in being more than “just a number in a study.” Wanting to have a say as a patient in the system, she googled “how to get involved in research” at 17 years old. Since then, she has been a member of the Young Adult Panel of the D1Now Research Project since 2020. She has spoken at conferences and summits like CÚRAM and the HRB’s Ones 2 Watch. Most recently, EPHA and IDF Europe featured her in the People Behind the Numbers campaign. She has also been an IDF Europe YOURAH and YLL participant and collaborator with the Making Care Fit manifesto and PPI Ignite Ireland.

Connect with Siofra on: Website: siofrakelleher.com and Twitter: @Siofra_Kelleher

Jean Langford

Masters Student in Dietitics & Person with type 1 diabetes

Jean Langford is a dedicated Masters student in Dietitics with a personal connection to her field as someone living with Type 1 Diabetes. A graduate of International Business Studies, Jean is deeply involved in diabetes advocacy and volunteering, contributing to the Midwest Diabetes Advocacy Group, IDF Europe and Diabetes Scotland. Her professional experience includes #dedoc°, the Global Diabetes Advocacy Network, coordinating the Youth Leadership Programme for the International Diabetes Federation Europe and being a Student rep for the British Dietetic Association Diabetes Specialist Group. She enhances her advocacy by sharing insights at medical conferences and through social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook under the handle "the_dia_being_mindset". Jean's educational pursuit in dietetics is driven by her commitment to supporting others with diabetes.

Connect with Jean: Instagram: the_dia_being_mindset, Twitter: @DiaBeingMindset  and on Facebook: the_dia_being_mindset  

John Maher

Cork City Councillor and Person with Type 1 Diabetes

John Maher is a Cork City Councillor and a person with type 1 diabetes for 26 years. John was re-elected to serve his second term in Cork City Council in May 2024. He uses his profile to squash diabetes myths about living with diabetes and to promote living well with diabetes. As a local politician, he advocates for a national diabetes register, community diabetes hubs with access to multi-disciplinary teams, continuous glucose monitors for all, and reimbursement of medicine costs for people with gestational diabetes.

Connect with John on: Facebook @johnmahercork, Instagram @JohnDaniel3, and X formerly known as Twitter @jmaher0

Audrey O’Neill

Event Management & Parent of a young adult with type 1 diabetes

Audrey is one of the founding members of a parents' Facebook support group, “Parents of Children & Teens with Type 1 Diabetes in Ireland’ the group was started 11 years ago after three mums met up and realised the importance of talking about life with diabetes, there are now has over 3100 members. Audrey is mum to Rachel, who was diagnosed with type 1 at age 10. Rachel, now 24, is living her best life and never lets diabetes stop her.

Aisling O'Rourke

Communications & Media Coach, Broadcaster & Person with type 1 diabetes

Aisling is a Communications & Media Coach, seasoned broadcaster, and host of Cut Through the Noise with Aisling O’Rourke podcast. She has lived with Type 1 diabetes since January 17th 1989, just two weeks after her third birthday. She says that fateful day marked the beginning of a very long journey that has led her to a career in communications. She lives with several invisible disabilities and has gone from managing her diabetes with a military regimen to now using AI through the Medtronic 780G system.

She passionately believes that people with invisible disabilities need to advocate for themselves and should be supported in doing so. She wishes to use her skills from a two-decade-long career in media to help people do this.

Connect with Aisling: Website: www.TheCommunicationsCoach.ie, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Paula Short

Psychotherapist and group facilitator & Parent of a young adult with type 1 diabetes

Paula is a Psychotherapist and group facilitator with over twenty years of experience, holding a Master of Arts in Humanistic and Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy and a Bachelor of Science honours degree in the same field. Her expertise took on new personal significance when her son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 7, thrusting her family into a challenging journey of adjustment and emotional upheaval. Now, a decade into navigating this chronic condition with her now 17-year-old son, Paula is acutely aware of the emotional roller-coaster families face upon such diagnoses. She is dedicated to supporting parents during these critical early stages of fear and uncertainty, providing them with much-needed emotional and psychological guidance.

Connect with Paula: Website: www.paulashort.net, Email: paulashort@me.com and Facebook: Paula Short Personal Development Courses.

Philip Short

Musical Director & Parent of a young adult with type 1 diabetes

Philip, from County Galway, is a member of the Thriveabetes Team and looks after registration and the parents’ programme. His son, Theo, was diagnosed with Type I when he was 7, ten years ago. Philip is a Musical Director and runs Loughrea Youth Theatre, teaching 6-18-year-olds acting, singing and dancing.

Catherine Showler

Pharmacist, Masters in Diabetes Care student, Person with type 1 diabetes & Parent of Children with type 1 diabetes

Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 4, Catherine trained as a pharmacist and works in a hospital and community pharmacy. She is a keen traveller who has witnessed and studied diabetes care in many countries. Following the diagnosis of her young daughters, Catherine committed to working to improve the quality of life of those living with diabetes and is currently studying for a Masters in Diabetes Care.

Connect with Catherine on Instagram @AbundantlyDiabetes

Aisling White

Special Class Teacher, Teacher CPD Provider & Person with type 1 diabetes

Aisling has been living with type 1 diabetes for the past 27 years. She currently works as a primary school teacher. She also promotes peer support and advocacy for those living with diabetes and is involved in many groups, including the Limerick Adults with Type 1 Diabetes Support Group and the Diabetes Ireland Advocacy Group. She participated in the International Diabetes Federation Europe's Youth Leadership Programme and the One Young World Leadership Platform. Aisling also provides continuing professional development courses for school staff entitled ‘Diabetes in Schools’ run by local education centres that provide the course to school staff for free or a nominal fee (depending on the centre).

Connect with Aisling as @type1_on_the_run on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.