Kilkenny women to the fore as Matheson hosts gender and leadership event

Senior business leaders – including a number from Kilkenny - from a range of industry sectors gathered at the offices of Matheson LLP to discuss gender and leadership in Ireland today.

The event, which took place under the Chatham House Rule, was opened by Matheson partner, Liz Grace; followed by addresses delivered by Michael Jackson, Managing Partner of Matheson; and Siobhán O'Shea, President of Dublin Chamber.

The session featured an in-depth conversation with Kilkenny's Sinead Fitzmaurice, CEO of TransferMate, who spoke about her experience, the work of TransferMate and her mentorship and support of female leaders. Speakers were then invited from the floor for their contributions with a view to discussing both the successes and the ongoing challenges within their industries with respect to women reaching their potential in the workplace.
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Sinead trained as a Chartered Accountant in PwC Kilkenny then spent five years working in PwC overseas before returning to Kilkenny to join CluneTech. She lives in Kilkenny and is married to Jim Fitzmaurice whose grandparents owned ‘Fitzmaurices’ in High Street now the iconic Book Centre.

President of the Dublin Chamber and Kilkenny native Siobhan O’Shea said: “At Dublin Chamber, we believe that diversity and inclusion are the cornerstones of any thriving business environment.  We have consistently advocated for progressive policies that support women in the workplace and, most recently, have called on the incoming government to prioritise affordable, accessible, and quality childcare to support families and empower women to not only participate in the workforce, but to grow and reach their full potential in it.” 

“We are delighted to be teaming up with Matheson today to celebrate our shared commitment in this area.  The inspiring stories shared here today serve a powerful reminder to us all of both the progress made and work that still needs to be done.” 

Siobhan grew up in Bamford, Kilkenny, and is the daughter of Carmel and the late Pat O’Shea. Siobhan became President of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce in February 2024, and her term will conclude next month. She is Director of Scaled Business Success for US multinational Indeed.com.

Another local attendee was Liz Grace (nee Manning), who is from the Castle Road, Kilkenny, daughter of former mayor Betty Manning and the late Tom Manning, married to Robbie Grace, Grace Auctioneers. Liz is a partner at Matheson, Ireland's leading law firm. Liz first started working with Matheson in 1997, qualifying as a solicitor in 2000. She has studied law in Trinity College and Oxford University. Both Liz and Siobhan are past pupils of Loreto Kilkenny and were in the same class in Loreto.

Addressing attendees, Matheson Managing Partner, Michael Jackson, spoke about the importance of gender and leadership at Matheson. 

“As longstanding members of The Dublin Chamber, Matheson congratulates the Chamber on its ongoing commitment to diversity and its continued advocacy of progressive policies that support women in the workplace," he said. "We also congratulate Siobhán on her successful presidency of the Dublin Chamber and we wish the incoming president, Eoghan Quigley, well for his upcoming term.”
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