Key Personnel
O’Herlihy Access Consultancy is led by highly-qualified consultants and trainers with considerable expertise in the field of disability.
Eoin O’Herlihy Managing Director
Eoin O’Herlihy is a first class graduate in Materials and Engineering Technology, and completed an Engineering Research Master’s Degree in March 2003 in the field of accessibility, universal design, workplace design, ergonomics and accessible schools.
Having moved to become a Public Sector Accessibility Specialist for the National Disability Authority in 2003, Eoin was instrumental in the design and implementation of NDA’s first ever national award scheme, the Excellence through Accessibility Award. He established O’ Herlihy Access Consultancy (OHAC) in August 2007.
With over fourteen years experience working as an accessibility consultant and trainer, Eoin has advised clients including the National Disability Authority, The European Commission; Dublin Castle, Cantrell and Crowley Architects; the Health Service Executive; University College Cork; The Department of Education and Skills; John Sisk and Sons; European Network for Accessible Tourism; National Standards Authority of Ireland; Microsoft; The Irish Wheelchair Association; Age Friendly Ireland; Kennedy Wilson; Dublin City Council; Henry J Lyons Architects; Dublin Institute of Technology and the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government.
Eoin also acts as Expert Witness and works with legal teams to provide professional insight and advice on a range of accessibility or disability access issues ranging from housing accommodation needs reports, compliance with relevant accessibility Building Regulations and best practice guidelines.
He is a Chartered Engineer and member of Engineers Ireland; currently Chairperson for the National Standards Authority of Ireland, Access for All Consultative Committee Working Group 1 (Access to the Built Environment), an inspector for An Bord Pleanála in relation to Disability Access Certificate application appeals and a member of the Irish Ergonomics Society.
Eoin is also the Irish representative and Secretary on the Board of the Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments (GAATES) – a leading international not-for-profit organisation that seeks to promote accessibility in both electronic and communication technologies and the built environment.
Eoin is currently a guest lecturer at University College Dublin & NUI Galway and regularly speaks at national and international conferences on accessibility. He has also written numerous articles and published papers on accessibility. The most recent example was an article for the Centre for Accessible Environments in the UK entitled “Thinking beyond disability access - Access audits, designing buildings and making services accessible”.
Robert Graham Senior Access Consultant (Ancillary Certifier Team)
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Robert Graham has been with O’Herlihy Access Consultancy since 2011 and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Accessibility and Inclusive Design from the University of Salford which he was awarded in 2013. He also holds a NCEA National Certificate in Construction Studies (Architectural Technology) from Waterford Institute of Technology which he was awarded in 1994.
He currently provides accessibility and Universal Design advice to clients who include architects, building surveyors and fire safety consultants. Robert is responsible for carrying out design reviews and for the preparation of Disability Access Certificate applications. He has advised clients including BAM Building; The O'Toole Partnership Architects; DMOD Architects; University College Dublin; Wicklow County Council; RKD Architects; O'Mahony Pike Architects and CBRE Ireland.
Robert has carried out a number of access audits on a variety of building types ranging from Retail and Mixed Use; Healthcare; Hospitality and Leisure; Industrial; Educational to protected structures with responsibility for identifying any accessibility barriers within the built environment by physical inspection and the preparation of associated reports.
Robert also has a keen interest in accessible housing/lifetime homes and assists the team at OHAC in the preparation of housing accommodation needs reports and has been involved in the early stages of the design of a range of accessible houses and house adaptations with a focus on meeting the particular access requirements of a variety of users. This process also involves researching the latest range of best practice and accessible housing guidelines.
Robert began his career with Henry J Lyons Architects and was the project architectural technician on a wide variety of major projects such as the PPP Schools Bundle 1 Projects (Ferbane and Portlaoise) along with a number of Hotel projects which include the Radisson Hotel in Galway and Athlone, the Strand Hotel in Limerick and Dunboyne Castle Hotel in Co. Meath. In addition to his technical role, he was actively involved in ensuring that the design of these buildings adhered to the requirements of Part M of the Building Regulations and that they followed and exceeded the guidance provided in Technical Guidance Document M.
Clodagh Dodd Senior Access Consultant (DAC Team Lead)
Clodagh Dodd joined O’Herlihy Access Consultancy (OHAC) in September 2017. Clodagh graduated as an Interior Architect in 2013 and since joining OHAC has completed accredited training in Accessibility and Training Delivery and Evaluation.
In her role as Access Consultant, Clodagh is responsible for carrying out design phase reviews; preparing Disability Access Certificate (DAC) Applications for schemes including- new builds, extensions, material changes of use and material alterations; and the preparation of action policies and plans.
Clodagh has completed a number of Disability Access Certificate (DAC) Applications for clients over a variety of sectors including accommodation, education, office, retail and mixed use developments.
She has also been involved in preparing Access Policies and Action Plans for clients including the National Gallery of Ireland and Kilkenny Access for All Strategy.
Mark Bailey-Smith Senior Access Consultant (Ancillary Certifier Team Lead)
In August 2017 Mark Bailey-Smith joined the O’Herlihy Access Consultancy (OHAC) team after graduating from D.I.T. Bolton Street with a Bachelor’s Degree of Architecture in 2016. Since joining the team Mark has completed training on Accessibility and Universal Design and is continuously expanding his knowledge and experience in this area.
As an Access Consultant his work involves carrying out Access Audits and advising clients on the conclusions of the reports; providing Design Team and Technical Advice during the design phase of projects; reviewing and preparing Disability Access Certificate (DAC) Applications (including new builds, extensions, material alterations and material change of use); completing site inspections and reporting on projects during construction phase.
Mark has been involved in progressing numerous small and large scale projects from development to completion including; Access Audits of the National Gallery of Ireland’s Millennium and Beit Wings, The Abbey Theatre and The Ark Theatre.
He has also worked on preparing, progressing and completing Disability Access Certificate (DAC) Applications with clients across sectors including student accommodation, offices, hotels and others.
Tyler Phillips Access Consultant (Ancillary Certifier Team)
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Tyler Phillips joined O’Herlihy Access Consultancy (OHAC) in June 2019 and holds a Master of Engineering awarded in 2016 from the University College Dublin after graduating with Bachelor of Science in Structural Engineering with Architecture from the same University in 2014. He has previously had three years of experience working in the construction industry as a Structural Engineer and has worked on projects at the design stage through to construction. Since joining OHAC, Tyler has completed accredited training regarding Accessibility and Universal Design and researched many topics relating to universal design.
Tyler’s responsibilities as an Access Consultant include; providing design teams and clients with advice regarding accessibility, carrying out design reviews of varies schemes (new buildings, extensions, material alterations and change of use), preparing Disability Access Certificates (DAC) applications, carrying out site inspections and reporting to ensure compliance, and carrying out access audits to assess accessibility.
He has been involved in the preparation of a number of granted DAC applications for clients across various sectors. He has also aided in the development of an Accessibility Guide for the Curragh Racecourse in Co. Kildare. Currently, Tyler carries out reviews at construction stage and is involved with the preforming of site inspections to ensure compliance with granted DAC’s and Part M.
Zandalee Slabbert Access Advisor (DAC Team)
Zandalee Slabbert joined O’Herlihy Access Consultancy (OHAC) in January 2020 as an Access Consultant. Zandalee graduated from Stellenbosch University, South Africa, with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2017. In her final year of study, she completed her thesis on Universal Design which she passed with Cum Laude. As part of her thesis, she carried out access audits, surveys, and practical assessments of buildings on the university campus as well as connecting with students with disabilities to learn about the barriers that they experience on campus. Her thesis findings and conclusions allowed her to liaise with university management in order to implement possible solutions to improve the accessibility of the campus.Since joining OHAC, Zandalee has completed accredited training in Accessibility and Universal Design and is continuously researching topics relating to the industry. Zandalee’s responsibilities as an Access Consultant include; the preparation of Housing Needs Reports, carrying out design phase reviews, preparing Disability Access Certificate (DAC) applications, carrying out access audits to assess accessibility, and advising clients on Universal Design. She has been involved in design projects across various sectors, including healthcare, education, student accommodation, retail, housing, office, and mixed-use developments.
Since joining OHAC, Zandalee has completed accredited training in Accessibility and Universal Design and is continuously researching topics relating to the industry. Zandalee’s responsibilities as an Access Consultant include; the preparation of Housing Needs Reports, carrying out design phase reviews, preparing Disability Access Certificate (DAC) applications, carrying out access audits to assess accessibility, and advising clients on Universal Design. She has been involved in design projects across various sectors, including healthcare, education, student accommodation, retail, housing, office, and mixed-use developments.
