Galwaywoman Anne O\u2019Connor is set to return to the heart of Ireland\u2019s public health system, taking up the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Health Service Executive in a move that brings one of the most recognisable figures of the Covid-19 era back into public service.<\/p>\n
For many people, Ms O\u2019Connor\u2019s calm authority became familiar during the epidemic briefings, when she stood at the centre of decision-making as the HSE\u2019s Chief Operations Officer. In those intense months, she was a key figure in steering hospitals and community services through an unprecedented public health emergency, and she later played a pivotal role in managing the response to the cyberattack on the health service in May 2021. Her visibility and steady presence earned widespread respect across the sector and beyond.<\/p>\n
Ms O\u2019Connor will succeed Bernard Gloster, who announced earlier this year that he intended to step down. Following what the HSE described as an open, competitive selection process, she is expected to take up the post in Spring 2026, on a salary of \u20ac398,174. She returns to the organisation from the private sector, having most recently served as Managing Director of Vhi Health & Wellbeing, where she broadened her leadership experience and insight into healthcare delivery outside the public system.<\/p>\n
Originally trained as an occupational therapist, Anne O\u2019Connor holds a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy as well as a Master of Science in Management Practice. Her career path reflects a rare blend of frontline clinical understanding and senior strategic leadership. During her earlier HSE career, she also served as National Director for Mental Health Services, adding depth to her experience across some of the most complex and sensitive areas of healthcare.<\/p>\n
Beyond her professional achievements, Anne O\u2019Connor is well known in her native Galway. She is the sister of popular broadcaster \u201cDoc\u201d O\u2019Connor, formerly of the Warwick Hotel and now a familiar voice on Galway Bay FM.<\/p>\n
Welcoming her appointment, HSE Chair Ciar\u00e1n Devane said he was \u201cvery pleased to welcome Anne back to the HSE\u201d. He noted that her experience with Vhi, combined with her extensive HSE career as an occupational therapist, mental health leader and Chief Operations Officer through the Covid pandemic, would \u201cstand her in good stead as she leads the HSE on its journey of reform\u201d.<\/p>\n
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll McNeill TD also praised the appointment, saying Ms O\u2019Connor has made a \u201csignificant contribution to healthcare in Ireland\u201d. She added that Ms O\u2019Connor now brings \u201cimmense capability and experience\u201d to leading the HSE, and spoke of strengthening a service that serves patients, values healthcare workers and delivers high-quality, equitable care.<\/p>\n
For her part, Ms O\u2019Connor described herself as \u201cvery privileged\u201d to be appointed at a time of great opportunity and challenge. She said she looks forward to leading the organisation and supporting staff as the HSE continues its reform programme, with the ultimate aim of meeting the healthcare needs of the people of Ireland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Galwaywoman Anne O\u2019Connor is set to return to the heart of Ireland\u2019s public health system, taking up the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[275],"tags":[26003,126846,41061,12008,126852,126849,3496,126854,18,126862,22406,135,475,126844,126855,126845,474,95184,126848,126860,19,17,126856,126847,126858,50417,126850,5315,126853,126857,99149,15791,19863,126859,14924,126861,126851],"class_list":{"0":"post-240696","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-anne","9":"tag-bay-fm","10":"tag-bernard-gloster","11":"tag-chief-executive-officer","12":"tag-chief-operations-officer","13":"tag-community-services","14":"tag-department-of-health","15":"tag-devane","16":"tag-eire","17":"tag-epidemic-briefings","18":"tag-executive","19":"tag-health","20":"tag-health-care","21":"tag-health-service-executive","22":"tag-health-service-executive-ransomware-attack","23":"tag-health_medical_pharma","24":"tag-healthcare","25":"tag-healthcare-delivery","26":"tag-healthcare-needs","27":"tag-hse-chair","28":"tag-ie","29":"tag-ireland","30":"tag-jennifer-carroll-mcneill","31":"tag-managing-director","32":"tag-mental-health-leader-and-chief-operations-officer","33":"tag-mental-health-services","34":"tag-michel-martin","35":"tag-minister","36":"tag-ms-oconnor","37":"tag-national-director-for-mental-health-services","38":"tag-occupational-therapist","39":"tag-occupational-therapy","40":"tag-republic-of-ireland","41":"tag-values-healthcare-workers","42":"tag-vhi","43":"tag-vhi-health","44":"tag-warwick-hotel"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}