Dr Conor Patterson, Chief Executive
Conor has been actively involved in the economic regeneration of the Newry and Mourne region since the mid-1990’s. Between 1997 and 2003 he was the Chairman of the Newry and Mourne Economic Forum and more recently he has been one of the co-coordinators of the Greater Newry Vision Partnership. From 2003-2005 he was the Chairman of Enterprise Northern Ireland, the federation of Local Enterprise Agencies in Northern Ireland. More recently he was President of Newry Chamber of Commerce and Trade. He is currently a member of the Maze/Long Kesh Development Corporation; a Governor of the Southern Regional College; and the Chairman of the Community Stakeholder Panel which is guiding First Flight Wind in the development of an offshore windfarm; which, ultimately, will generate 20% of Northern Ireland’s electricity needs. Conor is also a director of the Department of Agriculture and Local Authority managed SOAR rural development partnership. Conor has a Doctorate in Business & Economics from Kingston University in London. He is an MSc Economics graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, and a Chartered Urban and Regional Planner. Conor is accredited as a Mediator by the Mediation Network for Northern Ireland. He is a Member of the Institute of Business Consulting and a Member of the Institute of Economic Development.
Liam Quinn F.C.A. Financial Controller
Liam qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1995 and worked for several years in the Corporate Finance Division of Pricewaterhousecoopers in Belfast. He joined the Agency as Financial Controller in 1998 and has been involved in the delivery of support to new and growing businesses in the Newry & Mourne area. His primary role is the delivery the Business Start up programme in the Newry & Mourne Council area. Liam has also project managed the development of significant work space schemes within the Agency and its associate companies. Liam is a former President and Treasurer of Newry Credit Union and is currently Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of St Colman’s College in Newry. He owned and operated a successful retail business for over nine years. He is currently a voluntary director of a local community business, treasurer of the Newry Scout group and treasurer of the Down Ladies GAA.
Pauline Coghlan, Senior Business Development Executive
Pauline Coghlan M.B.A. graduate has over 35 years’ experience in small business development and financial management, with over 5 years’ at senior management level. Since joining the Agency in 2004 as Client Manager on the ‘Go For It’ programme, she has assisted with the co-ordination and delivery of various initiatives including: The Rural and Start A Business Programmes, Exploring Enterprise, The Small Business Loan Fund, Tradelinks, INI Social Enterprise Programme and The LSPs SENAM initiative with responsibility for financial control of the budget. Since 2012 Pauline has managed The BIG Lottery Work4Uplus Programme providing support to ‘at risk’ young people to improve their confidence, self-esteem and develop a range of skills enabling them to return to training or education, improve their employability or explore the world of self-employment.
Maria Coyle, Finance Officer M.I.A.T.I.
Maria has worked at Newry & Mourne Enterprise Agency for over twenty years as Finance Officer. She is a fully qualified Accounting Technician with responsibility for the day-to-day book-keeping of the Newry & Mourne Enterprise Agency, where she manages the accounts for a variety of programmes, including the handling of claims from funding organisations. She is also responsible for the day-to-day book-keeping of Oriel Developments Ltd and Binnian Developments Ltd. Maria also supports our team and Chief Executive with administration duties.
Michelle Frost, Office Services
Michelle has worked at Newry & Mourne Enterprise Agency for 24 years and provides our team with administration support for our programmes. She also works with our external clients providing backup office support services.
Colin Hanna, IT and Research Manager
In his role as IT Manager, Colin maintains and develops a sophisticated suite of onsite ICT systems and websites as well as providing day-to-day support to both staff and tenants. As Research Manager he regularly provides technical input for strategy documents and reports published by e.g. Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and Newry Chamber of Commerce and Trade. Colin has delivered ICT advice and training across a range of business development programmes; he is currently the area manager for the Co-innovate Programme which is supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme. Colin is also working on the YouthNest Programme, an EU sponsored initiative under the auspices of the Erasmus+ Programme which will help to promote employment in the creative sectors in rural areas of Europe.
Jennifer Malone, Property Manager
Jennifer heads our Commercial Property Development Team and also has 37 years’ experience as a member of our Business Support Team. Jennifer has an extensive knowledge of industrial property and has been responsible for managing 4 industrial estates totaling over 178,500 sq ft. Jennifer manages the property portfolio for the Co Operative Ltd, including the facilitation of SMEs in their requirements for suitable and affordable workspace. Jennifer has been the project officer for the heritage lotteries fund for the regeneration of Canal Street and Sugar Island for 5 years. Jennifer is a Member of the Institute of Business Advisors. Jennifer is also a board member for the Women’s Network Newry & Armagh, and also the labour and Education Forum.
Kieran Mathers, Senior Business Development Executive
Kieran has over twenty-five years experience in industry having worked as a Systems Manager with Norbrook Laboratories, a leading veterinary pharmaceutical company. He is a Quality specialist and was self-employed as a Quality Systems Consultant before joining Newry & Mourne Enterprise Agency in 2002. Kieran was the operational manager for the SEED Business Development Programmes, Businesspoint and the Rural Enterprise Awareness Programme and was the programme manager for Tradelinks, a 12 countywide programme supporting the micro-enterprise sector. Currently Kieran is the programme Manager for the INTERREG VA funded Co-innovate Programme, an innovation support programme delivered across NI, the 6 Border Counties of ROI and Western Scotland. Kieran has a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry and Biology and he plays a role in maintaining the Agency’s ISO 9001 accreditation.
Stephen McClelland, Senior Social Enterprise Advisor
Stephen is an M.B.A. graduate with over 30 years experience in the community and voluntary sector and 15 years of public sector senior management experience. For the last 8 years he has managed and delivered the Community Business Start Up Programme in the Southern Region, and more recently both Invest NI’s Social Entrepreneurship Programme and Newry LSP’s Social Enterprise Newry & Mourne programme and has designed and delivered tailored mentoring on behalf of UCIT. He has provided consultancy support to private sector businesses under the Start a Business, Tradelinks and Leader Programmes. Stephen sits on the boards of a number of social enterprises and community based organisations.
Maeve McParland, Business Development Executive
Maeve, a Business Studies graduate has worked at Newry & Mourne Enterprise Agency for 13 years. During this time Maeve has been involved in a wide range of Programmes i.e. Social Enterprise Newry and Mourne, Enterprise Network East, Tradelinks, Start A Business Programme and Exploring Enterprise. Maeve is currently the Programme Co-ordinator of the Education2Employment Programme, funded by the Department for Communities which helps to support school pupils aged 11-18 from the Newry Neighbourhood Renewal Area attending schools in Newry helping them to prepare for the world of work, volunteering and higher and further education.
Newry and Mourne Co-Operative and Enterprise Agency 