Damien Hernon

Damien was appointed Director by the Oberstown Board of Management on 15 March 2021. He  served as Interim Director from 2 November 2020 and is a former Deputy Director of Oberstown.

He has an extensive working knowledge of and experience within the children detention arena which stretches back over 30 years. He has gained wide-ranging frontline knowledge along with a broad operational understanding which contributes to a holistic approach to developing the campus.

Damien has been involved in leading a number of key projects over the years, aligning with industry leaders and developing strategy within the service, with the specific aim of trying ‘to do the right thing’ for all young people and staff. In delivering on these objectives, Damien has worked in partnership with internal and external stakeholders to meet the strategic goals of the campus.

Damien has a range of qualifications within the sport, business, and social care world and he graduated in 2018 from DCU with an Executive MBA. He has a very good working knowledge of crisis management, risk management and appropriate care-based interventions for both young people and staff.

Outside of his work life, Damien is an active member of his community through sport and his involvement in coaching at different levels of the GAA framework brings him into contact with a cross-section of the community. This underlines his commitment to connecting with people at a deeper level with a view to developing young people who not only learn through sport but who also go on to make a positive contribution to society as a whole. This approach has been a consistent driver of his work in the children detention arena.

In his role as Director, Damien is committed to building on the platform created over the years by the previous executive in conjunction with the Board of Management, with regard to the future development of our campus, our young people and our staff.