Board Directors of St. Canice’s Community Action Ltd and officers

Michael Kelly: Chairperson

Michael was brought up in the Butt’s estate, and still has family members resident in the community. He attended primary school in the building now housing the Fr. McGrath Centre. Michael has work extensively with youth organisations in Ireland, England, Australia and America and has a degree in youth work studies. For over thirty years he has helped pioneer the development of youth support and training services in Kilkenny. He is currently employed as the artistic director of Young Irish Film Makers, a youth group he established in 1991. SCCA originates from the ‘Butts Pride Festival’ he organised in 1991.

Paul Cuddihy: Treasurer
Paul joined the Board in 2023 and is a secondary school teacher in Kilkenny College. Paul was also a member of Kilkenny Corporation and Kilkenny County Council for a number of years but is now retired from local elections.

Annette Hogan
Annette is a retiree and former parish resident and was a volunteer with our children services for many years.

Andrew Burke
Andrew is a local and lifelong resident of the Butts community and is a successful and well respected local business owner.

James (Jim) Neary

Jim is a retired primary school principle and he was born and raised in the Butts housing community. He has been an active volunteer in the parish all his life and is well known for his lifetime commitment to amateur handball and hurling involvement.

Christopher (Chris) Hogan

Chris Hogan is a solicitor in the Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan Solicitors, a law firm based in the heart of Kilkenny serving the South East of Ireland and nationwide, and mainly deals with criminal cases across all Irish Courts.  Chris is a graduate of Trinity College, and Dublin Institute of Technology and a member Law Society of Ireland. Chris joined our Board in 2022.

Anne Marie Clifford

Anne Marie is a lifetime resident of the estate and one of our youngest Directors. She has been involved with the organisation since she was eleven years old when she was active as a member of the KATS Circus Group and when she trained as a junior leader with our youth clubs. She was also employed for a period as a trained childcare worker in our crèche before leaving to take up a position with the HSE. Anne Marie is a founding member of the local and very successful Community Savings Bank, a member and former secretary of the Butts Women’s Group and she is an active member of the South East FRC Forum. She joined the Board in 2005.

Patricia King

Patricia is a local parent and has lived all her life in the estate. She is an active and founding member of the Butts Residents Association (2004) and has been actively involved in the management Board of the project since 2005. Patricia in also one of three Board reps who are active members of the South East Family Resource Centre Forum.

Fr.Jim Murphy P.P.

Fr. Jim is parish priest of St. Canice’s and the most recent member to join our Board. He is well known to many local families having worked in the community as a curate in earlier years. One of the first voluntary groups he joined when he took up his position as Parish Priest in 2005 was our Board indicating his eagerness to build strong links between community and social justice groups and the local church.

Rose Brophy

Rose is the newest member of our Board and has recently retired as Senior Social Worker with Carlow/Kilkenny HSE’s Childcare Team. Rose has many years of experience in working with families and children in our targeted communities and has extensive links with community, social justice and family support groups in Kilkenny.