Ireland’s health system, from the public Health Service Executive to private hospital groups and health insurers, holds some of the most sensitive data in the country and runs services where downtime can affect patient care. The five cybersecurity leaders below protect the HSE, a private hospital group, two of the country’s health insurers, and national cyber resilience programs. Their routes into security vary widely. One spent years leading resilience, security, and threat intelligence at Sky. Another has spent 20 years at Vhi, moving from software engineer to head of cyber security. A third started as a SIEM architect in Chennai and now contributes to Ireland’s National Cyber Security Programme.
Eilish McGuinness – Cyber Resilience CISO, Health Service Executive
Eilish McGuinness led business continuity at the Central Bank of Ireland, managing a team of four and coordinating 34 divisional continuity coordinators. She then worked in enterprise resiliency at Symantec, first for EMEA and then as global business continuity manager. Over nearly nine years at Sky, she rose from head of business continuity in London to director of group resilience, responsible for resilience, security, health and safety, and threat intelligence to protect Sky’s assets, content, and reputation. After founding her own advisory practice on risk, resilience, and security, McGuinness joined the Health Service Executive in July 2025 as Cyber Resilience CISO.
David Carmody – Director of IT with Responsibility for Cyber and Privacy, Laya Healthcare
David Carmody led software development at Quinn Healthcare and continued in the role as the business became Laya Healthcare, managing a multi-site team of 15 to 20. As head of IT with responsibility for data privacy, he introduced a bimodal, DevOps-driven approach to delivery, and since 2020 he has served as director of IT with responsibility for cyber and privacy and as a member of the executive leadership team. Carmody has established and scaled Laya’s information security, AI, and innovation capabilities, delivering AI-enabled solutions across customer service, claims processing, and fraud and waste detection, and leads compliance with DORA and GDPR.
Sinead Howley – Group Information Security Manager, Blackrock Health
Sinead Howley spent nine years as an information security specialist at EBS Building Society, then worked in information security at Zurich Financial Services, Capita Life and Pensions Services, and Bank of Ireland, where she served as information security risk manager and then information security manager. After leading IT security, privacy, and portfolio management at Primark, she served as CISO of Scotiabank in Dublin. Howley joined Blackrock Health as group information security manager in March 2023, and has served on the committee of Cyber Women Ireland since 2022.
Eoin Mull – Head of Digital Infrastructure and Cyber Security, Vhi
Eoin Mull started as a software engineer at Fidelity Investments in Dublin before joining Vhi in 2006. Over 20 years at the health insurer, he has worked as a senior software engineer, senior technical architect, and infrastructure and security program manager, and led IT security for nearly nine years. Mull became head of digital infrastructure and cyber security in February 2026.
Ranjith Unnikrishnan – Independent CISO Partner
Ranjith Unnikrishnan began as a SIEM architect at EY in Chennai, working on big data security analytics, threat hunting, and both red and blue team exercises. He moved to Dublin with PwC Ireland, rising from cyber security consultant to senior manager, then led EY’s enterprise security architecture services and advised PwC clients on enterprise security architecture. Since August 2025 he has worked as an independent CISO partner, contributing to Ireland’s National Cyber Security Programme and digital health transformation, with a focus on public sector cyber resilience. He has served on the SANS/GIAC Advisory Board since 2016.
Protecting Irish Healthcare
These five leaders bring very different strengths to Irish healthcare security. McGuinness brings deep resilience and crisis experience from finance and media, while Howley built her career across banking and retail security. Carmody and Mull grew inside the health insurers they now protect, and Unnikrishnan brings architecture-led security to national programs. Together they help keep Ireland’s health services and patient data secure.
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John Kevin Hao is a news and feature writer covering cybersecurity, technology, and business targeted for professional audiences.