Health Promotion Officer: Orlagh Eustace
Orlagh is a registered Social Worker who has also completed her Master’s Degree in International Development and trained as a Yoga and Meditation Teacher. She has extensive experience working with individuals, families and communities, in Ireland and abroad, in relation to the areas of safeguarding, human rights and mental health. Orlagh is extremely passionate about health promotion, supporting people to better understand themselves, and helping to create the conditions for everyone to reach their full potential.
In her free time she loves to read and get out into nature … but is also a sucker for a good reality TV show!
Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Manager: Gary Cogan
Gary is a graduate of Maynooth University where, as a mature student using the Recognition of Prior Learning entry path, he achieved a master’s degree in Rights and Social Policy. He served as a member of An Garda Siochana where he spent many years working in Community Policing and he writes a regular column for the Garda Review Magazine.
He is passionate about equity, diversity, and inclusion, and a rights-based environment where all in the college community can thrive. He is extremely passionate about his role and will build on the existing university initiatives to ensure a respectful, supportive, positive culture exists that reflects EDI values while working to eliminate sexual violence and harassment.
In his down time, he is an avid reader of social and labour politics, history, and loves to listen to ballads, old and new. He is passionate about rugby and GAA and can often be found walking his overly friendly dog. He also talks about Cork, perhaps more than is healthy.
Executive Assistant: Natalie Huynh
Natalie completed a Master's degree in International Relations in DCU and is passionate about Human Rights. She worked at DCU Global for a year after graduation, and has now worked in the education sector with international students for over 4 years. She loves her work because she can help students who are studying abroad find their feet and feel more comfortable with new countries and new cultures that they may find difficult in their first year. The first English song that Natalie learned was “Heal the world” and she really loves the message in the lyrics that we can make this world a better place. As a result she finds her role with the MU Healthy Campus Team very meaningful.
DIY & Craft is the most favorite thing that she would spend all day doing if she can!
How did Healthy Campus start?
‘Healthy Ireland’ (2013-2025) is a National Framework for improving health and wellbeing. Its vision is an Ireland where everyone can enjoy physical and mental health and wellbeing to their full potential, and where wellbeing is valued and supported at every level of society and is viewed as everyone’s responsibility. Healthy Ireland is based on an understanding that there are many determinants of health. In other words that our health/wellbeing are affected by all aspects of our life such as economic status, education, housing and the physical environment we live/work/study in. As such, a number of strategies were developed to support the vision of Healthy Ireland and the Healthy Campus Charter and Framework is one of them.
What is the Healthy Campus Charter and Framework?
It’s a HEA initiative co-created by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), the Dept of Health and the HSE. In line with best practice it’s based on the Okanagan International Charter for Health Promoting Universities. The Charter was launched in Ireland in 2021 and all HEIs including MU signed up. Since then HEIs across Ireland began to implement it in their own way. In essence the Framework is a tool through which each HEI can address local needs and national health priorities, and embed health and wellbeing into campus life. It offers guidelines to build on existing actions and integrate health and wellbeing into decisions surrounding teaching, learning and the college environment to help foster an ethos of care, compassion and inclusion.
The full text is accessible here: Healthy-Campus-Charter-and-Framework.pdf
What does a ‘Healthy Campus’ mean?
The concept takes a holistic understanding where health is seen - not as the absence of illness/disease - but as complete physical, mental and social well-being. This means a person can realise their own abilities, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, contribute to their community and achieve their full potential. This necessitates a ‘whole campus' approach where health and wellbeing is viewed as everybody’s right and responsibly, where there is a shift in focus from ‘what can go wrong’ in peoples lives to a focus on ‘what makes things go well’, and where a learning environment and organisational culture that enhances the health and wellbeing of its entire community is created.
What will a ‘Healthy Maynooth University’ look like?
The good news is that this part is up to you! When Maynooth University signed up to the Healthy Campus Charter it pledged to put in place Healthy Campus Co-ordinators and Steering Group(s) to consult with students and staff on what they want/need. So, in order to provide the right, targeted interventions under each of the 6 key areas we need to hear from you. Over the coming months we will be engaging in a campus wide consultation process so keep an eye out for this in-person and online. You can also feel free to contact us directly via email or social media with any questions, thoughts or suggestions.
