Brendan Donaghy has worked for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive since 1988. In 2000, he was appointed Mediation Development Officer and was seconded for 18 months to Mediation Northern Ireland, an independent mediation NGO. In the course of the secondment, he trained as a mediator and worked with Mediation Northern Ireland personnel on a range of disputes. He returned to the Housing Executive in 2002 and set up that organisation's in house mediation service. The service is offered free of charge to tenants of the organisation who find themselves in dispute with a neighbour. Since it was set up, over 700 people have received help with their dispute. In addition, the mediation service has delivered training on principles of conflict resolution to nearly 450 staff of the Housing Executive, as well as to staff from other organisations which work closely with the Housing Executive. Brendan is a part time conciliator with the Disability Conciliation Service of Northern Ireland. He holds a Masters Degree in Conflict Resolution and Mediation Studies from Birkbeck College, University Of London and an honours degree in English from the University of Leeds. He is married with one son and lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
