Meet the team
Eileen McHugh
Founder & CEO
Eileen McHugh is the founder and innovator behind Hair Together. With experience as an international stylist, barber, and educator, she has worked at major events like Paris and Copenhagen Fashion Weeks. As well as many years running her own highly successful business.
Eileen created Hair Together to address unemployment, mental health challenges, and substance misuse in Dublin’s Northside communities. She developed a 10-week personal development program that has helped young people reconnect with education and supported women leaving the prison system to build confidence, learn new skills, and find community.
Advocate for Social Change: Eileen’s passion and commitment to helping those most in need have made her a respected advocate for social change, influencing policy and practice within Ireland and beyond.
Eileen continues to innovate for social change and how best to serve & support her community.
Niall Stringer
Advisory Director
COMING SOON
Tracy Keogh
Non Exec Chairperson
Tracy is an experienced founder and CEO in the non profit sector. She holds 4 board seats and has led growing businesses from 0-1+ million ARR. Tracy joined Hair Together having been completely inspired by the founding team, the vision, and the people that have gone through the programmes. Her role is to drive the creation of a board that can govern, inspect and challenge in order to fulfil the immediate goal of a thriving home for Hair Together, and an organisation that has lasting impact.
Amanda-Jayne Comyn
Advisory Director
Amanda works as a Tax Advisor in www.ciruclo.ie. Circulo is a boutique advisory firm, dedicated to offering full circle, straight-forward and comprehensive professional advice to both corporates and individuals that is underpinned by tax expertise.
Amanda is a Barrister-at-law and a Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA). She has extensive experience in the field of tax having worked in leading legal firms and large accountancy practices, mostly recently as a tax partner with Philip Lee and prior to that as tax director with Grant Thornton.
Amanda’s expertise is in advising on the commercial and tax aspects of M&As and restructuring including shareholder matters. She advises on corporate transactions having considerable experience in mergers and corporate reorganisations. She also advises individuals in estate and retirement planning, trusts, insolvency and all aspects of property transactions with specialised experience in stamp duty and stamp duty planning.
Amanda has an expanse of technical writing experience having authored and co-authored a number of publications including Bloomsbury’s Irish Law of Stamp Duty and the Irish Taxation Institute’s Corporate Transactions: Tax and Legal Issues.
Gilliane Quinn De Schonen
Non Exec Director
Gilliane Quinn de Schonen has a background in retailing. She was President and Managing Director of a chain of juice bars throughout France and Europe, operating under the Zumo brand until 2023. She has a background in consulting and food marketing based in Paris. She started her career with Bain and Company in London and Paris, and subsequently specialised in importing food products from Ireland and France into the French distributors such as Auchan, Monoprix, Intermarché and Carrefour. In 2000 she co-founded Novalenext, a prospective marketing company which worked on new retail concepts such as Daily Monop in addition to showcasing new food trends at the SIAL Trade fair. She was President of NetworkIrlande, the network of Irish professionals in France, which was created in 2010. Gilliane was a Non-Executive Director of Superquinn, the family supermarket chain for 10 years until the sale of the company in 2005.
Gilliane was the Chairperson of the Trinity College Dublin Association and Trust until 2021 and is a Trustee of the Quinn Family Foundation. She studied Business in Trinity College Dublin and holds a diploma in Corporate Governance from the CGI.
Grainne Hughes
Wellbeing Program Manager
Grainne’s background is in IT Recruitment spanning a career of 15 + years working with multiple global tech brands – after years of burnout and stress she pivoted to a new career in Wellbeing and holistic health. She runs the relaxation hub, a busy reflexology practise, she has gone on to do further studies becoming a meditation teacher, Breathwork teacher and she also runs wellbeing workshops for private clients, schools and companies. She is passionate about supporting young people and empowering them with tools to look after their own wellbeing
Nigel Kinahan
Project Manager
• 25 years in the construction industry
providing comprehensive services including
feasibility studies, cost estimation, tender
document preparation, contract negotiation,
cost control, project management, and
dispute resolution.
• A keen interest in energy management and
sustainability
• Volunteering with Hair Together since 2019
managing budgets, accounts, and
programme pricing
Vinnie Kearns
Education Manager
25 years Hair Industry Experience, Graduate from both Peter Mark & The Merchant Barber
Awards – Barber of the Years, IHF Champion, European Champion, 15 Years education experience and developed and ran many successful barbering businesses.
Ado Carton
Chairperson
Ado Carton serves as Chairperson of Hair Together CLG, bringing a wealth of senior leadership experience across the consumer sector. Over the course of his career, he has held key roles with leading organisations including Kerry Group and Manor Farm, where he successfully led teams across Ireland, the UK, and Europe.
Ado has built his career on developing high-performing teams and delivering results in fast-paced, complex, and competitive environments. His leadership style is grounded in collaboration, strategic thinking, and a strong focus on people—qualities that align closely with the mission and growth ambitions of Hair Together CLG.
While he jokes that he has little personal need for hairdressing services, Ado is deeply motivated by the organisation’s purpose. He is passionate about using his commercial insight and leadership expertise to support the team, led by Eileen, as they continue to transform lives through confidence, skills development, and opportunity.
As Chairperson, Ado is committed to strengthening governance, supporting sustainable growth, and helping Hair Together CLG expand its impact within communities.
Dr. Sabina Brennan
Advisory Board Member
Dr. Sabina Brennan is a health psychologist, neuroscientist, author, and internationally recognised advocate for brain health. She is the author of four Irish Times best-selling books, including 100 Days to a Younger Brain (2019), Beating Brain Fog (2021), The Neuroscience of Manifesting (2024), and Still Me, A Neuroscientist’s Guide to Caring for Someone with Dementia (2025).
Dr. Brennan previously directed a dementia research programme at Trinity College Dublin, where she led innovative work focused on brain health and cognitive wellbeing. She is a passionate advocate for people living with neurological conditions and their carers, and contributes her expertise to a range of advisory and advocacy groups, including the All Party Parliamentary Group on Longevity in the United Kingdom.
Fascinated by the potential of the human brain, Sabina is on a mission to empower individuals with the knowledge to better understand how their brains work, enabling them to unlock their full potential. A highly engaging and sought-after speaker, she is a familiar voice and face across radio and television.
Now working full-time as a writer and motivational speaker, Sabina brings to the Hair Together CLG Advisory Board a unique perspective on wellbeing, confidence, and the psychological impact of personal transformation, supporting the organisation’s mission to change lives through the power of hair.