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Governance & Oversight


The CRDO provides governance for clinical research involving patients, their data or samples, the staff and/or infrastructure of SUHG and University of Galway, and any associated Clinical Research Units/Facilities or Clusters, and of regulated and non-regulated trials sponsored by University of Galway to ensure that Sponsors, including University of Galway, fulfil their legal obligations and comply with statutory requirements.

The Clinical Research and Development Office will monitor regulatory compliance and provide support for researchers in SUHG and University of Galway in meeting their regulatory obligations, supporting research applications and in improving engagement with our academic partners.

Governance Board

Appointed by the Saolta Board of Trustees and University of Galway Údarás na hOllscoile, the Clinical Research Governance and Oversight Board is tasked with oversight of the governance and integrity of clinical research occurring in Saolta University Hospital Galway (SUHG) or University of Galway.  The Board will oversee clinical research activity in line with national and local policies and procedures, and consider reports provided by the Director of Clinical Research and Development Office.

University of Galway & SUHG Clinical Research Governance & Oversight Board

Professor Patrick Nash

Group Clinical Director, SUHG

Professor Pat Nash was appointed Chief Clinical Director of Saolta University Health Care Group in December 2012. In this role, he is responsible for Clinical Governance for the Hospital Group and he is also the lead for Quality and Patient Safety across the Group.

Pat is from Newcastle West, County Limerick and is a graduate of UCC. He did his training in Cardiology in Cork and Dublin before moving to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio where he completed subspecialty fellowships in Cardiac Imaging and Heart Failure.

In 2004, he returned to Ireland to take up the post of Consultant Cardiologist in University Hospital Galway. From 2008 to 2012 he was Clinical Director for Medicine at the Hospital.

Professor Joe Eustace

External Clinical Trials Expert

Prof. Joe Eustace is the Director of the HRB Clinical Research Facility at UCC (CRF-C), Chairman of the HRB CRCI Senior Management Team and Professor of Patient Focused Research at UCC. The CRF-C facility is co-funded by the University and by the Health Research Board and supports the design, conduct and analysis of Patient Focused Research throughout UCC and its affiliated Medical Centres. He is also a Consultant Renal Physician at Cork University Hospital.

He graduated MB, BAO BCh (UCD) 1990 and undertook postgraduate training in General Internal Medicine and Nephrology in Dublin (1990-1996), Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore (1996-1999), and a NIH funded Fellowship in Clinical Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, (1997-1999), as part of which he completed a MHS (Clin Epi). He served as an Assistant Professor in the Johns Hopkins Faculty of Internal Medicine and in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology. His research has been funded by the NIH (NIDDK), NKF, the HRB and EI is focused on the methodological issues in Clinical Trial design, nutritional management of Chronic Kidney Disease and investigations into bone and vascular health in renal transplant recipients. He has authored or co-authored over 80 peer reviewed papers and is a co-applicant on the HRB Trials Methodology Research Network.

Ms. Dariona Conlon

Legal Representative

Dariona read Law at Trinity College Dublin and trained as a Solicitor with A & L Goodbody. She qualified in 1994. She worked as a Litigation Solicitor with V.P. McMullin specialising in Health Care Law until 2004. She was appointed to the Board of the Residential Institutions Redress Board in 2004 where she continues to work. She has chaired Mental Health Tribunals since 2010. She worked as a Consultant for CS Kelly & Co. from 2016 to 2018. Dariona was appointed to the Board of the Saolta University Health Care Group in 2017 as a Non-Executive Director. She chairs the Saolta Board Quality and Patient Safety Committee.

Phyllis MacNamara

Following graduation from Trinity College Dublin with  BA in English Irish and Fine Arts, Phyllis opened her shop, Cobwebs in Galway. Three other shops followed.

Her work with UCHG, started when she piloted a scheme with the pediatric unit. followed by joining Saolta Arts for the promotion of the Arts within the hospital environment. 

 She was appointed to the Board of the Salota Group at the founding of the board in 2013. She served as a patient advocate to the board for nine years.

Professor Martin O'Donnell

Prof Martin O’Donnell is Executive Dean of College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, taking-up the role in February 2022. He is Professor of Neurovascular Medicine at University of Galway

Prof Martin O’Donnell is Executive Dean of College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, taking-up the role in February 2022. He is Professor of Neurovascular Medicine at University of Galway, and Consultant Geriatrician at University Hospital Galway, Ireland. A medical graduate of University College Cork, he trained in Geriatric and Stroke medicine and completed a PhD with the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (McMaster University). He has considerable experience of international research collaborations and led a key study of risk factors for stroke (INTERSTROKE study) that included 26,000 individuals from 32 countries. Martin joined NUI Galway and Saolta University Healthcare Group in 2010, developed a successful MSc in Clinical Research. He has served as Director of HRB-Clinical Research Facility (until 2020) during a time of substantial growth in clinical trial research. Prof O’Donnell has a strong track-record of leadership, high-impact publications and securing major research funding awards, including a European Research Council award.