Paddy Reilly (Dip DS, BA, MA) is the Executive Director of Kimmage DSC, a position he was appointed to in 1995. He is responsible for overall strategic planning, policy implementation and management of the institute. He also delivers courses in Adult Education and in Facilitation Practice, contributes to curriculum and course design and facilitates students undertaking primary research in development-related areas. 

His interests include exploring how educational principles and methodologies, particularly those drawing upon experiential learning, enhance human and social development.  In pursuit of this during the past 25 years, he has facilitated training in Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and for different groups and institutes within Ireland. As head of the institute, Paddy has initiated and supervised several strategic developments and partnerships. He oversaw the successful validation process for the current MA in Development Studies, and the accreditation of several courses run in Tanzania – from Certificate to BA degree level. He is responsible for setting up several strategic partnerships with like- minded development training institutes in Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia and Sierra Leone, most notably the continuing collaboration with MS-TCDC in Arusha.  In 2003, he set up an action research and consultancy unit (Kimmage East Africa Programme) in Tanzania which continues to engage with development actors in that region. In 2005 he coordinated a successful bid to run the government funded training and learning programme for the Irish development sector which is today known as the DTALK Learning programme.

He is a member of the International Advisory Committee of the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation. He currently represents Kimmage DSC on the CDPC (Combat Diseases of Poverty Consortium) run by NUI Maynooth and is a member of the Steering group of CELEP (Coalition of European Lobbies for East African Pastoralists).

Email: paddy.reilly@kimmagedsc.ie