The Rainbow Club is run by an amazing team made up of management, staff, and volunteers. Take the chance to learn more about some of the great people who work with us below!
Karen O’Mahony founded the Rainbow Club Cork Centre for Autism in 2015 with her husband Jon. They had struggled for many years to access services for their two sons Stephen and Sean. They found nowhere that could give their children an opportunity to learn social skills with their peers. Determined that children and families should not be missing out on the opportunity to enjoy childhood they began to work to create a model that could combine learning social skills, building skills to overcome the challenges of autism with the chance to have fun and make friends. They knew that for many families isolation was a huge and heartbreaking part of the experience of dealing with a diagnosis. They realised that creating a community was going to be a crucial part of their work. Beginning with just a handful of other families, in just five years Karen has built an organisation that supports more than 518 children and their families every week. Over that time she has worked tirelessly to raise funds and build a staff of professionals and volunteers to provide crucial services in a thriving community hub. The overwhelming success of the Centre is a testament to Karen’s relentless drive and capacity to maximise limited resources. Karen is inspired every day by her boys to keep learning and keep trying. She understands the challenges faced by parents and carers who are trying to believe in themselves and find the courage they need to support their children. She believes that every child and family at the Centre is unique, special and deserves someone to fight for them and be there for them. Karen’s passion and vision are the driving force behind the Centre, as she inspires the staff and the families to have hope and determination to create a brighter future for children with autism in Ireland.
Molly has been heavily involved in Rainbow Club since its beginning in 2015 and is a very familiar face to many of the families that attend Rainbow Club weekly. Molly now currently manages and facilitates all support groups that take place in our Support Network and Resources hub. As a sibling of someone on the spectrum, Molly was always an advocate for young people getting the supports and services she missed out on growing up. Molly has a keen interest in the support of siblings of children with Autism. Since the beginning of the Support Network and Resource hub , Molly has successfully facilitated permanent sibling supports to over 80 children weekly.
Molly has also successfully co-facilitates vital parent supports such as parent plus training and has also created her own parent training module titled ‘Introduction to Supporting Siblings’ along with her colleague Tara.
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Jon is our Co-Founder and is referred to by staff as the glue that holds us all together. Jon is heavily involved in the running of the club on a day-to-day basis and was heavily involved in developing the Music and Sports Adapted Program. Jon has recently began facilitating our really successful Regulation Training Programme for Parents.
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Emma took up her position as Club Manager with us in September 2019.
She worked full Time in Child Care at a senior level for over 12 years. She has UCC Level 7 Qualification in Youth & Community Work, QQI Level 5 in Child Care, QQI Level 5 in Substance issues & Abuse in Youth & Community Work. She is also qualified in Lamh, First Aid, Covid Officer Trained, Child Protection Training, Child First Certified, Buntus Trained, and has an Autism Studies Certificate. She has been a volunteer here at the Rainbow Club since 2016.
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Rachel is our Assistant Club Manager and works closely with our club manager Emma with the day to day running of the club and all its social groups and activities. Rachel has a Level 8 Degree in Early Years and Childhood Studies in UCC.
She was awarded College Scholar of the Year in 2018. A proud member of Montfort School of Dance and previously part of ELJ Academy of Dance.
She holds a Certificate in Autism Studies, Children First with Tusla and Covid19 Officer Trained.
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Tara has been a part of the Rainbow Club family since we opened our doors in 2015. Tara is our Support Network and Resources Manager and runs all the Sibling Supports here at Rainbow Club. Tara is extremely passionate about other siblings receiving adequate support and making friends. Tara has a keen passion for the Sibling Workshops where she teaches children about ASD, mindfulness, self-care and emotional wellbeing. She has also assisted in the creation of a parent training program with our COO Molly. Tara also runs our ASD adapted Anime Club on a Saturday which has been a massive success!
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Ken officially joined our staff in late 2021 and has been a massive asset to our team in the support of our teens and young adults here at Rainbow Club. Ken is our Teen Hub Supervisor and facilitates all activities that take place within the hub!Ken rolls out a variety of activities within the Teen Hub each week including our very successful Gamer Café that he co-facilitates with Dylan , aswell as many social groups!
Ken has ensured that the success of Teen Hub is based on the safety, confidence & acceptance that the teens and young adults feel when they step foot in the door!
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Aileen joined the Rainbow Club team in early 2021 and has been working closely with Rainbow Club families since. Aileen is passionate about therapies that focus on interaction, relationships and play, as pathways to support development and learning. She is trained as a DIRFloortime Practitioner and has also completed Hanen More That Words training. Aileen graduated from University College Cork with a BSc Hons in Speech and Language Therapy in 2009. Since then, she has worked in a variety of paediatric setting in Ireland and Australia, including early intervention services, schools, clinical settings and community-based programs. Over the years Aileen has continued to develop skills and learn about Autism, through her experiences with families and through formal training courses.
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Caroline holds a Masters in Art Therapy and a Bachelors degree in Fine Art from Crawford College of Art and Design. She has gained extensive experience working with both adults and children.
A referral can be made for an Art Therapy session for a variety of reasons, including Anxiety, Depression, Personal or family trauma, Emotional difficulties, Behavioural issues, Challenging behaviour, Self-injurious behaviour, Emotional regulation, Sensory or processing difficulties, Suicidal thoughts or suicidal ideation.
Caroline will available for any person in need of support through art therapy and we are delighted to say that the service is also open to the public.
Caroline can be contacted at : Caroline@rainbowclub.ie
Or by contacting : 0861380444
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We are delighted to welcome Shinaine Batten Philips to our Team as an Additional Needs Assistant. Shinaine joined our team in June 2021.
Andrew is one of our Additional Needs Assistants and plays a key role in the running of our Orange and Violet rooms.
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Dylan joined our team in May 2021 and we are delighted to have Dylan join our team here at the Rainbow Club.
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Charlene runs our admin here at Rainbow Club. Charlene holds a very special place in the Rainbow Club Family. She plays a vital role in ensuring all queries regarding social groups, placements, etc are met. Godmother to an autistic godson, Charlene holds a wealth of knowledge about Autism and is always there to offer guidance should a parent have any questions regarding our services.
Charlene holds responsibility for liaising with our Centre and Club manager to ensure all supports and services are running efficiently each and every day.
Charlene can be contacted at info@rainbowclub.ie should you have any questions or queries regarding our services and supports here at Rainbow Club.
Frances joined the Rainbow Club Team in October 2021 and works with Charlene in the administration side of the house. She holds special responsibility for liaising with our Wellness and Regulation mentors and assisting them in the running of their programmes. Frances has the important responsibility of co-ordinating activities such as Lego and Arts & Crafts. Frances holds a wealth of office experience and enjoys liaising with parents and staff members to ensure all activities run smoothly and efficiently.
Francis can be contacted at Frances@rainbowclub.ie should you have any queries regarding activities such as Wellness, Regulation, Lego, Arts and Crafts etc.
Noelle started working in finance for an accountant in 2009 by starting a secretarial course. She finished her accounting technician course in 2002 and qualified as a Certified Public Accountant in 2007. She started working on the bookkeeping for Rainbow Club in 2019.
Noelle can be contacted at: accounts@rainbowclub.ie
Diarmuid joined the board in January 2019. Diarmuid currently works as an auctioneer with McCarthy & McGrath Auctioneers, Valuers, and Property Consultants and he holds an NDip in Auctioneering, Valuation & Estate Agency and has over 20 years experience in the Cork Property Market. He is also a member of the Society for Chartered Surveyors Ireland and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
Gobnait is involved with the board since its foundation in July 2015. Gobnait is Deputy Principal in Cork College of Commerce and has an MA in Early Childhood Studies. She also ran a successful pre-school service for 21 years, where her interest in Autism developed. She also has taught in Further Education for 19 years prior to becoming Deputy Principal.
Patrick is a member of the board since July 2017. Patrick is Office Manager with Cork Bonded Warehouses for nearly 20 years. Patrick was also involved in the setting up of the sports programs in the club. He holds Buntus Sports Coaching approved, Child First, First aid, and Manual handling. Patrick a keen GAA man has also been involved in the club and its groups over his time here.
Seán is involved with the board since its foundation in July 2015 and was a previous chairperson of the board. Sean has worked for Apple as a Specialist for the past nine years and has several QQI Level 6 qualifications. He also ran a successful lighting solutions company and worked as a Sales Manager in different companies for many years.
Jon is the Co-Founder and Vice CEO of Rainbow Club Cork Centre for Autism with his wife Karen. He has been involved with the board since its foundation in July 2015 and continues to be an integral part of Growing the Rainbow club. Jon. He is now a full-time carer for the couple’s sons Sean and Stephen. Jon is heavily involved in the club on a day-to-day basis and instigated the Music and Sports programmes now successful programmes running at the Charity. Jon has a background in Construction SEI Qualification, Certified courses in Autism, Buntus sports coaching approved, FAI sports coaching course certified, Adaptive Judo certified, FAI licenced Coach programme certified, Trained in HACCP & BARISTA course, Paediatric First Aid, Child First & Covid-19 Officer, Chairperson of the Mahon Community Association LTD and part of the Community Response Team in Mahon.
Pat is a member of the board since its foundation in July 2015. Pat is a process operation for PepsiCo for 16 years. Pat was also involved in the setting up of the Rainbow club as one of the founding team. He also took part in the setting up of the Music and Sports programmes in the club. Buntus Sports Coaching Approved, Adaptive Judo Certified, Covid19 Officer, First AID, Child First and Fire Officer in his job at PepsiCo. He holds qualifications also in FAI licences programme certified, Paediatric First Aid, HACCP Trained and FAI Sports Coaching.
Martha is a member of the board since its foundation in July 2015. Martha a founding member of the club 2015 and Raising Awareness of Autism in Cork since 2009. She has recently set up her own business The Right Wreath. Martha has also worked in the retail sector for many years in various roles. Martha is the volunteer liaison person on the board. She is Certifications in HACCP, Paediatric First Aid, Child First, and Lamh.
Niamh joined the board in July 2020. Niamh is an HR Business Partner with Brookfield Renewable Ireland and has an MA in Human Resource Management and is an Associate CIPD member. She has over 5 years of experience in the HR field.