HPRA Leadership Team

The Chief Executive is responsible for the day to day activities of the HPRA assisted by a Leadership Team comprising all HPRA directors.

Grainne is our Chief Executive and is responsible for the overall management of the HPRA and the implementation of its organisational strategy, assisted by the HPRA Leadership Team. She assumed the role of Chief Executive in January 2026.

Grainne has over 20 years of regulatory, scientific, and leadership experience in the health products industry, having held a number of senior management roles across both the public and private sectors.

She joined the HPRA in 2018, initially holding the position of Director of Human Products Authorisation and Registration. She subsequently served as Director of Compliance between 2021 and 2025.

Before moving to the public sector, Grainne held senior quality assurance roles in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries, managing systems and processes to ensure compliance with regulatory standards. She also gained earlier experience in quality related roles within the veterinary medicines and medical devices sectors.

Grainne holds a degree in Biotechnology from Dublin City University and postgraduate diplomas from both University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin.

Ms Rita Purcell

Deputy Chief Executive

Rita Purcell joined the Irish Medicines Board in 1996 heading up the Finance and Corporate Affairs Department. Her responsibilities include finance, legal, corporate policy, property, secretariat and international affairs. Ms Purcell also sits as an “alternative” member in the EMA management board and was a member of the council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland from 2008 to 2015. Ms Purcell read law at University College Dublin and qualified as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers. She worked in a number of different industries before joining the Irish Medicines Board.

Ms Sinead Curran

Director of Human Products Monitoring

Sinead is our Director of Human Products Monitoring. She leads a department responsible for safety monitoring and risk management of medicines in clinical use. Her responsibilities include the leading the national suspected adverse reaction reporting service, overseeing benefit-risk evaluations of medicines as part of the EUs system of pharmacovigilance and regulatory management of communications on important new safety issues. Her department also work closely with national health system partners in vigilance monitoring activities for substances of human origin (blood, tissues, organs).

She has twenty years of experience working in medicines regulation. She has held the position of Director of the Human Products Monitoring department since 2019, having worked previously in good clinical practice and pharmacovigilance in the Compliance department. She has previous experience in leading clinical development and quality management activities in clinical research organisations.

She holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree from the University of Galway and a Master of Science degree in Pharmaceutical Medicine from Trinity College Dublin.

Mr Sean d'Art

Director of ICT and Business Services

Sean leads our ICT and Business Services Department. His responsibilities include the provision of best-in-class information technology capabilities to the organisation, and the management and development of the HPRA’s information systems and technology assets. He was appointed to the role in 2021.

Before joining the HPRA, Sean held a range of senior roles across a spectrum of industries and organisations in Ireland and abroad.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Engineering from Trinity College, Dublin, and a Masters of Business Administration from Cranfield University. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors (UK).

Dr Finnuala Lonsdale

Director of Human Products Authorisation and Registration

Finnuala is our Director of the Human Products Authorisation and Registration Department (HPAR). She leads a team of more than 100 people who assess applications for marketing authorisations for human medicines and clinical trials. She joined the HPRA in March 2022.

Prior to joining the HPRA she has worked in clinical practice , healthcare administration, in contract clinical research, as an executive in a multinational pharmaceutical company and for the United Kingdom Home Office.

She is a medical doctor by background having specialist consultant qualifications in psychiatry, clinical pharmacology and pharmaceutical medicine as well as holding a Masters Degree in Business Administration.

Dr Niall MacAleenan

Director of Medical Devices

Niall MacAleenan qualified as a medical doctor at Trinity College Dublin. Niall worked in a variety of clinical and research roles across the Irish health care system. He also attained a business degree from University College Dublin.

Niall joined the HPRA in 2005 as a medical assessor for medical devices. Since that time he has held a variety of different roles at senior level within the organisation both in the area of medical devices and human medicines. In 2018, he was appointed as head of the newly established medical devices department that has responsibility for the HPRA’s market regulatory, surveillance and notified body oversight activities. Niall is a member of the EU’s Medical Device Coordination Group (MDCG) and the Executive Group of the Competent Authorities for Medical Devices (CAMD) network. At international level, Niall is a member of the Management Committee of the International Medical Device Regulators Forum (IMDRF).

Dr David Murphy

Director of Veterinary Sciences

David is our Director of Veterinary Sciences. He has over 25 years of experience working in the regulation of veterinary medicines. Prior to being appointed as Director in September 2025, he worked in the role of HPRA Veterinary Assessment Manager, with overall responsibility for safety and efficacy assessment of veterinary medicines.

From 2016 to 2022, David was Chair of the EMA Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products (CVMP). He was responsible for guiding the work of the committee and ensuring that its opinions and recommendations were evidence-based, scientifically robust and consistent.

Since 2023, David has acted as Co-Chair of the Veterinary Strategic Focus Group, providing strategic support to the European Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) on matters relating to veterinary medicines, with a focus on medicines availability, optimisation of regulatory processes and efficient resource management.

David has a degree in veterinary medicine from UCD and a PhD from the University of Glasgow.

Ms Nicola Riggs

Director of Human Resources and Development

Nicola is our Director of Human Resources and Development (HRD), where she leads the strategic delivery of HRD initiatives that support the availability, development, and engagement of the organisation’s people. She was appointed to the role in October 2025.

Nicola has over 18 years of experience in human resources across both public and private sectors with significant experience across the spectrum of HR. She has built her career at the HPRA, joining in 2013 and progressing through a series of senior roles. Throughout her tenure, she has played a key role in driving organisational change and implementing people-centred HRD programmes.

Her areas of expertise include strategic workforce planning, talent acquisition, employee engagement, change management, and employment law. Nicola holds a Degree and MSc in HR Management, postgraduate diplomas in Employment Law and Change Management, and is an Executive and Leadership Coach.