Our Staff
KCCC employs six full-time and 1 part-time staff members.
Julie McNamara, CEO
Julie McNamara is the CEO of Kildare County Childcare Committee where she has worked since 2004. Julie is a UCC graduate, of the first BA in Early Childhood Studies Degree in Ireland, where she obtained a First Class Honours Degree in 2000. Julie also holds a M.Soc.Sc in Youth and Community work and a Diploma in Community Leadership.
Julie has worked in the Community and Voluntary sector since the age of 17 which has included: volunteering for Oxfam in India, Simon Community in Galway, and as a Childcare worker for the Traveller community in Cork. Julie has worked in the area of disability and coordinated a Project for young men at risk in Mallow, Co. Cork prior to returning to Kildare to take up her position with KCCC.
Julie is passionate about working for young children and families and values the rights of the child. Julie works from the principles of community development and believes everyone has the right to be heard, included and empowered. Julie believes Early Childhood lays the foundations for the rest of the life cycle and is committed to working towards ensuring young children in Kildare receive the best outcomes possible.
Julie is Mother to Aisha, enjoys her job, running, yoga, cooking, gardening, travelling, and music.
Contact Julie on - julie@kccc.ie
Emily Moore, Development Officer

Emily has worked in KCCC since 2006 and has seen a lot of changes in the sector over the last few years since the arrival of the ECCE scheme in April 2009. With the introduction of the ECCE scheme in 2009 KCCC developed a closer working relationship and contact with the services providing childcare in Kildare.
Emily, in her role of Programme Administrator, offers the provision of information, support and advice on National Programmes for childcare providers in Kildare, from ECCE and TEC CCS/P. Assisting services with re-entry and new entry to contracts. A significant element of the role involves the completion of Fee policy forms and advice on all areas of PIP registrations and queries. Emily's background over many years has been with Community organisations, Office Administration and Customer Service.
Contact Emily on - emily@kccc.ie
Catherine Colleton, Development Officer
Catherine joined KCCC in March 2019 as Assistant Programme Administrator. Catherine has a BA (Hons) Early Childhood Education and Care and has worked in the childcare sector for 10years. She has also completed QQI Level 6 Train the Trainer and is a qualified Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer with 12+ years experience coaching children's gymnastics.
Catherine's role in KCCC is to provide support and advice in relation to National Programmes, including AIM, to childcare providers in Kildare and also to provide support to parents.
Catherine is mother to Cora and enjoys spending time with her family, fitness and music.
Contact Catherine on - catherine@kccc.ie
Amy Dempsey, Development Officer

Amy joined the KCCC team in January 2020 as Development Officer. Amy has a BA (Hons) in Early Childhood Studies and an MA in Child, Family and Community Studies. She also holds a QQI Level 6 Training Delivery and Evaluation. Amy has been working in the childcare sector for 12 years, with experience working as a practitioner and also in management positions. She also worked abroad for 4 years in the U.A.E and China as a kindergarten teacher. In her spare time, Amy enjoys travel, cooking and reading.
Contact Amy on - comdev@kildarechildcare.ie
Jane Beatty, Development Officer
Jane has worked with KCCC since 2016. She has extensive experience in the semi-state and not-for-profit sectors, including NCGE (an agency of the Department of Education and Science), Barnardos, OPEN and Northside Partnership. Having studied the Masters in Child, Family and Community Studies in TU Dublin most recently, Jane also holds a BA(Hons) in History and English and a Higher Diploma in Library and Information Studies. Jane's experience includes Information management, editing publications and writing/editing online content. Jane is interested in children's rights, and in working with families and with childcare professionals to ensure the best early care and education for children.
Jane enjoys gardening, being outdoors with her family and travel.
Contact Jane on: jane@kccc.ie
Ashling Henderson, Administrator

Ashling Henderson has extensive experience in Administration, Clerical and Customer Service, she has a background in Health Services.
She holds a Higher Certificate in Science and worked as a Pharmacy Technician previous to joining KCCC.
Contact Ashling on: admin@kccc.ie
Louise Finnegan, Clerical Officer
Louise is a Clerical Officer with Kildare County Childcare Committee, joining the team in March 2019. She is a graduate of NUI Maynooth with BA (Hons) in Economics and Finance. She has worked in Banking and Fund Administration for more than 10 years and is now enjoying working with KCCC and learning about the early years sector, while providing administration support. In her spare time Louise enjoys spending time with her family.
Contact Louise on: info@kccc.ie