ELISA O'DONOVAN

Hi, I am Elisa, your local councillor for Limerick City West. I live on O'Connell Avenue and am a Speech and Language Therapist. I currently work in mental health and am a board member of West Limerick Resources and Employability Limerick.

I grew up in Cricklewood in North West London to Irish parents and returned to my father’s native Limerick when I was 15. After sitting my leaving certificate at Limerick Tutorial College, I studied medicine in UCD. I lived and worked for 10 years in Dublin as Community Integration Officer with Headway, an organisation that provides supports to individuals living with acquired brain injury.

I also worked as a research and policy assistant with the Disability Federation of Ireland and completed an MSc in Rehabilitation and Disability studies from UCD.  I returned home to Limerick 5 years ago to work as the acquired brain injury local area coordinator for the Mid-West.

I was elected on to Limerick Council’s Community, Emergency and Leisure Services SPC as a social inclusion representative in 2017 and am a passionate advocate for those living with disabilities in our community and their carers. I established SwimableLimerick, an initiative to restore open water swimming to Limerick city. As part of this I hosted many public meetings on The River Shannon, open water swimming and the local environment. I also set up and ran The Limerick Underground Speakers Corner in Arthur’s Quay Park, I was a founding member of Limerick Feminist Network and Limerick Pro Choice. I am an enthusiastic campaigner for Limerick issues including mental health services, disability access, active travel as well as local facilities and amenities. You can find me most Saturday mornings in Mungret park at the Mungret Park Run and I am an active member of the Limerick Triathlon Club.