RTPI Ireland Annual Conference and Dinner

Grow College Green is Dublin City Council’s flagship project to reimagine the historic heart of our capita; city as a destination for everyone, not on a place to shop, work, gather and celebrate, but also a space to pause, breathe and connect. Aligning with the Climate Action Plan the design focuses on preparing for climate change and longterm resilience, creating a public space that is vibrant now and sustainable into the future.

Meet at the entrance to Foster Place (left of the Bank of Ireland, on College Green). 

Keynote - Dr. Lorcan Sirr, TU Dublin 

Panel Discussion:

• Lorcan Sirr
• Alice Whittaker
• Paul Mitchell

Modern Methods of Construction - Martin Kirrane, LDA

Housing - Viability & Affordability - Can we meet delivery targets  - Paul Mitchell, Mitchell Mc Dermott

Lengthy Planning Battles - Need for brave and visionary policymaking - Alice Whittaker, Patrner Philip Lee 

Social Value - Jasmine Ceccarelli Drewy, Avison Young

Placemaking - Ulrik Raysse, Arrow Architects

Community Consultation - Rachel Edwards, Turley

Alice is chairperson of Philip Lee LLP and leads the firm's top-tier Environment and Climate Group.  She supports clients developing novel and complex projects on all aspects of EU and domestic planning environmental and climate legislation.  She has worked on national hospitals, waste infrastructure, ports, renewables, large scale residential developments, marine and subsea infrastructure, grid transmission systems and telecommunications networks, She has also undertaken strategic advisory roles for serval Government Departments on forestry and marine spatial planning and energy regulations.

Paul Mitchell is a Director at Mitchell McDermott Construction Consultants, one of Ireland’s leading cost and project management consultancies. With extensive experience across the construction and infrastructure sectors, Paul specialises in cost and project management, strategic advisory, and guiding clients through complex procurement processes for major developments.

Over the course of his career, Paul has worked with a broad range of public and private sector clients, supporting the successful delivery of large-scale residential, commercial, healthcare, and infrastructure projects. He is recognised for his ability to combine commercial acumen with practical delivery expertise, advising on procurement strategy, risk management, and project execution to help clients achieve successful outcomes on complex schemes.

At Mitchell McDermott Construction Consultants, Paul plays a key role in advancing the firm’s data-led approach to consultancy, leveraging market intelligence, benchmarking analytics, and digital reporting tools to provide clients with clearer commercial insight and stronger decision-making frameworks. His focus on translating complex construction data into practical strategy helps clients better understand market dynamics, manage cost and delivery risk, and optimise project outcomes in an increasingly complex development environment.

Lorcan Sirr is an academic with over 20 years’ teaching and research experience. As a senior lecturer his areas of expertise include housing, planning and development, research methods and policy evaluation and he is also Visiting Professor of Housing in the Faculty of Law in the Universitat Rovira I Virgilii, Tarragona, Spain and at the University of Galway. Lorcan was previously the Head of the Futures Academy and Faculty Head of Research. 

Lorcan has taught students from certificate to PhD level and has supervised over 50 MSc theses and several PhDs. His lectures, workshops and projects are contemporaneous in nature, dealing with relevant real-world issues in property, housing, planning and research. 

Lorcan is a board member of the Irish Refugee Council and Fire Station Artists’ Studios. He is also a former Sunday Times columnist and still writes for many publications, including The Irish Times and Irish Independent, as well as being author of various books on housing.

Jasmine recently joined Avison Young’s Place team as a Director, specialising in social impact, strategic advisory and place strategy. This follows three years in Montagu Evans' Strategic Advisory team, where she established the firm’s Social Impact Consultancy offer. She advises clients on embedding social impact, from investment and masterplanning to procurement, planning, and occupation. She is the Co-Chair of Real Estate Balance Next Gen Committee. 

Ulrik founded ARROW in 2012. With offices in Copenhagen, Dublin, and Warsaw, the practice delivers large-scale projects across Europe and Africa, ranging from towers, master planning to major mixed-use developments. With 100% export-based work, collaboration sits at the core of our approach. We describe this methodology as international experience with local knowledge.
In Ireland, ARROW has been involved in Dublin Landings, Connolly Quarter, and the Guinness Quarter Masterplan, the Athlone 2040 Framework Plan, and most recently the masterplan for Dún Laoghaire Harbour. The office is currently engaged in the design of roads and public realm for the South Docklands in Cork.

Rachel Edwards is a strategic communications and engagement specialist with over 16 years’ experience delivering placemaking, regeneration and policy programmes across the public and private sectors. Her work focuses on building trust, strengthening social license and translating community and stakeholder insight into meaningful social, economic and environmental outcomes. 
Trained in design thinking, behavioural economics and change management, Rachel specialises in people-led place shaping, strategic storytelling and community engagement. She works across masterplanning and regeneration projects to bridge communities, design teams and decision-makers, supporting more trusted, inclusive and deliverable approaches to growth and development.