Dr Blánaid Gavin, Associate Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University College, Dublin trained in UCD, St John of Gods and Colombia University Child Psychiatry Institute, New York. She is a past Chair and Board Member of the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH) and established the ACAMH Special Interest Group in Youth Mental Health in Dublin. This led to the first International Summit on Youth Mental Health resulting in the International Declaration on Youth Mental Health (2011) of which she is a co-author.

Dr Gavin led and co-authored the Trasna Project – a unique project aimed at establishing the views of young people attending psychiatric services in Ireland. She has published on various topics related to children’s mental health, and co-authored a Mental Health Handbook for Teachers as well as the Irish College of General Practitioners National Guidelines on Children’s Mental Health and the National Guidelines on Psychosis in young people. Her current research focus is ADHD. She has also worked with many voluntary agencies and support groups to promote the development of services for children with mental health difficulties at a national level.