County Architect Fionnuala May elected as RIAI President

Fingal’s County Architect Fionnuala May has been elected as President of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) for 2026-2027 after being nominated for the position by the RIAI Council. She is the 66th person to hold the position since it was first established in 1839 and the fifth woman.

Fionnuala previously served as RIAI Vice-President and Council member and has contributed across many areas of the RIAI including education, conservation and governance. During her career she has worked to strengthen the position of the Architect within the public service and promote the role of Architecture in public policy.

Speaking after her election, Fionnuala May said: “I am honoured to take up the role as President of the RIAI for 2026-27 and to represent the profession. I plan to continue to promote the role of the Architect in Ireland today and to champion the work we do in making good buildings and in shaping places and environments that enhance lives.”

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Tom O’Leary, said: “On behalf of myself and my fellow councillors I extend sincere congratulations to Fionnuala May on being elected as President of the RIAI. Since she joined Fingal County Council in 1994 Fionnuala has played an important role in the development of the county especially over the past 14 years as County Architect. 

The Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, Annmarie Farrelly, said: “This is a wonderful honour for Fionnuala and recognises the enormous impact she has had on architecture within the public sector during her long and distinguished career. As County Architect she leads a high performing team that is heavily involved in the delivery of record levels of capital infrastructure across the county and is made up of architects working across housing, public buildings, corporate offices and heritage buildings.”

Fionnuala trained as an architect in the Dublin Institute of Technology and graduated in 1988. She worked in private practice on mainstream and conservation projects before undertaking the Master of Urban and Building Conservation degree in University College Dublin in 1993. She was awarded the MUBC in 1994. She joined Fingal County Council as an Architect in 1994 and served as a Housing Architect from 1994-2000; Conservation Officer from 2000-2006 and Public Buildings Architect from 2006- 2011. Since then, she has held the post of County Architect.

Fionnuala holds accreditation as a Grade 1 Conservation Architect from the RIAI.  She is a member of ICOMOS Ireland, the Heritage Contractors Registration Board, the IGS, and the Historic Building Committee of the RIAI. She serves on the board of the Heritage Council (2016-2025) and is a member of the Board of the Irish Architectural Archive.