Athlone woman takes top SEC post

Family connections in Athlone and further afield are delighted with the news that Andrea Feeney has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the State Examinations Commission (SEC). Andrea lives in Athlone where she attended the Bower Convent National and Secondary Schools. Through her late grandmother, Maureen Feeney, born Connolly, she has deep roots in the Athlone area, going back many generations.

Andrea joined the Civil Service in 1991 and was assigned to the Department of Social Welfare in Dublin, being transferred to the Longford Office in 1993. She was assigned to the Office of the Revenue Commissioners in Limerick in 1995 and to the Department of Education in her native Athlone in 2001. Since its establishment in 2003, Andrea has worked in the State Examinations Commission, also in Athlone, serving as Assistant Principal Officer, Principal Officer, Director and, finally, since November 2020 and at 48 years of age, Chief Executive Officer.

A graduate of the UCD Michael Smurfit Business School, Andrea is the daughter of John and Josephine Feeney of Retreat Park, Athlone. John also worked in the Department of Education in Athlone, retiring some years ago as a Principal Officer. Andrea is married to Paul Kelly and they have two sons both attending secondary school in Athlone.