Saintfield woman joins Rural Board

Saintfield woman joins Rural Board

18 June 2025

A LOCAL woman has joined the board of Rural Action. 

Ruth Megahey, from Saintfield, has been appointed as a Board apprentice and joins four other new members, including former BBC Radio Ulster presenter Anne Marie McAleese.

Ruth has over ten years of experience in a range of industries within the UK and Australia, combined with a degree in Engineering with Marketing, Management and Human Resources. 

Her current work in the youth sector involves oversight of daily operations, governance, safeguarding and membership. She is keen to ensure the voices and needs of Northern 

Ireland’s rural youth are heard and met. 

She joins the board at an exciting time, as Rural Action continues its focus on supporting grassroots communities through the design, development and delivery of a range of projects and programmes. 

Teresa Canavan, Chief Executive at Rural Action, said the Board apprentice approach was targeted to those individuals who may not have served on a charitable board before, but who would like the opportunity to gain experience over a 12-month period.  

She said: “Rural Action was keen to offer this pathway as part of its Board recruitment process to support new and emerging talent from across the sector, and we are so pleased that Ruth joins us in this capacity.” 

Chairperson Tracey McNally said she was “overwhelmed” with the response to the recent Board recruitment process. 

“We were delighted that so many excellent candidates expressed interest to join us as we continue our work to achieve our vision for rural communities,” she said.