Meet the Team
Meet the team at Wallace Travel Group!
Meet our passionate team members!
Derek Wallace
Founder
Having worked in Wallace Travel Group for nearly as long as he can remember, and growing the business into the world recognised travel brand, Derek took retirement in July 2020. Now with his new found extra time he is busier than ever with his grandchildren, walks in his beloved Malahide and trips to his home in Portugal. Still with his finger on the pulse of tourism in Ireland, Derek loves nothing more than to pop into the office in Wallace Travel Group to hear the goings on of our groups on the ground, and can even be known to assist with the odd site inspection now and again.
Joanne Hegarty
Marketing
Joanne from Dublin, always knew she belonged in the travel industry and with her sights set high in 1996 she studied Travel and Tourism where she started on the road to success. Joanne has over 25+ years’ experience in the travel industry. She is dedicated to our corporate and groups departments along with our digital marketing team. Joanne works diligently, displaying her bubbly personality throughout. She has a passion for travel especially if she can fit in some time for shopping along the way.
Mike O’Shaughnessy
Managing Director
A business graduate from CIT Ireland Mike has spent his entire career working in the entertainment and hospitality industry in the UK, US and almost 30 years in Wallace Travel Group in Ireland. His passion for the industry, creativity and strong customer focus has seen Mike deliver World Class large scale meetings & conference solutions and incentive travel both in Ireland and Worldwide. He is a former board member of the Irish Tour Operators Association and has served on various Irish Tourism Bodies over his career. When he’s not out on the roads training for his next marathon you’ll find him cheering on his other great passion in life, the famous Kilkenny Hurling Team “ C’mon the Cat “. Oh and keep him away from the guitar or he’ll have you up all night singing!!!
Louise O'Toole
Senior Travel Consultant
Louise, our local girl joined Wallace Travel Group in 1999 on work experience from a local college and she hasn’t left since! One of the longest members of staff is a familiar face at the front counter. Louise looks after our leisure travel side of the business along with many other areas of travel. She loves to travel and tries to get away whenever she can. She was lucky enough to be picked for the Aer Lingus Fam trip to Orlando – where she got stranded due to the ash cloud – she said it was tough work – 5 star hotel, Orlando sun, free meals in fine dine restaurants and swimming with Dolphins – sounds like hard work alright! She enjoys spending her weekends with family and socialising with friends. She’s no stranger to the odd 80’s night or karaoke bar either!
Mike O’Shaughnessy
Managing Director
A business graduate from CIT Ireland Mike has spent his entire career working in the entertainment and hospitality industry in the UK, US and almost 30 years in Wallace Travel Group in Ireland. His passion for the industry, creativity and strong customer focus has seen Mike deliver World Class large scale meetings & conference solutions and incentive travel both in Ireland and Worldwide. He is a former board member of the Irish Tour Operators Association and has served on various Irish Tourism Bodies over his career. When he’s not out on the roads training for his next marathon you’ll find him cheering on his other great passion in life, the famous Kilkenny Hurling Team “ C’mon the Cats“. Oh and keep him away from the guitar or he’ll have you up all night singing!!!
Louise O'Toole
Senior Travel Consultant
Louise, joined Wallace Travel Group in 1999 on work experience from a local college and she hasn’t left since! Louise looks after many sides of the business including leisure travel, corporate travel and Irish tour groups. She has a true passion for travel and with over 24 years of experience, it shows. She loves to travel and tries to get away whenever she can with family and friends. One of her favourite places to visit is Iceland, she’s lost count of the amount of times she’s been.
Joanne Hegarty
Marketing
Joanne always knew she belonged in the travel industry and with her sights set high in 1996 she studied Travel and Tourism where she started on the road to success. Joanne has over 25+ years experience in the travel industry. She is dedicated to our corporate and groups departments along with our digital marketing team. Joanne works diligently, displaying her bubbly personality throughout. She has a passion for travel especially if she can fit in some time for shopping along the way.
Derek Wallace
Founder
Having worked in Wallace Travel Group for nearly as long as he can remember, and growing the business into the world recognised travel brand, Derek took retirement in July 2020. Following his retirement he and Colette now have more time for their grandkids, Malahide walks & restaurants and their home in Portugal. Still with his finger on the pulse of tourism in Ireland, Derek loves nothing more than to pop into the office in Wallace Travel Group to hear the goings on of our groups on the ground, and can even be known to assist with the odd site inspection now and again.
Mike O’Shaughnessy
Managing Director
Having spent over 30 years at Wallace Travel Group managing the operations and accounting functions of the business Mike came to the helm as Managing Director in 2020. With his varied experience in operations, finance, industry expertise and his participation on many industry boards over the course of his career Mike was best placed to lead the company through the difficult COVID 19 pandemic years. His cautious optimism and vision backed up by his senior leadership team turned 2022 and 2023 into two of the most successful years for the company. No mean feat post pandemic.
With a background in accountancy and a passion for creatively selling Ireland to our clients, when Mike is not on the road selling Ireland as a leading MICE destination he loves nothing more than to be outdoors running. A keen marathoner Mike has run extensively throughout the world in various marathons, and when he’s not chasing down leads, he loves nothing more that spending time with his wife and family at his home, in the city of Kilkenny. Not one for sitting down, Mike and his leadership team have great plans for the future of Wallace Travel Group and our clients.
Louise O'Toole
Senior Travel Consultant
Louise, our local girl joined Wallace Travel Group in 1999 on work experience from a local college and she hasn’t left since! One of the longest members of staff is a familiar face at the front counter. Louise looks after our leisure travel side of the business along with many other areas of travel. She loves to travel and tries to get away whenever she can. She was lucky enough to be picked for the Aer Lingus Fam trip to Orlando – where she got stranded due to the ash cloud – she said it was tough work – 5 star hotel, Orlando sun, free meals in fine dine restaurants and swimming with Dolphins – sounds like hard work alright! She enjoys spending her weekends with family and socialising with friends. She’s no stranger to the odd 80’s night or karaoke bar either!
Louise O'Toole
Senior Travel Consultant
Louise, joined Wallace Travel Group in 1999 on work experience from a local college and she hasn’t looked back since! Louise looks after many sides of the business including leisure travel, corporate travel and Irish tour groups. She has a true passion for travel and with over 24 years of experience, it shows. She loves to travel and tries to get away whenever she can with family and friends. One of her favourite places to visit is Iceland, she's lost count on the amount of times she's been.
Joanne Hegarty
Marketing
Joanne always knew she belonged in the travel industry and with her sights set high in 1996 she studied Travel and Tourism where she started on the road to success. Joanne has over 25+ years’ experience in the travel industry. She is dedicated to our corporate and groups departments along with our digital marketing team. Joanne works diligently, displaying her bubbly personality throughout. She has a passion for travel especially if she can fit in some time for shopping along the way!Derek Wallace
Founder
Having worked in Wallace Travel Group for nearly as long as he can remember, and growing the business into the world recognised travel brand, Derek took retirement in July 2020. Now with his new found extra time he is busier than ever with his grandchildren, walks in his beloved Malahide and trips to his home in Portugal. Still with his finger on the pulse of tourism in Ireland, Derek loves nothing more than to pop into the office in Wallace Travel Group to hear the goings on of our groups on the ground, and can even be known to assist with the odd site inspection now and again.Plan an Unforgettable Experience with Wallace Travel Group
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