A great example of successful farm diversification is the Roche family dairy farm outside Loughrea, Co Galway where Teresa Roche not only produces and sells Kylemore Farmhouse Cheese in the farm shop but also offers farm tours to the general public. Teresa Roche successfully runs and produces Kylemore Farmhouse
Hannah Quinn Mulligan farms in Croom, Co. Limerick, alongside her mother and grandmother, a trio who serve as ambassadors and examples of leading women in agriculture. Hannah Quinn Mulligan farms in Croom, Co. Limerick, alongside her mother and grandmother, a trio who serve as ambassadors and examples of leading
Sophie Bell farms outside Virginia, Co. Cavan, on her family's dairy heifer contract-rearing farm. Her journey and career so far have been both interesting and inspiring. Sophie Bell farms outside Virginia, Co. Cavan, on her family's dairy heifer contract-rearing farm. Her journey and career so
For Niamh Walsh, the decision to pursue a nursing degree started at home. There wasn’t a strong nursing tradition in the family, but she always admired the way her mother and grandmother took care of others, especially when they were sick. Eight years ago, Niamh’s
Background I work as a Cyber Security Officer in the Chief Information Security Office (CISO). I first joined the HSE in August 2022 as part of the National Service Desk (NSD) team. Big shout-out to the NSD Louth team—keep up the great work! In August 2024, I
Background: I have worked in many aspects of the IT sector for over 20yrs. I currently work as a Cloud Engineer with the Cloud Platform Team in Technology & Transformation. We work collaboratively with other Technology and Transformation teams, as well as external project teams to deliver HSE
Background: I work as an Architecture Lead with the A2i-HIDs team. I joined the HSE in May 2023 and am in my current role since January 2024. I live in County Cavan with my base in Cavan Town. My commute to the office is approximately 30-35 minutes. My
Name: Sam Cassells County: Kildare My name is Sam Cassells, from Castledermot County Kildare. We have been farming here for about four generations. We are predominantly tillage with a small number of cattle. I completed the Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Agriculture Crops and Machinery course at Killdalton college
Name: Peter Cullivan County: Cavan I’m a Commercial Broiler Farmer. I completed the poultry course in Ballyhaise Agricultural College in 2021. Coming from a farming background but with no experience in poultry, this course was extremely beneficial in teaching me about poultry anatomy and physiology, their day to
Name: James Bogue County: Cavan I enjoy working in an environment where performance results can be improved due to new technologies, practices or genetics. From the course I found that the principles of farm administration and finance very helpful as I developed my role in managing the pig unit
Name: Francis Hewitson County: Donegal Current position: Full time Timber Forwarder Operator and Chainsaw Operator I completed the Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Forestry at Teagasc Ballyhaise College, Co. Cavan. The practical aspects of the course were very important to me as they taught me the key skills that would
Name: Simon Cavanagh I wanted to do my Green Cert and was always interested in pursuing a career with horses. Kildalton allowed me to achieve both of these goals. The teachers really inspired me to learn as much as I could about the equine industry and opened my eyes
Name: John Murray County: Dublin Current position: Currently running my own showjumping, sales and breeding yard. What I enjoy the most is bringing on and educating young green horses to bring out their full potential, and watching them progress in the sport. It brings a great satisfaction to know that
Name: Conor Reid County: Wicklow I completed the Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Agriculture – Mechanisation at Salesian Agricultural College, Pallaskenry. I enjoyed the fact there were lots of hands on practicals. We spent at least 50% of the time in the workshops or operating machinery on the college
Name: Eoghan Fitzpatrick County: Laois I completed the Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Agriculture in 2022 in Gurteen College after completing the Level 5 Certificate in Agriculture in 2021. I specialised in Drystock Management. The course was recommended to me by friends. The majority of the learning is practical
Name: Michael White County: Cork Current position: Currently I am assisting with running the home farm of 120 cows. We run a split calving herd with a 65% calving in the spring and 35% calving in the autumn. Running of the herd and farm is split between me and my
A When Swedish native, Birgitta Curtin, visited Ireland as a young 18-year-old in 1981, little did she think she would be still here more than 40 years later, and running Irelands best known and most successful artisan salmon smokehouses in the spectacular Burren in Co. Clare. Born and
A love story involving a Connemara woman and a Chilean man has resulted in the creation of an award-winning outdoor seafood eatery which is making serious culinary waves along the shores of the majestic Killary Fjord in Co. Galway. Kim Young and Reinaldo Seco are the talented husband and
10 Reasons Why You Should Study at CAFRE Experienced Staff: CAFRE staff are highly qualified and experienced at delivering education programmes. They come from a range of backgrounds bringing a lot of knowledge and skills that they will share with you. Great job prospects: Students study at CAFRE because they
If you are looking for a fun, challenging, dynamic career path then Shannon college just might be for you. Shannon is not only a college that offers you a high level of hospitality training, but so much life experience from a wide range of different modules such as intercultural communications
Hello! I’m Ben Malone, a lad from Lucan, and I’m a 1 st year student studying BSc (Hons) Paramedic Science at Ulster University’s Magee Campus in Derry City. So, I’m often asked; “Ben, why did you decide to #GoNorth for college
Hello students! My name is Katie Foran, and I am originally from Whitehall, Dublin. This year, I graduated from Trinity College with a BA Science (Immunology), however seven weeks ago, I decided to #GoNorth and start a degree in Medicine at Ulster University’s Magee campus in Derry. Medicine
My name is Siobhán O’Connor and I am a Lecturer at the University of Galway. My background includes degrees in information systems and nursing, with a PhD in health informatics. My job is lots of fun as I get to research new technologies nurses can use
What is being a Butcher all about? Are you creative, hands-on, people person, with good attention to detail, and interested in food? Do you find yourself interested in the craft of how great food is created? Would you like to be part of Ireland’s proud tradition as
What work does a Commis Chef do? Commis Chef literally translates as ‘ Clerk Chef ’. Commis chefs are the junior members of the kitchen staff. They usually work under various Chef de parties in order to learn the skills required for each section. They are usually
Receiving a job offer from one of Ireland’s top luxury hotels, and an international accolade to boot, Danay Berhane has come a long way from Leaving Cert results day 2016. Danay tells us: ‘I knew I wanted to be a chef, that was all I wanted to
In 2016, Amie McNamara, from Listowel, Co. Kerry, sat her Leaving Cert, with the intention of studying nursing. She wasn’t 100% wasn’t sure that it would be for her, but she certainly had the idea that she wanted to go straight to university from school. However
Miriam Dineen, wears several hats as a dairy farmer and sales representative for an agri company. The 22-year-old hails from Cahirbarnagh, Rathmore, Co. Kerry, on the Cork side of the Cork/Kerry border. Farming is a longstanding tradition on both sides of her family, with Miriam being the
Alicia O’Leary is a Radiation Therapist (RT) and Medical Dosimetrist working in the UPMC Hillman Cancer Centre, Waterford. As an Radiation Therapist she is responsible for the safe delivery of treatment to cancer patients using high-energy X-Ray beams on a machine known as a linear accelerator
Thomas is from Skerries, Co. Dublin and is a 1st year BA Culinary Arts student. “Making the Black Forest Gateau was time consuming and had a lot of elements. The process is very methodical and you need to be precise or it won’t turn out well. I
My name is Donagh Berry and I am the Director of the Vista Milk SFI Research centre. I am an animal geneticist at Teagasc; an animal geneticist uses statistics and maths to determine if an animal has good genes or bad genes for a whole range of traits. Teagasc is
My name is Willie Gibbons and I am the track manager at Leopardstown Racecourse. I’ve been based at Leopardstown my whole life, my dad, John Gibbons, was the track manager before me and I used to spend my weekends and holidays helping my dad with maintenance, and working
My name is Fiona Dowling and I am head girl at Jamie Osbourne Racing, Lambourn, UK. I have been involved in the industry for the past ten years and I am delighted to have built my career on my passion for racing. I am from Listowel, Co. Kerry and got
My name is Niall Byrne and I’m a point-to-point stewards secretary. I’ve been involved in the racing industry since 1975. I attended the RACE at the age of 14. Upon completion I was awarded apprentice of the year. As part of the course syllabus
Dr Elvira De Eyto, Zoologist, Marine Institute For the past 18 years, Dr Elvira de Eyto’s role at the Marine Institute in Newport, Co Mayo has focused on the long-term monitoring of the Burrishoole catchment ecosystem, to track and help understand changes in the environment. With a
Elizabeth Tray Research Scientist, Marine and Freshwater Research Centre (GMIT) and Marine Institute Research Scientist, Elizabeth Tray, is preserving past marine research through the project ‘Unlocking the Archive’. A partnership between GMIT’s Marine and Freshwater Research Centre and the Marine Institute, the project aims to create
Paula Hynes is a Phytoplankton Analyst at the Marine Institute, monitoring the presence and impact of harmful phytoplankton species year round. Paula says she always enjoyed learning science at school which led her to study biology at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT). “While I was studying, I
Cullen Fellowship research on oceanographic modelling of Nephrops populations around Ireland Ryan McGeady is a PhD student at NUI Galway (Zoology/School of Natural Sciences) and a Cullen Fellow at the Marine Institute. His research topic is on oceanographic modelling of Nephrops populations around Ireland. Nephrops, also known as Dublin
Fisheries scientist at the Marine Institute, Jennifer Doyle has been surveying Nephrops norvegicus stocks, commonly known as the Dublin Bay prawn, for almost 20 years. Growing up close to the River Boyne in Co Meath, Jennifer says she was always spending time outdoors and by the water. “I
As an Administrator in the Marine Institute’s Fish Health Unit, Patricia Wilson deals with the health of fish and shellfish and the prevention and control of certain aquatic diseases. Patricia studied marine biology at Queen’s University Belfast, before completing a Masters in Environmental Management at Ulster
One of the main attractions of becoming a public health nurse for Micheal Power was the opportunity to look after patients in their own homes and communities. “Public health nursing gives you an opportunity to work as an autonomous practitioner with the support of your nursing colleagues and the
For the past 13 years, Aodhán Fitzgerald, Research Vessel Operations Manager at the Marine Institute has been coordinating the operations of Ireland’s two research vessels, the RV Celtic Explorer and RV Celtic Voyager . Growing up beside the sea in West Kerry, Aodhán spent his
Vera Quinlan works at the Marine Institute, and is involved in Ireland’s seabed mapping programme, INFOMAR. As a hydrographer , Vera’s career and sense of adventur has taken her around the world. Vera says she has always had a connection with the ocean. Her
Fisheries Scientist at the Marine Institute, Tom McDermott has been researching the ‘King of Fish’, the salmon for more than 40 years. “Growing up near Lough Derg in Co Clare, my father had a huge influence on me through his obsession with angling, and everything that related
Name: Richard Cowman Address: Tramore, Co. Waterford Current position: Assistant Garden Manager Business details: Assisting with management and maintenance of a 1 hectare garden at Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Gardens. Education • Certificate in Manufacturing Technology W.I.T. • Qualified Carpenter & Joiner • BSc in Horticulture 2012 Background I
Name: Deirdre Howlin Address: Kilmore, Co. Wexford Current position: Owner of Grange Greens Plant Centre Education I completed the Level 5 Certificate in Horticulture (2004) & Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Horticulture at Kildalton College (2005). I then transferred to the 2nd year of the Level 7 Horticulture course in