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
I took a different route, and I would encourage other students to go against the grain and do what you want to do FET Graduate Ceara Shaw’s journey after the Leaving Certificate. The Leaving Certificate is just around the corner, and everything seems to be about points and
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
I’ve been privileged to attend conferences, meetings and seminars where experts from all sectors of society have shared their thoughts, concerns and suggestions relating to all things energy and climate. I’ve also had the opportunity to attend meetings in Brussels with our counterparts and colleagues from
Niall Donnelly - Senior Associate in Energy, Renewables and Natural Resources at Arthur Cox. Some solicitors specialise in the energy business and work with power companies, utilities and energy producers. Much of their work involves making sure the proper laws and regulations are followed. They can advise developers, regulators or investors
Eoin McPartland - Offshore Manager, Energia Group; working on Energia’s North Celtic Sea project located off the coast of Wexford and Wicklow. Designs and plans large infrastructure projects, such as wind farm foundations, access roads, and crane paths and pads. In his role as Offshore Manager, Eoin is at
Dr Caroline Roche - Offshore Environmental & Consents Manager, Energia Group As part of getting planning permission for a wind farm the project will normally have a number of environmental conditions and need a Habitat Management Plan. An Environmental Advisor works closely with civil, mechanical and electrical engineers and other specialists
John Lyons - Community Liaison Officer (CLO) with FuturEnergy Ireland in Cork Works with the local community on behalf of the developer to answer questions on the proposed project. Can focus on specific audiences, like the fishing community, or be more general. Supplies information and give opportunities to engage. What did
Heather Farrimond - Junior Ecologist & Aerial Surveyor with Green Rebel in Cork Surveys the site and assess any potential environmental impacts. They plan, conduct and supervise ecological surveys and fieldwork. They work to make sure the development of a wind farm has the minimal possible impact on the local environment
Kyro Keown, Data Engineer with EnergyPro in Kildare Utilises advanced analytics and machine learning techniques to analyse wind energy data and optimise performance, efficiency and predictive maintenance. What did you want to do when you were 16? I’ve wanted to work in renewables or sustainability for most of
Maintains, repairs and replaces systems and components. They identify and resolve technical problems and make sure the turbine is working properly. Tanya, from Cootehill in Cavan, spends her working day more than a hundred metres in the air on top of wind turbines across Ireland and Europe. A new recruit
Carmel Brennan - Environmental Advisor working on onshore wind projects across Ireland with SSE Renewables Environmental Advisor As part of getting planning permission for a wind farm the project will normally have a number of environmental conditions and need a Habitat Management Plan. An Environmental Advisor works closely with civil, mechanical
Brian Casserly -Site Manager based in Oweninny II Wind Farm, Co. Mayo What is a Civil Engineer? A Civil Engineer designs and plans large infrastructure projects, such as wind farm foundations, access roads, and crane paths and pads. What did you want to do when you were 16? Civil Engineer
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
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
What work does an Arborist do? Arborists are more commonly referred to as Tree Surgeons. Their work involves the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants. They examine trees to assess their condition before determining appropriate action. An arborist can also carry
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
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
Do you have an interest in engineering, passionate about the environment and are interested in the energy needs of the future? What is Energy Engineering all about? Energy Engineer So, what do they do? Energy Engineers work on ways of providing us with our energy needs such as the
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
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