Our stakeholder steering group
Our stakeholder steering group (SSG) are very important for the success of our group. The SSG support the research and work that the UCD Agri mental health group do by providing advice and oversight on the study design, dissemination and networking within our projects ensuring that our project outputs are integrated into the community and policy and ensuring awareness of the projects and outputs. The stakeholders come from relevant organisations and interest groups in the are of agri mental health
| Name | Title | Occupation | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roy Kingston | Mr | Farmer | Married to Jenny, 4 adult children, 1 son farming, am governor of Gurteen Agricultural college, a member of bandon beef group ( though we are now dairy farming) . Local preacher in the Methodist church. I travel quite often. I aspire to walk and read, both not as frequent as I like. “Working and learning together to enhance rural Ireland “ is the mission of Gurteen college , and it could well be my own! |
| Susan Brannick | Dr | Psycholgoist and Clinical Director at Aware | Dr Brannick is a Clinical Psychologist with several years’ experience of service development and innovation as well as offering psychological consultation and training to health and community organisations. She is passionate about tackling stigma in mental health and understanding how the socio-political context that people live within may impact on psychological difficulties including depression and bipolar disorder. She is dedicated to the provision of effective, equitable and accessible services to people living with mental health difficulties. Dr Brannick holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Surrey and a MSc in Neuroscience from Kings College London |
| Catherine Kenneally | Mrs | Business Development Manager | Catherine Kenneally (nee Collins) , hailing from rural West Cork with deep ancestral roots in Irish heritage, Catherine, is fuelling her passion for Irish culture, history, myth and the environment through her career. She has an undeniably profound knowledge of strategic and operational management and has been working in the hospitality, tourism, Agri and local community & voluntary sectors over the past 20 years. She thrives in bringing the small detail to the bigger picture through realistic and cost-effective measures that make all interactions prosperous. Creating, strengthening and cohesively ensuring there is a warm- and whole-hearted people experience through all avenues of the customer life cycle is what she guarantees throughout in her business development services. Bringing her qualities as a life coach and facilitator into all interactions ensures the people she assists are helped in everyway with great love and compassion. Catherine has worked with Brian and Norma Rohan in Embrace FARM since 2018 in helping develop the charity and supporting the families it represents. |
| Clare O’Keefe | Ms | Succession facilitator and farmer | Succession Ireland was established in 2007 and is owned by Clare O’Keeffe. Clare is a third-generation farmer on her home farm. She has a B.A. in Economics & Sociology, a diploma in Rural Isolation and Counselling skills and a diploma in Social and Community Studies. Clare attended Kildalton Ag. College as a young student represented and successfully achieved the John Deere All Ireland Agricultural Student of the Year. In 2006 Clare was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship to study ‘Succession on Family Farms, a Global Perspective’. Her research included extensive travelling abroad. Clare is a certified mediator with the Mediators Institute of Ireland and trained as a succession facilitator and planner under the guidance of Lynn Sykes, NSW, Australia. Clare completed the Certified Farm Succession Coordinator Training in 2019 under IFTN (International Farm Transfer Network) Fargo, North Dakota. In 2020 Clare graduated from UCD with a Masters in Agriculture Extension and Innovation. We in Succession Ireland facilitate farm succession conversations and frequently work in collaboration with the existing on farm professionals including advisory, legal and accountancy who know and support each farm family and farm business. |
| Donnla O’Hagan | Dr | Assistant Professor | Dr O'Hagan is Co-PI on the FarMHealth project at DCU |
| Áine Regan | Dr | Senior Research Officer | Dr Regan is a Senior Research Officer in Social & Behavioural Science in Teagasc. Her work is concentrated in the areas of behaviour change, and science and risk governance. Her primary research interests are: • User-centred development and governance of agri-food technologies • Behaviour change interventions (animal health • Citizen-consumer perception and decision-making related to food and farming Dr Regan has a MSc in Health Psychology and a PhD from the School of Public Health in University College Dublin, where she specialised in risk perception and communication related to food. |
| Alison Burrell | Dr | Health Psychologist | Dr Burrell works for Animal Health Ireland, delivering training to veterinary practitioners and advisors in motivational interviewing and using behaviour change techniques to support shared decision-making during herd health consults on farm. She trained as a health psychologist in an inpatient mental health setting, and has a particular interest in OneHealth. |
| Conor Hammersley | Dr | Postdoctoral researcher | Dr. Conor Hammersley is a distinguished academic whose research focuses on exploring the socio-economic and cultural factors that influence mental health outcomes among the farming community in Ireland. In 2022, Dr. Hammersley was recognised as a Fulbright awardee, conducting research at the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University and the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health, located in Cooperstown, New York. Currently, Dr. Hammersley serves as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Public Health and Epidemiology at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Ireland. |
| Shane O'Donnell | Dr | Researcher; Health Promotion Officer | Dr O'Donnell is a men’s mental health researcher with a particular focus on suicide prevention. |
| John Enright | Mr | General Secretary | Mr Enright is General Secretary of ICMSA since 2012 and has represented ICMSA on many Government appointed fora including NESC, Dairy Vision Group, Farmers Charter and Social Partnership. |
| Aoibeann Walsh | Ms | Head of Social Farming and Innovation | Ms Walsh is head of Social Farming and Innovation in Rural Support. |
| Kenneth Hayes | Mr | Agricultural & Tax Consultant. Trust & Estate Practitioner | Mr Hayes is an Agricultural Science (UCD) graduate - worked post graduation in beef industry, farm advisory, schemes and farm accounts. Self employed since 2003 working mainly in the areas of farm accounts, taxation and succession planning. |
| Cormac Farrelly | Mr | Managing Director | Owner of Agriland Media, Irelands largest agricultural news publisher. i have also spent 10 years as board member to Turn2me, Ireland first online mental health charity. |
| Rebecca Orr | Dr | GP Traniee | |
| Eoin Ryan | Dr | Assistant Professor in Farm Animal Clinical Studies | A 2001 UCD, Dublin graduate, Eoin worked initially in mixed, mainly farm animal practice for Dundrum Veterinary Clinic in Limerick and Tipperary, Republic of Ireland. In September 2002, he took up employment as intern in Large Animal Clinical Studies in UCD followed by 3 years as Large Animal Clinical Scholar. He returned to farm animal practice in February 2007 with Mulcair Veterinary Clinic in Tipperary and Limerick and worked there for 4 years. In September 2010, he took up the position of Resident in Bovine Health Management in UCD. In 2012 he was appointed Lecturer in Integrated Farm Animal Health in UCD and was conferred with a Masters in Veterinary Medicine (MVM) following research carried out into Leptospirosis in the Irish suckler cattle population. Following the successful completion of the certifying examination of the European College of Bovine Health Management (ECBHM), he qualified in July 2013 as a European specialist in bovine health management and currently works in UCD Dublin as Lecturer in Farm Animal Clinical Studies. His interests include bovine surgery, internal medicine, herd health and clinical pharmacology. |