The Teagasc Authority

Our 11 member Authority is appointed by the Minister for Agriculture, Food & the Marine and has representatives from the farming organisations, the food industry, the universities, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Teagasc staff.

Applications are invited for an appointment to the board of the Teagasc Authority.
View full details of this vacancy and apply here

Teagasc Authority Vacancies

In September 2014, the Government decided that The Public Appointments Service (PAS), established under statute in 2004, be given responsibility for putting in place an open, accessible, rigorous and transparent system to support Ministers in making appointments to State Boards, including Teagasc. A dedicated website, stateboards.ie is the channel through which the PAS advertises vacancies on State Boards. It is also the means through which accomplished, experienced and qualified people, including people who might not previously have been identified as available for appointment, can then apply to be considered for particular vacancies.

The Authority meets on the first Wednesday of every month except in August. The Authority also has five committees as follows: Advisory and Education Committee, Audit & Risk Committee, Nominations Committee, Operations Committee and Research Committee.

Code of Business Conduct for members of the Teagasc Authority.

Teagasc Authority Members


Liam Herlihy – Chairperson Mr Herlihy is a dairy farmer from County Waterford. He was first appointed Chairperson in September 2018. He was reappointed in July 2023 for a further period of five years by Minister McConalogue. Read more on Liam Herlihy	Donald Scully Donald is a third generation dairy farmer, a member of ICMSA’s National Council and former member of ICMSA’s Executive Committee. Read more on Donald Scully	Vanessa Kiely O’Connor Vanessa is a dairy farmer from Innishannon, County Cork. She graduated with a Diploma in Corporate Direction (Food Business) from the UCC/ICOS programme. She holds a Diploma in Environmental Science and Social Policy, from UCC. Read more on Vanessa Kiely O’Connor

Elaine Houlihan Elaine from Athlacca, County Limerick is President of Macra na Feirme.She took up the post of President of Macra na Feirme in May 2023. Elaine previously was the Munster Vice-President of Macra for two years. Read more on Elaine Houlihan	Elizabeth Reynolds Elizabeth is a consultant, board member and experienced business leader. She worked with GlaxoSmithKline for 24 years and brings to the Teagasc Authority a wealth of international business experience. Read more on Elizabeth Reynolds	Helen Sheridan Dr Helen Sheridan is an Associate Professor in the School of Agriculture and Food Science at University College Dublin. Read more on Helen Sheridan

John Paul Fenlon John Paul is a Farm Technician in Oak Park having joined Teagasc in 2001. He is the national staff representative and co-chair of the National Partnership Committee. John Paul is an experienced agricultural professional.	Thia Hennessy Thia is Head of the College of Business and Law at University College Cork and also Professor of Agri-Food Economics. As a senior academic and an agricultural economist, Thia is in a position to make a considerable contribution to the Teagasc Authority. Read more on Thia Hennessy	Vacant

Louise Byrne Louise is the Deputy Chief Inspector in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for Food and Feed Safety, Crop Policy and Plant Health. She is the current Chief Plant Health Officer for Ireland. Read more on Louise Byrne	Alice Doyle Alice is a Carlow native and the first woman IFA Deputy President. She farms alongside her husband on a beef and tillage farm at Ballyoughter, Gorey, Co. Wexford. Alice is a teacher by profession. She taught in a number of rural & urban schools in Carlow & Wexford befoew being appointed as a school Principal.